The critic Yi Chih-yan compares Tsai Ming-liang to such new directors as Hong Kong's Wang Chia-wei and America's Jim Jarmusch, stating that they all like to break the connection between cause and effect seen in Hollywood movies, making heavy use of coincidence. The characters and plot don't have a master-servant relationship but more of a parallel, democratic relationship. Their work is full of ambiguity.
分析類似蔡明亮、香港的王家衛，和美國的賈木許等新導演，影評人易智言的觀察是，他們的作品有些共同特點：譬如，打破好萊塢電影戲劇性的因果關係，喜歡用巧合的事件；人物、情節不是主從關係，而是平行的民主關係；作品中充滿了曖昧性。