Paper Houses and Horses

A mortuary in Taiwan stores the bodies of deceased children whose parents, for whatever reason, have disappeared. Their remains are kept at the top of a freezer, sometimes for years, until the funeral home organizes a ceremony. Houses and horses made of paper are burned to accompany the children on their solitary journey to the afterlife.

This intriguing film successfully evokes the transitional world that these abandoned children have inhabited for far too long. We see a young child scampering around aimlessly in the funeral home, and the staff chatting casually in the dressing room. These everyday scenes are interspersed with more enigmatic imagery—sometimes in negative—of young people dancing in front of a blazing fire, and another wandering child, who now seems less aimless.

In this way, the short film depicts a transitional ritual that is necessary to bring peace to lost souls. An elegantly realized, sorrowful yet hopeful tribute.