Which director is capable of making a record-breaking blockbuster out of a tale about a balding, middle-aged man’s search for true love? The answer is Feng Xiaogang (馮小剛). After his lavish period saga The Banquet (夜宴) and war drama Assembly (集結號), the genre-crossing wizard has made a confident return to what he was originally known for — ironic comedies set in contemporary China — with If You Are the One (非誠勿擾).
Co-starring Feng’s long-time collaborator, Chinese actor Ge You (葛優), with Taiwanese actress Shu Qi (舒淇), the romantic comedy revolves around an unlikely couple whose relationship begins with a blind date, endures much sparring and ultimately leads to deeply felt affections. Its huge box-office success — the movie earned roughly US$50 million — cements Feng’s reputation as China’s foremost purveyor of popular comedies.
In the opening scene, which delivers a good laugh at the expense of China’s nouveau riche, onetime inventor Qin Fen (Ge) sells his Conflict Resolution Terminal, basically a plastic tube, to a foolish venture capitalist (played by Chinese comic Fan Wei (范偉)). With his newfound wealth, Qin focuses his attention on finding a wife to make his life complete.
As he goes from one blind date to another, Qin encounters plenty of unsuitable matches who include a gay man, an erotic-phobic widow and a woman who tries to sell graveyard plots during the date. Eventually, he meets Liang Xiaoxiao (Shu), a flight attendant languishing in a love affair with a married man (played by Hong Kong’s Alex Fong (方中信)).
Qin immediately realizes the beautiful Xiaoxiao is out of his league. Nevertheless, the two end up having a drink and confiding painful pasts to each other, assuming they will never see each other again.
But fate draws them back together and Qin tries to win Xiaoxiao’s heart with tactics he takes care to stage in an effortless fashion. It seems to work and Xiaoxiao, softened by his persistence, invites Qin on a trip to Japan’s picturesque Hokkaido.
Director Feng once again proves his mastery of satire and humor when it comes to observing Chinese society in the midst of changing times. The script is smartly written, filled with snappy dialogue, enjoyable sarcasm and dry wit. Though the blind dates provide much comedy in the first half of the film, Feng pokes fun at modern-day notions of dating, romance and marriage. A few caricatures that stand out include a pregnant young woman (played by Taiwan’s Vivian Hsu (徐若瑄)) desperately seeking a husband and a businesswoman who habitually compares men to stocks.
The narrative becomes a bit too discursive in the second half of the film when the two leads build on their mutual affections during their trip to Hokkaido. It feels disappointing, at times, to see that Ge’s charming antics alone are not enough to produce the emotional weight the journey demands. An offbeat coda, which makes meta-references to the global economic crisis, feels at odds with the rest of the movie.
The film wouldn’t be as successful if the main roles had been played by lesser actors. A charismatic leading man, Ge is admirably adept at mixing sincerity with cynicism, conceit with self-disapproval. Shu proves herself an able match for her veteran costar, and the two share a terrific chemistry that is delivered throughout the film.
What was the population of Taiwan when the first Negritos arrived? In 500BC? The 1st century? The 18th? These questions are important, because they can contextualize the number of babies born last month, 6,523, to all the people on Taiwan, indigenous and colonial alike. That figure represents a year on year drop of 3,884 babies, prefiguring total births under 90,000 for the year. It also represents the 26th straight month of deaths exceeding births. Why isn’t this a bigger crisis? Because we don’t experience it. Instead, what we experience is a growing and more diverse population. POPULATION What is Taiwan’s actual population?
For the past five years, Sammy Jou (周祥敏) has climbed Kinmen’s highest peak, Taiwu Mountain (太武山) at 6am before heading to work. In the winter, it’s dark when he sets out but even at this hour, other climbers are already coming down the mountain. All of this is a big change from Jou’s childhood during the Martial Law period, when the military requisitioned the mountain for strategic purposes and most of it was off-limits. Back then, only two mountain trails were open, and they were open only during special occasions, such as for prayers to one’s ancestors during Lunar New Year.
You would never believe Yancheng District (鹽埕) used to be a salt field. Today, it is a bustling, artsy, Kowloon-ish “old town” of Kaohsiung — full of neon lights, small shops, scooters and street food. Two hundred years ago, before Japanese occupiers developed a shipping powerhouse around it, Yancheng was a flat triangle where seawater was captured and dried to collect salt. This is what local art galleries are revealing during the first edition of the Yancheng Arts Festival. Shen Yu-rung (沈裕融), the main curator, says: “We chose the connection with salt as a theme. The ocean is still very near, just a
A key feature of Taiwan’s environmental impact assessments (EIA) is that they seldom stop projects, especially once the project has passed its second stage EIA review (the original Suhua Highway proposal, killed after passing the second stage review, seems to be the lone exception). Mingjian Township (名間鄉) in Nantou County has been the site of rising public anger over the proposed construction of a waste incinerator in an important agricultural area. The township is a key producer of tea (over 40 percent of the island’s production), ginger and turmeric. The incinerator project is currently in its second stage EIA. The incinerator
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