Lin Jing-jie's directorial debut, The Most Distant Course is one of the most talked-about art-house movies of the year, attracting attention with a high-profile cast led by actress Guey Lun-mei and a story about lone individuals struggling to find their inner selves.

The film follows three emotionally and spiritually crippled Taipei urbanites who are alienated from society. Psychiatrist A-tsai (Jia Xiao-guo), who has a talent for piercing the souls of his patients but is unable to cure his own wounds, journeys to Taitung in search of a lost love.

Young sound recordist Tang (Mo Zi-y) is a mess after being dumped by his girlfriend. Hoping to salvage the relationship, Tang circumnavigates Taiwan, recording sounds of the island and sends tape after tape labeled "Sounds of Formosa" to his lover's apartment, now tenanted by Yun (Guey Lun-mei), an office worker suffocated by daily routines and her involvement in a love triangle.

Gradually brought back to life by the simple sounds of the land, Yun sets out on a journey to trace the source of the recordings. The three travelers have different reasons for escaping the capital, but their goal is the same: to find their true selves, which have long been buried and forgotten in the monotony and travails of life.

The script was originally written for director Lin's close friend Chen Ming-tsai, an actor who suffered from bipolar disorder and took his own life at Dulan Bay, Taitung, one year after the screenplay was finished. Nevertheless, hoping to reflect the quest for truth and reality, Lin saw the project through.