`The Trigger' goes off half-cocked

Alex Yang, director of The Trigger, second right, with cast members Ni Min-jan, Hsu Hui-ni and Tsai Hsin-hong. PHOTO COURTESY OF SPOT

Raymond Chandler once wrote about the plotting of his detective stories, that if you don't know what should happen next, bring on a man with a gun. Taiwan's moviemakers seem to be casting around in vain for what to do with their plots, and have taken up Chandler's dictum with a vengeance. And so The Trigger, the first film by Alex Yang (楊順清), a long-time associate of the now--famous Edward Yang (楊德昌), though no relation, cuts to the chase, and simply has a gun serve as structural linchpin of his somewhat diffuse first film.

"We got guns, we got money, we [can] do no wrong" runs the teaser for yet another in a long line of small-time gangster flicks that sees Taiwanese as on the brink of some cataclysmic outburst about how messed up this society is. The lead role is played by Yang's former student Tsai Hsin-hong (蔡信弘), a young innocent who gets mixed up with the wrong crowd, does time and then ends up on the fringe of criminal gangs. It all harks back to Edward Yang's A Brighter Summer Day, but that was over 10 years ago, and nothing really seems to have changed.

This is all very unfortunate, for Alex Yang is one of Taiwan's better hopes among a younger generation of directors -- one who has spent time under an acknowledged master. During a press conference Wednesday, he spoke of the difficulty of making good movies in Taiwan, especially now that the government is actively emphasizing commercial films over art house.

"There shouldn't be a distinction between commercial and art house," the director said. "It should only be a distinction between good films and bad films." This may seem like stating the obvious, but given the direction that government money earmarked for the film industry is being spent, it seems that it can't be stated often enough.

Yang passionately about the need to preserve continuity within the filmmaking community in Taiwan, vowing to make two more films this year. "I have no idea where the funding will come from," he said, but basically he is counting on business sponsorship, which he sees as the only way the film industry can survive.

In The Trigger, a major part is played by the variety show host and comedian Ni Min-jan (倪敏然). His character, a gang boss trying to get out of the business, is totally at odds with his usual frantic screen personality. The double take comes off brilliantly and is easily the best thing about the film. Unfortunately it tends to highlight the shallowness of the younger actors, who have some strong moments, but are too inconsistent to be convincing.

While Trigger fails to break new ground, the director's dedication to keeping the fires burning and providing an opportunity for emerging talent to learn from old hands like Ni, is admirable. But, like it or not, The Trigger, with its ponderous pacing and attempts to come to grips with complex political and social issues, remains deeply embedded in the art house tradition. We can only hope that the two romantic pictures, Spring Mattress (彈簧床) and Taipei One Two (台北一二), which are already in the planning stage, might prove more accessible.

The Trigger opens tomorrow at Spot Taipei Film House with screenings at 2:30pm and 6:30pm.Check http://www.spot.org.tw for details.