The Movie Empreror [红毯先生] (2023)

Far East Film Festival 26 A satire on filmmakers and filmmaking starring Andy Lau and directed by Ning Hao. Unfortunately, after a bright start, the film goes downhill rapidly and never becomes more than a sum of its (disparate) parts. Lau Wei-chi [Andy Lau in a not-disguised-at-all version of himself] is a big movie star…

Night Falls [夜幕将至] (2024)

An interesting road movie from director (and writer) Jian Haodong It was shown at the Pingyao Festival in 2023 (where it won the Fei Mu Best Film award) and has just been released in China in January 2024. Liang Zhe [Liang Ji] works in Beijing but, for the first time in several years, returns to…

Yolo [热辣滚烫] (2024)

Far East Film Festival 26 Yolo - the opening film at this year's FEFF - is a very personal project by director, co-writer and star Jia Ling. Du Leying [Jia, known as a comedian and the director and star of Hi Mom] is an overweight, unemployed 30 year old who spends most of her time…

Jade Love [玉卿嫂] (1984)

The film opens in southern China (Guiling in Guanxi province) during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Little Rongrong is the ten-year-old son of a wealthy household led by Commander Lee. He's a spoiled young boy but neglected by his parents. In this case, he is upset because his beloved nanny has left but…

A Morning in Taipei [台北之晨] (1964)

Imaginative filmmaking in Taiwan did not, of course, begin in the 1980s with the Taiwan New Cinema. This documentary style short (20 minutes) was shot in 1964 by director Pai Ching-jui. As the name implies, it shows scenes of early morning in Taipei as people exercise in parks, eat breakfast and go to work. Children…

Ah Fei [油麻菜籽] (1984)

A Woman's fortune is like rapeseed, it will grow wherever it falls. Despite being directed by Wan Jen and co-written by Hou Hsiao-Hsien, this film is a rather standard melodrama. The co-writer was Liao Hui-ying adapted from her own novel. Ah Hui* is the middle daughter in an unhappy family. Her mother Hsin-chin [Chen Chiu-Yen],…

The Boys from Fengkuei [風櫃來的人] (1983)

The Boys from Fengkuei ('people' from Fengkuei in Chinese) is one of the first full features of Taiwan New Cinema and is much more impressive than the two earlier portmanteau films (see previous posts) notwithstanding their merits. This was director Hou Hsiao-hsien's fourth feature with cinematography by Chen Kun-Hou and screenplay by Chu Tien-wen (director…

Stonewalling [石門 (2022)

The third film in a loose trilogy (after the excellent Egg and Stone and The Foolish Bird), this film again explores the reality of life in China for a young woman. Of course, it will never be seen officially in that country (strangely, and unlike the previous films, it does not even appear on Douban).…

Growing Up [小畢的故事] (1983)

Growing Up (The Story of Xiao Bi in Chinese) - released in January 1983 - is perhaps the first feature of Taiwan New Cinema, ahead of Hou Hsiao-Hsien's Boys from Fengkuei released later that year. It won Best Picture and Best Director at the Golden Horse Awards.  Director Chen Kun-hou, like Hou, had alread directed…

The Sandwich Man [兒子的大玩偶] (1983)

A second portmanteau film also seen as marking the beginning of the Taiwan New Cinema. This film consists of three segments directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien, Tsang Jong-cheung and Wan Jen respectively. Screenplay is by Wu Nien-jen. All are set in 1960s Taiwan and the unifying factor is that they are all based on short stories…