Cinema in Taiwan seems to be evolving in two opposite directions. Film festivals have experienced rapid growth in the past decade, with experimental and large-scale international festivals catering for all kinds of movie-goers and communities. Art houses and venues such as Spot -- Taipei Film House and Majestic Cinema also provide alternative channels to help withstand the cultural invasion from Hollywood.
Meanwhile, talk about the death of the Taiwanese film industry can still be heard every now and then. Professionals in the industry and government agencies have knocked their brains out to lure audiences back to local movies but the box office performances of local films remains disappointing, except for the occasional surprises, such as Formula 17 (
According to a comprehensive survey on the film industry in Taiwan conducted by the Department of Broadcasting at National Chengchi University, the number of Taiwanese movie-goers attending local films has dropped from 2 percent to 0.5 percent over the past 20 years, while the number of local films produced annually fluctuated between 20 to 35 in the past 10 years.
Statistics compiled by the Government Information Office show that the number of licensed movie theaters has decreased from 229 in 1998 to 180 this year, while the number of screening rooms has risen since huge cinema complexes have become the norm in recent years.
Movie theaters are earning more money than ever before. Since the 1980s theaters have enjoyed a 20 percent increase in profits. And when the first Warner Village Cinema Complex opened in Taiwan, it grossed over one quarter of the total ticket sales in no time. So, it's good news for international enterprises, but bad news for local filmmakers.
This week it's another of those slack times for local films. However, two idol-packed Asian movies aiming at hopeless romantics and teen-movie lovers are set to brighten up this Chinese Valentine's Day weekend.
One is the Japanese love story Heaven's Bookstore (
Heaven's Bookstore recruits two popular stars from Japanese soaps, Tamayama Tetsuji and Yuko Takeuchi, to co-star in this Platonic love story. The movie develops along two parallel storylines: one in heaven, the other on earth.
For those who are tired of the bombardment of Japanese soaps on TV, Bug Me Not can provide an escape from the reality, in which a group of high-schoolers possessed of super powers take up a mission to save the world.
Directed by Law Chi-leung, who has gained fame from horror flicks such as Inner Senses, the film incorporates animation techniques to create a gang of animated bugs and insects to spice up the comic-book-styled story. Fans of Hong Kong teen-idols such as Chen Bo-lin (陳柏霖), and the girl and boy groups Twins and Boyz will surely enjoy the 90-minute show packed with comedy, action, romance and lots of cute bugs.
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
Located down a sideroad in old Wanhua District (萬華區), Waley Art (水谷藝術) has an established reputation for curating some of the more provocative indie art exhibitions in Taipei. And this month is no exception. Beyond the innocuous facade of a shophouse, the full three stories of the gallery space (including the basement) have been taken over by photographs, installation videos and abstract images courtesy of two creatives who hail from the opposite ends of the earth, Taiwan’s Hsu Yi-ting (許懿婷) and Germany’s Benjamin Janzen. “In 2019, I had an art residency in Europe,” Hsu says. “I met Benjamin in the lobby
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
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