Abba 阿爸
Not to be confused with the well-known Swedish pop group, Abba is a movie about a very local Taiwanese musical sensation: singer, songwriter, composer and actor Hung Yi-feng (洪一峰). The film is directed by his third son, Hung Jung-liang (洪榮良). The older Hung, who was a household name in the 1960s and who won a lifetime achievement award at the Golden Melody Awards in 2010 not long before his death, is an undisputed part of Taiwan’s musical history. The film includes footage of the singer and his three sons, revealing a family story that is poignant for sacrifices made in the name of artistic success. The film is suffused with the director’s sense of neglect during his childhood, and the need to find reconciliation in later years.
Creation
Paul Bettany is naturalist Charles Darwin, who engages in a battle between a growing conviction in his revolutionary theories about evolution and his relationship with his deeply religious wife, Emma (Jennifer Connelly), whose beliefs he devotes his scientific career to overturning. This splendid piece of period drama, though less about the science and mostly about the marital relationship, picks up the debate on science versus faith that continues to have ramifications today. Director Jon Amiel has taken the melodramatic high road in telling his story, so don’t expect to discover much about Darwin’s scientific thinking that you didn’t already know.
Ways to Live Forever
Variety magazine lauds Ways to Live Forever as proving that it is possible to make an “upbeat movie about a 12-year-old dying of leukemia.” Based on a best-selling novel by Sally Nicholls, the film’s success in avoiding the pitfalls of movies about kids with terminal illness, of which there are many, is largely down to sensitive direction and the remarkable talent of child actor Robbie Kay. Kay plays Sam, a boy who knows that his days are numbered, but who gets on with life anyway. Issues of Sam’s mortality cast an increasingly long shadow, and when you reach for the tissues, the tears are generally free of suspicions of cynical manipulation by the filmmaker.
Trespass
B-movie with an A-list cast makes for a really bad combination in Trespass, a new film by Joel Schumacher (Phone Booth, Batman and Robin). From the off, you can’t help but want to see either Nicolas Cage or Nicole Kidman (or at least the characters Kyle and Sarah Miller that they play) shot in the head, but despite the interminable gun play and threats of bloody violence, nothing much actually seems to happen. Gunmen take over the Millers’ home and hold them for ransom, and it gradually emerges that they have been betrayed from within. Unfortunately, by mid-movie, you simply don’t care what happens to the Millers, or whether the bad guys get away with the money. You just want the film to end.
Paranormal Activity 3
This third iteration of the cult film Paranormal Activity has earned points among fans for its low-key approach and ability to keep audiences primed for a big scare over a long period of time, and then delivering on the promise. For those familiar with the franchise, Paranormal Activity 3 is actually a prequel picking up the early story of characters from both the first and second films (Katie in the first film and Kristi in the second), though now played by preteen thespians Chloe Csengery and Jessica Tyler Brown. A number of solid scares that manage to extend the range of the overworked found-footage concept give the film legs.
Dabangg
Bollywood cop drama starring Salman Khan as the tough and none-too-honest supercop Chulbul Pandey, who ladles out his own kind of justice in a corrupt world, shooting down gangsters and politicos who simply are not nearly as cool as he is. Khan, who is infamous as Bollywood’s bad boy, with a string of criminal charges to his name, is ideal casting as a law enforcement agent who won’t play by the rules. Dabangg is already regarded as a “super hit” on the subcontinent.
Knock Out
Yet more Bollywood, but this time a film that looks remarkably like a knock-off of Joel Schumacher’s 2002 film Phone Booth. Directed by Mani Shankar, who has a huge reputation in Hindi cinema, the film is all about “black money,” a theme probably familiar to local audiences. According to online film magazine Planet Bollywood, “despite the glaring unavoidable references to Phone Booth, the movie is not the least bit like it.” Unusually for a Bollywood film, there are no musical segments. But it does boast tight action choreography and solid acting by an experienced cast.
Ayumi Hamasaki 3D Rock and Roll Circus Tour
Concert film of Ayumi Hamasaki’s 2010 concert tour. Hamasaki, called Ayu by her fans, is a singer-songwriter, model and record producer who has earned the title of “empress of pop” for her huge influence in Japan and throughout Asia. Since her debut in 1998, she has set numerous music publishing records and now has a huge fan base in Taiwan.
Kaohsiung Film Festival 高雄電影節
Opens today and runs until Nov. 6, presenting a huge selection of films from around the world. Movies range from cult and art house to mainstream features, children’s films and animation. This year’s festival includes sections on the directors of the Polish new wave and one on American avant-garde director James Benning. Information on the almost 200 films and their screening times can be found at www.kff.tw/2011/tw. Screenings will be held at the Cinemark Dream Mall (高雄夢時代喜滿客影城), 8F, 789 Jhonghua 5th Rd, Greater Kaohsiung (高雄市中華五路789號8樓), the Kaohsiung Film Archive (高雄市電影館), 10 Hesi Rd, Greater Kaohsiung (高雄市河西路10號) and the Kaohsiung City Music Archive (高雄市音樂館), 99 Hesi Rd, Greater Kaohsiung (高雄市河西路99號). Tickets cost NT$180 at the door.
Last week, Viola Zhou published a marvelous deep dive into the culture clash between Taiwanese boss mentality and American labor practices at the Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) plant in Arizona in Rest of World. “The American engineers complained of rigid, counterproductive hierarchies at the company,” while the Taiwanese said American workers aren’t dedicated. The article is a delight, but what it is depicting is the clash between a work culture that offers employee autonomy and at least nods at work-life balance, and one that runs on hierarchical discipline enforced by chickenshit. And it runs on chickenshit because chickenshit is a cultural
By far the most jarring of the new appointments for the incoming administration is that of Tseng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) to head the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF). That is a huge demotion for one of the most powerful figures in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Tseng has one of the most impressive resumes in the party. He was very active during the Wild Lily Movement and his generation is now the one taking power. He has served in many of the requisite government, party and elected positions to build out a solid political profile. Elected as mayor of Taoyuan as part of the
Moritz Mieg, 22, lay face down in the rubble, the ground shaking violently beneath him. Boulders crashed down around him, some stones hitting his back. “I just hoped that it would be one big hit and over, because I did not want to be hit nearly to death and then have to slowly die,” the student from Germany tells Taipei Times. MORNING WALK Early on April 3, Mieg set out on a scenic hike through Taroko Gorge in Hualien County (花蓮). It was a fine day for it. Little did he know that the complex intersection of tectonic plates Taiwan sits
When picturing Tainan, what typically comes to mind is charming alleyways, Japanese architecture and world-class cuisine. But look beyond the fray, through stained glass windows and sliding bookcases, and there exists a thriving speakeasy subculture, where innovative mixologists ply their trade, serving exquisite concoctions and unique flavor profiles to rival any city in Taiwan. Speakeasies hail from the prohibition era of 1920s America. When alcohol was outlawed, people took their business to hidden establishments; requiring patrons to use hushed tones — speak easy — to conceal their illegal activities. Nowadays legal, speakeasy bars are simply hidden bars, often found behind bookcases