Named after a neurological disorder that impairs speech, Su Ming-yen’s documentary feature debut is preoccupied with the loss of human intimacy. Broca’s Aphasia follows a group of twentysomething entrepreneurs who run a sex-doll-for-hire service out of a drab hotel in Taiwan. Here, customers can rent a room and spend time with a doll of their choosing. With adult videos looping in the background on big-screen TVs, the setup feels like an erotic simulacrum.
In terms of customer relations, the service is not that much different from, say, a car rental company. Before each session, the staff politely advise the client on a doll’s no-go areas, their matter-of-fact tone bringing to mind the language of a safety manual. Startlingly lifelike in their suppleness, the dolls require rigorous daily maintenance from head to toe. One of the most eerie shots in the film lingers on a row of headless dolls hooked to a metal rack, like fresh meat at an abattoir.
