A Taiwanese family drama about a daughter’s relationship with her parents and stepmother was the front-runner among top contenders for Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards — the “Oscars” of Chinese-language cinema — clinching 14 nominations, including for best film and best director.
Besides Chang Tso-chi’s (張作驥) When Love Comes (當愛來的時候), Teddy Chen’s (陳德森) historical thriller Bodyguards and Assassins (十月圍城) was also a leading nominee, shortlisted in nine categories. The winners will be announced on Nov. 20 in an awards ceremony to be held in Taipei.
The two movies will compete for best film honors against Seven Days in Heaven (父後七日), which examines Taiwanese funeral rituals; Chung Mong-hong’s (鍾孟宏) The Fourth Portrait (第四張畫), about the struggles of a 10-year-old boy from a broken family and Liu Jie’s (劉杰) Judge (透析), which takes a look at injustice in China’s legal system.
Liu and Chung were also nominated for best director along with Chang and Chen.
Oscar-winning Taiwanese Director Ang Lee’s (李安) protege Tang Wei (湯唯), who was once blacklisted in China, is up for her first big prize, vying for the best actress title against veterans Xu Fan (徐帆), Sylvia Chang (張艾嘉) and Lu Liping (呂麗萍).
Tang was barred from acting for a period after performing in Lee’s 2007 World War II thriller Lust, Caution (色,戒), a role that won her a Golden Horse for best new performer.
Allegedly, the Chinese authorities were angered by the sex scenes in Lust, Caution because of their acrobatic nature and because they involved her character and that of a Chinese collaborator working for the Japanese.
In the best actor competition, China’s Wang Xueqi (王學圻), who played a businessman sympathetic to the revolutionary cause in Bodyguards and Assassins, will face off against countrymen Ni Dahong (倪大紅) and Qin Hao (秦昊) and Taiwan’s Ethan Ruan (阮經天).
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