Inception
The big release for this week is not to be taken lightly, for director Christopher Nolan has come up with a film that is not only stupendous to look at, but also puts audiences through their paces with a heist movie that essentially takes place in the subconscious. Memento, made in 2000, had Nolan playing around with amnesia. Inception takes as its premise a technology that allows a person to enter the subconscious world of others. Having made mega bucks with The Dark Knight (2008), Nolan seems to have been given a license to play complex mind games once again, though this time on a much bigger budget. The risk has paid off, for in addition to highly regarded performances by Leonardo DiCaprio, who has well and truly shed his pretty-boy image, and Ellen Page, who has come a long way since Juno, the word on the street is that you’ll want to walk right back into the theater after the credits roll to work out exactly what happened.
I Killed My Mother (J’ai Tue Ma Mere)
This angst-ridden gay coming-of-age drama by first-time director Xavier Dolan has picked up a slew of awards (including three at Cannes) for a remarkable debut feature. The script, also by Dolan, has a raw power that wowed critics, though Dolan’s visual style and his presence front of the camera in the leading role have received less uniform praise. The semi-autobiographical work focuses on the relationship between Hubert, a young man struggling with the realization of his sexuality, and an impatient and emotionally detached mother. The film wears its cinematic influences, which range from Jean-Luc Godard to Wong Kar-wai (王家衛), on its sleeve, but the moments of remarkable realism overcome the art-student posturing and make Dolan a young director worth watching.
Elite Squad (Tropa de Elite)
More gritty art house filmmaking can be found in Elite Squad, a Brazilian film about slum clearance by death squad that picked up the Golden Bear at Berlin in 2008. A film influenced by City of God, Elite Squad trawls the grimy depths of Rio de Janeiro’s slums and the dark world of the Special Police Operation Battalion (BOPE), a heavily armed, law-unto-itself unit that is charged with tidying up the city in the run-up to a visit by the pope. The relationship between two idealistic young recruits and a jaded and cynical captain form the center of the narrative, and brutal violence between the drug cartels and the police serve as the shocking backdrop. With a script co-written by BOPE officer Rodrigo Pimentel, the film contains some interesting thoughts about violence breeding violence buried within its shameless exploitation format.
Piecing Me Back Together (Mataaki)
Based on a best-selling novel by romance author Ren Kawahara, Piecing Me Back Together tells a story of young love interrupted by the terrible consequences of a traffic accident. Izumi and Junichi look forward to a happy life together. Izumi is killed and although Junichi survives, she discovers that she has lost all memory of the event. Lawyer Makiko comes along and decides that she will help rebuild that memory and launches an investigation into the accident. The film features established names in the leading roles, and for those in search of a good weepy melodrama, Piecing Me Back Together will probably fit the bill.
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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