ALL THINGS PASSING AND COMING

Through long-term observation and close engagement, the film documents the everyday lives of elderly people living alone in a basement community in Taipei, following their experiences of aging, illness, and death. Through this hidden micro-community beneath the city, the film reflects on the growing realities of aging and isolation across Taiwan and Asia.

In a corner of bustling Taipei, a group of elderly people live alone in tiny basement rooms converted from an old traditional market. Once strangers, they gradually become neighbors who look out for one another through the routines of everyday life. Hidden from the city above, they struggle with government inspections, complicated welfare systems, distant family relationships, and declining health. When one seriously ill resident attempts suicide by turning on the gas, the shadow of death falls over the basement. Some leave, while others move in, and life continues. Is this basement merely a temporary shelter, or the final stop in their lives?