Compiled by Martin Williams
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Bangkok Love Story This might have been called “Bangkok Crime Story” had the hitman not fallen in love with his target. Earnest gay-themed movie almost plays like an underworld Brokeback Mountain as the two young men face the consequences of their unexpected pairing. The film might find a market here if Taiwanese audiences can tolerate the privileging of longing over sexual fireworks (as evidenced by its lower censorship classification). But when are we going to be rid of train-as-phallus metaphors?
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Sky of Love Based on a cellphone serial that was later converted into a book, this Japanese romance has a delightful schoolgirl fall in love with a hunk student with a shock of bleached hair, only for the pair to face serious challenges: the “first time,” gang rape, a predatory former girlfriend, parental folly, pregnancy and so on ... and there’s even a secret in store. Sounds like an ordeal, but Variety praised this film for its closely observed portrayal of teen intimacy — and it’s not as overbearing as it sounds. Expect lots of first dates in theaters here (and still more train-as-phallus metaphors). Japanese title: Koizora | |
In Love With the Dead (塚愛) Yet another movie with “love” in the title, which also suggests the sinister direction this Hong Kong genre-bender will take. A young man (Shawn Yue, 余文樂) supporting his cancer-stricken girlfriend (Stephy Tang, 鄧麗欣) gets it on with another woman; bizarre events follow as the unfaithful fellow’s world begins to unhinge. This is the latest entry from Hong Kong’s Pang brothers, Danny (彭發) and Oxide (彭順). The former twin, who edited the Infernal Affairs trilogy, directed this unusual effort.
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Aliens of the Deep Director James Cameron (Aliens, The Abyss) combines his fictional interests in this 3D documentary from 2005 made in IMAX format in conjunction with NASA. Combining spectacular underwater footage with computer graphics, audiences are shown creatures along the massive Mid-Ocean Ridge that will fascinate and amuse. Screening from tomorrow at the Miramar in Dazhi (大直), Taipei City. Note: The film is 47 minutes in length; the Taiwan release has Mandarin dialogue and no subtitles. | |
Happy End Why would this downbeat South Korean tale of infidelity be getting a release after nine years? There are some impactful sex scenes, which these days are a lot less likely to be cut for Taiwanese audiences. But the real reason is Jeon Do-yeon, who won Best Actress at Cannes last year for Secret Sunshine and is starting to turn heads all over the world. In this well-received, emotionally complex drama, Jeon’s husband realizes that something is afoot — with awful consequences. Showing at the Baixue theater in Ximending. | |
Hui Buh: The Castle Ghost Here’s some family-oriented fare from Germany. The ghost Hui Buh (pronounced “boo”) is an animated character set among live action actors. Originally a series of radio plays and books dating back to 1969, this is the first film version of the franchise and is based on the first radio play, in which a king wishes to propose to his beloved in a castle that has been spooked by the title specter for 500 years. Screening at the Caesar theater in Ximending in projected DVD format. |
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
Peter Brighton was amazed when he found the giant jackfruit. He had been watching it grow on his farm in far north Queensland, and when it came time to pick it from the tree, it was so heavy it needed two people to do the job. “I was surprised when we cut it off and felt how heavy it was,” he says. “I grabbed it and my wife cut it — couldn’t do it by myself, it took two of us.” Weighing in at 45 kilograms, it is the heaviest jackfruit that Brighton has ever grown on his tropical fruit farm, located