There are two choices of Chinese-language films this week: An animated film from Hong Kong about a piglet's life that mocks elitism and new policies in Hong Kong; and a Taiwanese modern drama replaying the classic theme ofButterfly Lovers.
After world-wide accolades last year -- including the Best Animated Picture title at the Golden Horse Awards -- the crew of My Life as McDull (
PHOTO COURTESY OF PANDASIA FILMS
For those unfamiliar with McDull, he is a piglet studying in the Spring Field Flower Flower kindergarten (
She tries her best to give her son a happy childhood and expects a lot in return, in terms of his future success. McDull, however, is a carefree child without much ambition. He hopes to fulfill his mom's wishes, but usually fails.
In this sequel, the pictures are still water-color based, with realistic drawings of Hong Kong's streets, characterized by signboards for hemorrhoid clinics and traditional drug stores.
Times are still hard for the McDull family. Their neighborhood houses are being torn down by the Urban Renewal robot. Ms. McDull, voiced by comedienne Sandra Ng, is anxious about the future and she buys insurance, US dollars and lots of toilet paper. She also purchases a plot for a grave in the mountains that has good feng-shui.
As in the original film, McDull and his classmates are obsessed with becoming Hong Kong's national sports icons and going to the Olympics. In addition, they are required to learn Mandarin in order to integrate more with China. They are encouraged to practice "fake-death" skills, creative urinating and fishing for squid in the mud. The principal of the school believes these are essential skills to survive in a changing Hong Kong.
McDull, who is proud of his cross-legged leg-shaking, also gets to perform in public with Jo Jo Ma (a pastiche of Yo Yo Ma, presumably), to the accompaniment of Bach's cello suite, his crossed legs beating a rhythm to the music.
The film also discloses the story of McDull's absent dad, who is actually Prince de la Bun, the Pineapple Bun Prince and owner of a popular tea restaurant.
In late October of 1873 the government of Japan decided against sending a military expedition to Korea to force that nation to open trade relations. Across the government supporters of the expedition resigned immediately. The spectacle of revolt by disaffected samurai began to loom over Japanese politics. In January of 1874 disaffected samurai attacked a senior minister in Tokyo. A month later, a group of pro-Korea expedition and anti-foreign elements from Saga prefecture in Kyushu revolted, driven in part by high food prices stemming from poor harvests. Their leader, according to Edward Drea’s classic Japan’s Imperial Army, was a samurai
The following three paragraphs are just some of what the local Chinese-language press is reporting on breathlessly and following every twist and turn with the eagerness of a soap opera fan. For many English-language readers, it probably comes across as incomprehensibly opaque, so bear with me briefly dear reader: To the surprise of many, former pop singer and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ex-lawmaker Yu Tien (余天) of the Taiwan Normal Country Promotion Association (TNCPA) at the last minute dropped out of the running for committee chair of the DPP’s New Taipei City chapter, paving the way for DPP legislator Su
It’s hard to know where to begin with Mark Tovell’s Taiwan: Roads Above the Clouds. Having published a travelogue myself, as well as having contributed to several guidebooks, at first glance Tovell’s book appears to inhabit a middle ground — the kind of hard-to-sell nowheresville publishers detest. Leaf through the pages and you’ll find them suffuse with the purple prose best associated with travel literature: “When the sun is low on a warm, clear morning, and with the heat already rising, we stand at the riverside bike path leading south from Sanxia’s old cobble streets.” Hardly the stuff of your
April 22 to April 28 The true identity of the mastermind behind the Demon Gang (魔鬼黨) was undoubtedly on the minds of countless schoolchildren in late 1958. In the days leading up to the big reveal, more than 10,000 guesses were sent to Ta Hwa Publishing Co (大華文化社) for a chance to win prizes. The smash success of the comic series Great Battle Against the Demon Gang (大戰魔鬼黨) came as a surprise to author Yeh Hung-chia (葉宏甲), who had long given up on his dream after being jailed for 10 months in 1947 over political cartoons. Protagonist