With romance in Kenting (墾丁), grassroots culture and a gang of lively local characters, Taiwan-China co-production Peace in Love (痞子遇到愛) would seem to have all the elements necessary to entice Taiwanese audiences into the theater. It also throws in a Chinese hero who undergoes an emotional transformation during his journey to southern Taiwan. The end result is a passable work of entertainment — if, that is, you are looking for a movie to watch over a lunchbox on a Tuesday night.
The film begins with Beijinger Wang Rui, played by Chinese actor Wang Rui (王睿), and his Taiwanese friend Tiancai (Yao Chun-yao, 姚淳耀) traveling to the picturesque coastal town of Kenting. They aren’t there to sightsee, but to sell a piece of land owned by Wang’s grandfather, a veteran of the Nationalist Army who lives in Beijing.
Upon arrival, the two discover that the plan can only proceed if 128 residents agree to give up their land. Mired deep in gambling debt, Wang is determined to pull off the lucrative deal at any cost. Throughout, the pair encounter a slew of colorful characters — tribal elder Gulele, sassy snack bar hostess Linniang and diving coach Macaron, who lecherously drools over women in bikinis.
Photo Courtesy of Love Check In International
The two men get what they want through underhanded methods. Or almost.
A local woman named Ouyang Qing (Shara Lin, 林逸欣) sees Wang for the con artist that he is and is dead set against selling the land. With a father who died at sea and a remarried mother, the young woman works two jobs to support her terminally-ill sister Xiaotian (Liu Ling-hsuan, 劉令萱).
Not knowing the sisters’ past and Xiaotian’s medical condition, Wang and Tiancai agree to take Xiaotian to visit her mother in Greater Tainan. But little do they know that the trip will end in tragedy.
Photo Courtesy of Love Check In International
Peace in Love is a comedy-drama built around the theme of land rights. Not without ambition, the film depicts not only the journey of a man learning the value of friendship and love, but of a woman, Qing, coming to terms with her past. The narrative, however, too often relies on conventional plot devices that underestimate the intelligence of the audience. Consequently, it’s little more than a polished television drama.
Produced by veteran TV producer Li Tien-yung (李典勇) and helmed by commercial director Huang Chao-liang (黃朝亮), the film enlists a troop of veteran entertainers — Lin Mei-chou (林美照), Jiu Kong (九孔), Shen Wen-chen (沈文程) and Hsiang Wa (向娃) — who are given little room to maneuver outside their one-dimensional, stock characters.
Fortunately, Chinese actor Wang as well as Taiwan’s Shara Lin and Yao liven up the film, delivering a sense of authenticity and exerting constraint in their stereotypical roles. First-time child actor Liu is also worth a mention with her natural, composed performance.
Photo Courtesy of Love Check In International
Photo Courtesy of Love Check In International
Photo Courtesy of Love Check In International
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