Some of the salient features of Taiwanese-language pop songs are abundant sentimentalism, dense laments and sad stories about life, which are reflected in both the lyrics of many of the songs as well as the syrupy vocals.
Sadness is also a word that is often used to describe Taiwan's recent history, its days as a colony, the war, the 228 Incident and the White Terror, among other travails. Many Taiwanese recall a sad past and forget that during the 1930s and 1940s it was completely a different picture.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHIEN WEI-SSU AND KUO CHEN-TI
Director Chien Wei-ssu (
"I've always thought that Taiwan's history is filled with sadness. But we've found out that there were times of jollity and youthfulness," Chien said.
Viva Tonal is a documentary tracing the emergence of Taiwan's record industry, as well as its pop songs. Through the music of Taiwan's earliest vinyl records and antique phonographs (provided by music collector Lee Kun-cheng (
The 1930s and 1940s were a time of big bands, ragtime jazz and ballroom dancing. Fashionable people would sit along boulevards drinking coffee, dancing the waltz and the fox trot, or just listening to their phonographs.
The lyrics to a Taiwanese-language song of the time, A Dance Era encapsulates this feeling: "We are the modern girls, free to go where we like/We don't have a care, don't know much about the world/We only know that these are modern times, and we should be sociable/Men and women in two lines, dancing the fox trot is my favorite."
Released in 1929, the song is up-beat and suitable for a fox trot. It was sung by Chun-chun (
The filmmakers interviewed old singers for their film, including Ai-ai (
The Columbia Record Company of Japan set up its Taiwan branch in Taipei's Ximenting in 1929 and hired local songwriters to publish Taiwanese-lang-uage records. Soon, Victor Records also set up a Taiwan branch.
As a result, perhaps, local people's recreational habits gradually changed from going to temple fairs or local operas, to listening to records and going to dances.
Woven into the narrative of the documentary is the rapid modernization which Taiwan experienced during these times, with the introduction of railways, electricity and running water. Men cut their queues and women stopped binding their feet. Such a new social atmosphere is reflected in the lyrics of A Dance Era.
Viva Tonal, which roughly means "great local sounds" in Italian, was printed on the old Columbia records. As for the film itself, it offers vivid images of Taiwan's history. The only criticism is that it could be tighter, as the narration of the history is a bit stodgy.
But the film does convey an image of happier times. Former president Lee Teng-hui (
Film Notes:
Directed by: Chien Wei-ssu and Kuo Chen-ti
Running time: 104 minutes
Taiwan Release: May 15, with a special English-subtitled screening on Wednesday, May 26, 10pm at the President Theater in Ximending
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