It is just seven days to the 21st century, and the rain will not let up in Taiwan. Despite government evacuation warnings, the tenants of a run-down public housing building await the new millennium with sullen resignation. A plumber has been sent to Hsiao Kang’s apartment by a complaining downstairs neighbor. Instead of solving the problem, he leaves a sizable hole in the middle of the man’s living room through which Kang learns about his neighbor, a woman who stockpiles toilet paper. This dystopic look at the modern urban environment under siege—with uncanny musical production numbers offsetting the prevailing gloom—was the sole Asian entry in the omnibus international series The Year 2000 As Seen By..., commissioned by French broadcaster Arte.