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Film Review: On the road to rack and ruin

PHOTO COURTESY OF HONTO PRODUCTION

A disciple of Taiwanese New Wave cinema and a sought-after director of television soap operas, Niu Chen-zer (鈕承澤) felt the urge to direct his debut feature film when approaching 40.

The result is What On Earth Have I Done Wrong?! (情非得已之生存之道), a film about making a film that won the Fipresci prize at last year’s Golden Horse Awards (金馬獎) for Chinese-language films and the Netpac award at International Film Festival Rotterdam this year.

The movie opens with Niu becoming inspired to make a mockumentary that satirizes local politicians. After securing a government subsidy to produce the film, the aspiring director assembles a production crew and a savvy producer to track down the extra money needed to complete the movie.

Like many filmmakers in Taiwan, Niu quickly finds out that scraping together enough cash is a mission impossible. Impetuous and frustrated, Niu gambles some of the government money on the stock market in the hope of winning big, courts gangsters, splurges on drugs, booze and prostitutes and pimps out his actresses to keep potential investors happy.

Niu Chen-zer's first feature film benefits from his energetic directing and acting. PHOTO COURTESY OF HONTO PRODUCTION

Meanwhile, Niu’s love life with actress Ning Ning (played by Chang Chun-ning (張鈞甯)) spins out of control because of his adultery and lying. The film gets off the ground but is diverted from its original course to become a wild self-portrait of the director.

With a deliberately low-budget, hand-held documentary look, the film offers voyeuristic pleasure by probing the grimier aspects of filmmaking and presenting the bold self-confession of Niu as a filmmaker who is willing to resort to any means to attain his goal.

Film Notes What On Earth Have I Done Wrong? (情非得已之生存之道) DIRECTED BY: Niu Chen-zer (鈕承澤) STARRING: Niu Chen-zer (鈕承澤) as himself, Chang Gining (張鈞甯) as Ning Ning, Chen Hsi-sheng (陳希聖) as Hsi Sheng, Chu Zong-heng (屈中恆) as himself, Ding Ning (丁寧) as herself Language: In Mandarin with English and Chinese subtitles RUNNING TIME: 96 MINUTES TAIWAN RELEASE: TODAY

The movie’s attraction lies in its guileful fusion of the fictional and the real. The illusion of documentary is maintained by interviews with such public figures as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅), shots of the fugitive former Rebar Group chairman Wang You-theng (王又曾) before he fled the country, as well as deadpan supporting cast members playing themselves.

Niu’s ability to laugh at himself infuses the film with plenty of funny moments. Just when members of the audience feel settled down to see the work as a self-portrait of a director charmingly grumbling over his trade and the moral predicaments he faces, the film takes a melodramatic turn, which shan’t be divulged here.

Though this exercise in self-reflexivity is prone to self-indulgence, with a sharp script, natural acting abilities of its cast and the actor-turned-director’s own charisma, What on Earth Have I Done Wrong?! is an enjoyable cinematic outing.


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