Vague Visages’ Us and the Night review contains minor spoilers. Audrey Lam’s 2024 movie features Umi Ishihara and Xiao Deng. Check out the VV home page for more film criticism, movie reviews and film essays.

Less is more: this simple mantra captures the appeal of Us and the Night (2024), the feature directorial debut of independent filmmaker Audrey Lam. During its 11th worldwide screening at the Austin Film Society (AFS) on August 10, 2025, the 16mm production invigorated the audience with its simplicity and style. Reminiscent of the late and great David Lynch, Lam’s work is a fresh diversion from the hype of pop culture events, setting forth the proposition that the extravagance of one’s day is existence itself. In Us and the Night, Lam presents a day in the lives of Umi Ishihara and Xiao Deng; two young library enthusiasts wearing uniforms labeled “Cybrary” — the name that the University of Queensland Library took up during an era of fanatical rebranding and the location in which Lam’s film odyssey takes place. The simple setting transforms into a dream-like meditation on the trials and tribulations of mankind’s intimacy and secrecy; the quest for closure and solace in otherwise mundane lives. If this sounds blasé, viewers may easily grasp the satisfying tranquility of the crisp melodies, quiet reflections and pensive poetry of each moment.

As artists turned actors, Ishihara and Deng are genuinely believable as librarians, due perhaps to their close friendship with Lam, a former library worker herself. They prove to be a lively pair in Us and the Night by living vicariously throughout the day and night amongst a plethora of book stacks, all within the confines of the University of Queensland Library. Despite Ishihara and Deng’s quiet surroundings, they carry themselves with an air of curiosity similar to silent film actors like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. The protagonists serve as excellent avatars for the miscellaneous thematic segments of events which unfold.

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Even when Lam’s dialogue falters in its poetic consistency, her down-to-earth editing and dedication to minimalism hits the mark, as Us and the Night embodies true-blue independent filmmaking. Intentionally evoking a feeling of morning reverie, segments feel more akin to a fast and loose daydream rather than a typical POV docudrama. Normally, viewers expect the invisible hand of the director to draw them toward some forgone conclusion. Lam, however, being a library associate at heart, doesn’t seek to sway patrons’ beliefs. She instead opts for nuanced, subliminal subtext to break the ice with the viewer and communicate. Still, that isn’t to say the entire journey isn’t without spectacle. Much credit is due to Ishihara’s fluid motion and uncanny physicality, along with Lam’s eye for bold visual storytelling. Dreamy dance sequences harken back to the surreal Hollywood interpretive dance numbers of yesteryear, albeit with a post-industrial twist and bebop rhythm. Yet, as seen throughout, that is exactly what Lam appears to be toying with, at least on a subconscious level. The filmmaker celebrates re-discovering, re-interpreting and re-contextualizing the essentials with a new flavor. Consider Nerd Fest UK’s 2015 YouTube video “Old Movie Stars Dance to Uptown Funk” — that which is old is cool again. Similar to Lam’s creation, the featured clips aren’t cynical, calculated observations, but rather playful visages for audiences to nibble on.

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If there is one area in which Lam drops the ball, it’s her over-reliance on internal monologuing. While cinema that echoes the late Jean–Luc Godard is a welcome change, the lack of strong defined character dialogue between Ishihara and Deng dampens the vibrant energy that beams ever so brightly from the Queensland building itself. It would have been better to allow some free form interchange between the two actors. The closest that Lam comes is a visual gag reference to Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein, but these moments are few and far between. 

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From a technical perspective, the decision to use genuine 16mm film stock appears deliberate and well-considered, rather than a superficial stylistic choice. The rich textures, dreamy hues and cracking “pops” align well with the deeper themes at play. Even the most mundane moments, such as various ceiling tracking shots, have a ghostly hypnotic aura about them that most cutting-edge film equipment still can’t match. Lam’s photography background is on display in several montage scenes where the camera lingers over worn journals and books. But unlike the bookcase scenes in Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar (2014), these images are not as laborious.

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Film-loving audiences can appreciate the honest sincerity of Us and the Night’s cast and Lam’s passionate craftsmanship behind the camera, and casual viewers may indeed reevaluate what a day well-spent really entails. Though actor dialogue is sparse, the director features palpable character connections through their playful, magical adventures and self-discovery. In the post-film discussion at AFS, viewers delighted in Lam’s appreciation for the love of the narrative and writing itself. One viewer speculated that Us and the Night’s discussion of “islands” could represent Lam’s various influences — authors that one strives to make connections with, whether they be dead or living. 

In books and in film, readers and viewers can lose and find themselves where imagination and reality meet.

Peter Bell (@PeterGBell25) is a 2016 Master of Arts – Film Studies graduate of Columbia University School of Arts in New York City. His interests include film history, film theory and film criticism. Ever since watching TCM as a child, Peter has had a passion for film, always trying to add greater context to film for others. His favorite films include Chinatown, Blade Runner, Lawrence of Arabia, A Shot in the Dark and Inception. Peter believes movie theaters are still the optimal forum for film viewing, discussion and discovering fresh perspectives on culture.

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