As another adaptation of Taiwanese illustration book author Jimmy Liao's (
Unfortunately, the film has turned out to be a colorful and beautiful picture that looks like an extended version of a music video. It may be creative in creating characters and plot for the originally thinly-plotted illustration book and the performances are on the whole OK, but the result is less than the sum of its parts.
The original story of Sound of Colors is basically about a blind girl's lonely journey walking aimlessly through different MRT stations. The girl has a rich imagination and "sees" in her heart the colorful wonderland that is the world of the underground.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WARNER BROTHERS
The blind girl finds love, while a parallel romance takes place in a Shanghai subway station. Basically, fans of Liao's book should not expect a faithful adaptation. Rather, they should see it as a romance comedy with the Liao-style paintbox of bright colors, in which characters are clad with stylish, fluffy sweaters and scarves. The theme songs are in French, to add atmosphere.
Tony Leung (
In another plot line, Chang, an advertising company sales representative in Taipei sends a Christmas card to a girl whom he has a crush on. But the love letter is somehow switched and goes to Shanghai.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WARNER BROTHERS
His Shanghai client,, Dong Jie, a young business woman replies, revealing that she is also recovering from a failed lover affair. Chang then flies to Shanghai to find her. They meet in the subway, and, naturally enough, they fall for each other.
The romance of the Hong Kong couple, Leung and Yeung, looks more natural, because the details about how they cope with problems are more authentic. But the Shanghai romance is just plain cheesy.
Even more artificial is the character of Wing Fan (
He is the one who secretly matches up the two couples. Somehow his short appearances do not connect too well to the plot and rather than feeling this is a miracle, the overwhelming thought is: this is a bit bizarre.
There is no politician today more colorful than Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯). The recall vote against her on July 26 will test the limits of her unique style, making it one of the most fascinating to watch. Taiwan has a long history of larger-than-life, controversial and theatrical politicians. As far back as 1988, lawmaker Chu Kao-cheng (朱高正) was the first to brawl and — legend has it — was the first to use the most foul Taiwanese Hokkien curse on the floor of the legislature. Current Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Wang Shih-chien (王世堅) has become famous
Xu Pengcheng looks over his shoulder and, after confirming the coast is clear, helps his crew of urban adventurers climb through the broken window of an abandoned building. Long popular in the West, urban exploration, or “urbex” for short, sees city-dwelling thrill-seekers explore dilapidated, closed-off buildings and areas — often skirting the law in the process. And it is growing in popularity in China, where a years-long property sector crisis has left many cities dotted with empty buildings. Xu, a 29-year-old tech worker from the eastern city of Qingdao, has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers for his photos of rundown schools and
At times, it almost seems that former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is out to sabotage the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). As if on cue, with the recall campaigns against KMT lawmakers in full swing, Ma thought it would be a good time to lead a delegation of students to China and attend the 17th Straits Forum (海峽論壇) and meet with Wang Huning (王滬寧), the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo member entrusted by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to be his second in command on Taiwan policy and to run the United Front Work Department (UFWD) in charge of subverting enemies,
July 14 to July 20 When Lin Tzu-tzeng (林資曾) arrived in Sansia (三峽) in 1830, he found the local conditions ideal for indigo dyeing. Settlers had already planted indigo across the nearby hills, the area’s water was clean and low in minerals and the river offered direct transport to the bustling port of Bangka (艋舺, modern-day Wanhua District in Taipei). Lin hailed from Anxi (安溪) in Fujian Province, which was known for its dyeing traditions. He was well-versed in the craft, and became wealthy after opening the first dyeing workshop in town. Today, the sign for the Lin Mao Hsing (林茂興) Dye
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