Ah Chung is a lad who lives in a dysfunctional family in a shantytown on the edge of a wildlife reservation. After his mentally retarded brother is nearly killed by a truck intending to dump waste nearby; and following on a string of other miseries including a wayward daughter who has never fully recovered from being raped by her stepfather, Ah Chung's mother decides it is time to appease the gods. She insists that the boy join Ba Chia Chiang, an itinerant religious troupe that gives performances for the gods that involve self-flagellation and wounding. Despite this expiatory sacrifice of Ah Chung's, the family's luck continues to decline, a mirror image of the society to whose fringes they cling. "Ah-Chung is startling and unique. Director-writer Chang Tso-chi has flawlessly combined his fictional narrative and characters with genuine, extraordinary performances by the Ba Chia Chiang troupe. This documentary footage (is in turn) given meaning by a story that sets it in a contemporary context of religious faith." (David Overbey, Toronto Film Festival)