“If it were not for the charisma and the will of [Seediq Bale director] Wei Te-sheng (魏德聖), Taiwan could not have completed a film on Seediq Bale’s level,” recording artist Tu Duu-chih (杜篤之) said after working with Wei, adding that taking part in a film of such epic proportions meant he had to “give it all that I’ve got.”
Based on the 1930 Wushe Incident, Seediq Bale tells the story of an uprising led by Mona Rudao, an Aboriginal of the Sediq tribe, against the Japanese colonial government.
Before the film was made, Tu said Wei, the director of the 2008 blockbuster Cape No. 7, had spent NT$2 million (US$68,900) on a five-minute film telling the public of his dream of shooting the epic movie.
“Who would spend NT$2 million before the film actually got under way?” Tu asked, saying “it was this almost fanatical determination that moved everyone around him.”
Without the success of Cape No. 7 in 2008, the production of Seediq Bale would still be a long way off, Tu said, adding that despite the earlier film’s success, Seediq Bale was still a difficult project to undertake.
First, in August 2009 Typhoon Morakot destroyed the original set, causing the film’s estimated budget to skyrocket to NT$600 million from the original NT$200 million, Tu said.
However, Wei continued shooting the film while searching for people to bankroll the film, even though he was constantly ridiculed along the way, Tu said.
Wei’s charisma is a result of his passion and determination, Tu said, adding that 10 months before shooting the film, the sound editing team still hadn’t received any money.
It was well known that Wei was under severe financial pressure and was millions of NT dollars in debt, but people continued to have faith in him, believing that he would not skip out on the bill and that he would pay their wages when he had the money, Tu said.
Without that kind of determination and will, Taiwan wouldn’t have been able to film Seediq Bale, Tu said.
Tu said it has been many years since Taiwan has made a war movie, and sound recording techniques have come a long way since then. Every sound in Seediq Bale portrays a strength and quality of sound recording never seen in a Taiwanese movie before, Tu said, adding that this would be a first for Taiwanese cinema.
“The most important thing is that all of Taiwan is focused on this film, and that the work that went into the details was no less than in a Hollywood-level film; and most importantly, it must not disgrace Taiwan,” Tu said.
“How many people in Taiwan can actually understand the Seediq language?” Tu asked, but said that “Wei stressed that the details should make the audience feel as if they were in the movie,” so he insisted that the actors learn how to speak Seediq while filming the movie.
In the latter part of film production, Wei often made actors do more than one take to get the Seediq-language dialogue scenes perfect, Tu said.
“I feel honored,” Tu said when asked how he felt about working with Wei for two years to produce the film.
Translated by Jake Chung, Staff Writer
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS