When talking through the film was a proper job

That projector looks as though somebody borrowed it from a factory. Behind it, a wooden bench obediently faces a black-and-white picture between red curtains. The Taipei Historical Archives has reconstructed a scene from Yongle Theatre inside Shuxin Hall: an impressive amount of kit just to get a movie onto a screen. And the machinery still needed somebody standing beside it, talking.

《魔幻時光：日治時期臺灣電影娛樂文化展》 follows moviegoing in Taiwan under Japanese colonial rule, including a profession that would get you thoroughly shushed today. Benshi explained the action and performed voices while the film ran. A good one could draw the audience: people came to hear the movie. That man talking from beginning to end was taking his job seriously. This will not help your argument when the person beside you asks you to shut up.

詹天馬 did this work. In the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute's FA magazine, 林木材 describes a 1932 screening of the 1931 silent film Love and Duty at Taipei's Yongle Theatre, with 詹天馬 narrating in Taiwanese. A film arriving from elsewhere acquired a live Taiwanese performance. Keeping the film does not necessarily keep the voice that accompanied it that night.

Alongside the reconstructed theatre are an old projector from 第一劇場, film publicity and an interactive station where you can make a 1930s-style film programme. The benshi display even includes material on the qualification examination. Talking a good game wasn't enough. You had to pass the exam.

The exhibition also follows 蔡培火 and the Taiwan Cultural Association's travelling films and lectures. A night at the pictures could satisfy an appetite for entertainment and turn into a public classroom.

Shuxin Hall is a few minutes' walk from Ximen MRT. The bench already faces the screen. This time, spare a look for the people working on this side of it.