Last Year When the Train Passed By

A simple question drives this quiet documentary: what were you doing last year when a passerby took a photo from a train as it went by your house? The filmmaker follows that single photographic moment outward, returning to locations and speaking with residents whose lives briefly intersected with that frame. Rather than pushing a plot, the film assembles short encounters, ambient sound, and still images to trace how everyday routines, small gestures, and the built environment accumulate meaning. It pays attention to ordinary details and the surprises that appear when strangers look at a single captured instant and try to tell the story behind it.

Directed by Huang Pang-chuan and released in 2018, the film is an independent documentary shaped by photography and observational technique rather than a major studio production or an adaptation of prior material.

As a small, art house documentary, it did not register wide box office numbers and commercial data are scarce. Its visibility came mostly through limited screenings, niche venues, and viewers who seek out thoughtful nonfiction films.

The movie has quietly found an audience among people interested in photography, urban life, and slow cinema. It prompts conversations about how a single image can connect strangers, how neighborhoods hold layered histories, and how small public moments become private memories. Its intimate approach makes it easy to share in film forums and social media posts focused on visual essays.

Critical and audience response has been modest, reflected in a 6.4/10 vote average from a small pool of viewers. Reviewers and viewers tend to note the film's patience and its focus on perspective over exposition. The themes center on memory, the ethics of looking, and the way chance encounters with a camera can open up questions about identity and community without delivering tidy conclusions.