 | The Witnesses
AIDS is the subject of this French production. The story takes us back to just before it all began, revisiting the confusion of a number of friends and family in the mid- 1980s as an unknown disease impacts on their sexually eclectic lives. The emphasis here is humanism and hope in the face of cruel mortality, and critics have painted this as superior to the Tom Hanks film Philadelphia - though to be fair, the stories and sociopolitical contexts are completely different. It features a powerhouse cast (Michel Blanc, Emmanuelle Beart, Julie Depardieu) and an eye for the upbeat. French title: Les Temoins. |
 | Scandalous Those who were put off movie musicals for life by the porn-laced The Wayward Cloud and its quintessential Taiwanese despair might find this dance-filled Spanish flick to be just the right tonic. The Web site for Manchester's Cornerhouse arts center says Scandalous "brings together three generations of a sevillana family, a hapless detective, counter-cultural Okupa [squatter] communities and a Buddhist retreat," while the trailers are exuberant and a little surreal. The original title translates as "Why do they rub their little feet together?" See the film to find out why, and be prepared to make a spectacle of yourself when you dance in the aisles. |
 | Tekkonkinkreet A Japanese animated film from last year, and apparently the first to be directed by a foreigner - American Michael Arias, to be exact, a video game and film-related software whiz and the producer of The Animatrix - this more adult-themed work has been praised not just for its superbly rendered and dynamic visuals but also for deeper themes of belonging, community and self-belief. Two street children with strange powers - that include soaring through the air - team up with a sympathetic yakuza boss to defeat evil property speculators who want to destroy the older part of their city. Showing at the Spring Cinema Galaxy in Ximending. |
 | Beauty and the Seven Beasts (七擒七縱七色狼) You have to hand it to Wong Jing (王晶). The prolific and populist producer-director-actor survived not only the collapse of the Hong Kong film industry, but also the far more painful Golden Horse Awards ceremony in Taipei two weeks ago (he was the only one on the night to elicit bellylaughs from the audience). The Wong-produced Beauty is his latest foray into the kind of ramshackle, anachronistic comedy that Hong Kong used to be famous for. It's set in the 1970s and features seven men in loud shirts getting into a flap over a sexy youngster played by newcomer Natalie Meng Yao (孟瑤). Screening at the Baixue theater in Ximending, but not for long. |
Seven hundred job applications. One interview. Marco Mascaro arrived in Taiwan last year with a PhD in engineering physics and years of experience at a European research center. He thought his Gold Card would guarantee him a foothold in Taiwan’s job market. “It’s marketed as if Taiwan really needs you,” the 33-year-old Italian says. “The reality is that companies here don’t really need us.” The Employment Gold Card was designed to fix Taiwan’s labor shortage by offering foreign professionals a combined resident visa and open work permit valid for three years. But for many, like Mascaro, the welcome mat ends at the door. A
The Western media once again enthusiastically forwarded Beijing’s talking points on Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment two weeks ago that an attack by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on Taiwan was an existential threat to Japan and would trigger Japanese military intervention in defense of Taiwan. The predictable reach for clickbait meant that a string of teachable moments was lost, “like tears in the rain.” Again. The Economist led the way, assigning the blame to the victim. “Takaichi Sanae was bound to rile China sooner rather than later,” the magazine asserted. It then explained: “Japan’s new prime minister is
NOV. 24 to NOV. 30 It wasn’t famine, disaster or war that drove the people of Soansai to flee their homeland, but a blanket-stealing demon. At least that’s how Poan Yu-pie (潘有秘), a resident of the Indigenous settlement of Kipatauw in what is today Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), told it to Japanese anthropologist Kanori Ino in 1897. Unable to sleep out of fear, the villagers built a raft large enough to fit everyone and set sail. They drifted for days before arriving at what is now Shenao Port (深奧) on Taiwan’s north coast,
Divadlo feels like your warm neighborhood slice of home — even if you’ve only ever spent a few days in Prague, like myself. A projector is screening retro animations by Czech director Karel Zeman, the shelves are lined with books and vinyl, and the owner will sit with you to share stories over a glass of pear brandy. The food is also fantastic, not just a new cultural experience but filled with nostalgia, recipes from home and laden with soul-warming carbs, perfect as the weather turns chilly. A Prague native, Kaio Picha has been in Taipei for 13 years and
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