The director of the much touted movie Seediq Bale (賽德克巴萊) said on Thursday in Venice that he made the movie not just to promote Taiwan in the international community, but also to bring peace and harmony to all the ethnic groups in the country.
Wei Te-sheng (魏德聖) had in mind the contradictions and conflicts among Taiwan’s different ethnic groups when he met the press to talk about his epic movie at the Venice Film Festival.
He said he hoped that the movie, based on Taiwanese Aborigines’ fight against Japanese colonizers, would increase the world’s understanding of the nation, whose history and culture had been created by the 14 native tribes, as well as Han Chinese immigrants and recent new immigrants from neighboring countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines.
Photo: EPA
The interactions among these ethnic groups created a unique culture in Taiwan, he said, adding that he hoped the film would have a psychological healing effect on Taiwanese.
To dissipate hatred, “you’ve got to return to where it started,” Wei said.
He observed that people in Taiwan had not worked hard enough to learn about the culture of other ethnic groups, often resulting in one group’s “forceful intervention” in the lifestyle of another group or groups.
Every color in a rainbow exists on its own and next to other colors without one interfering with the others, but together they form a beautiful picture, he said.
The film is one of 22 that have been nominated for the Golden Lion award at this year’s Venice Film Festival — one of the world’s most prestigious cinematic competitions.
To accommodate the festival’s screening format, the four-and-a-half-hour film had to be cut to 135 minutes. Wei conceded that a large part of the emotional buildup in the film was sacrificed to allow room for other significant story lines.
After the film’s debut, Wei said he closely observed how the audiences reacted during screenings and kept asking himself whether their applause was because of true appreciation or simply politeness.
The Taiwanese production has been mired in controversy over how it has been labeled. The festival originally listed the film as originating from “China, Taiwan,” but after Taiwan’s representative to Italy protested, the listing was changed to “Chinese Taipei.”
When asked about the issue, Wei said he did not want the public to focus on political questions, but on the greatness of the power of art.
He said one of the most beautiful maps of the world is a satellite image of the Earth because it depicts the wholesome look of the planet. The ugliest map, he said, was one drawn by politicians with lines and blocks.
The power of art is like the satellite image of the Earth, which can remove all differences, Wei said.
“We as artists do not think within those lines. Whoever draws lines on the ground, I will ask them to remove them,” Wei added.
John Woo (吳宇森), the famed Hong Kong director and producer, who was present at the press conference, praised Wei for having produced an epic movie in which all Aboriginal actors had played their roles so sincerely that they made a touching movie.
Woo also commented that Wei’s work had demonstrated a humanitarian spirit, unlike Woo’s own heroes, who are a romantic reflection of his personality.
The film is scheduled to be released in Taiwan tomorrow under the title Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale (彩虹戰士:賽德克巴萊).
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
REPORT: Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining loitering munitions matching the AeroVironment Switchblade 300 or the Anduril Altius-600, ‘Foreign Policy’ said Taiwan is seeking US-made kamikaze drones in an apparent concession to pressure from Washington to focus on asymmetric capabilities to defeat or deter a Chinese attack, Foreign Policy said in a report on Wednesday. Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining AeroVironment Switchblade loitering munitions or other devices with similar capabilities, it said, citing four sources familiar with the matter commenting on condition of anonymity. The Switchblade 300 is a tube-launched drone designed for attacking ground troops, while its larger sibling, the Switchblade 600, could be used to destroy tanks and entrenched troops. Ukraine has utilized both systems extensively in its fight against
Police officers yesterday morning apprehended the prime suspect of a triple homicide case, after raiding the suspect’s hideout in Taichung. They transported the suspect to New Taipei City for questioning and recorded his statement last night. The suspect, identified as a 24-year-old man surnamed Chang (張), is believed to have used his hands to strangle his wife, surnamed Chen (陳), 29, along with his three-year-old son from a previous marriage and his wife’s mother, 69. The three dead bodies were wrapped in blankets when they were discovered inside their apartment in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) on Saturday. Chang was holding a
Hungarian Member of Parliament Tompos Marton said he considers Taiwan to be a better alternative to China as a strategic partner. Marton, who is the vice president of the opposition Momentum Party, made the remarks in an interview with the Central News Agency on Sunday. He draped a Republic of China flag across his shoulders to protest Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) visit to the capital city, Budapest, on Thursday last week, and openly voiced support for Taiwan on social media. He said in the interview that he wanted to remind the world that there were alternatives to China, and that “Taiwan has