In a refreshing departure from his gloomy and sexist Blue Cha-Cha (深海), director Cheng Wen-tang's (鄭文堂) teen drama Summer's Tail (夏天的尾巴) is a surprisingly bright production. Credit for the youthful feel of the film goes to the director's 20-year-old daughter, Enno Cheng (鄭宜農), who co-wrote the script and lead the cast to tell a Taiwanese coming-of-age story.
The film is about four high school kids and one summer of rock 'n' roll, friendship and puppy love.
Would-be rock star Yvette (played by Enno Cheng) is a free-spirited, big-hearted teen forced to drop out of school because of a congenital heart disorder. Her best friend, Wendy (Hannah Lin, 林涵), is a straight-A student who carries a spray paint spray can in her schoolbag. Reticent and super-smart, Jimmy (Bryant Jui-chia Chang, 張睿家) is expelled when his love for a teacher gets out of hand. Japanese exchange student Akira (Dean Fujioka) plays soccer and doesn't do much else.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF SKY FILMS
The four idle away the summer with music, adolescent melancholy and laughter in southern Taiwan's verdant rice fields and canals. When a tragedy involving a neighbor occurs, the four friends are catapulted into the grown-up world.
The plot, though hardly groundbreaking, is well executed with eloquent cinematography and smooth editing. The island's southern plains never looked so idyllic and the film's breezy tone lures the audience into drifting from one scene to the next.
The pretty-faced young cast does a reasonably good job of portraying adolescents trying to define themselves as they approach adulthood. Award-winning actress Lu Yi-ching (陸弈靜) deserves a special mention for bringing to life possibly the most lovable mother figure seen in Taiwanese cinema for years.
However, the real star of the film is Enno Cheng (鄭宜農). Nominated for the Best New Performer gong at this year's Golden Horse Awards (金馬獎) for her role in this film, the versatile young artist turns in a strong performance and shines both as a promising actress and talented singer. Featuring simple, empowering tunes by the aspiring musician, as well as local rock outfits Aphasia (阿飛西雅), Orange Grass (橙草樂團) and Fire Extinguisher (滅火器), the sound track lends the work juvenile vigor and almost justifies the closing sequence that includes a music-video set.
A competent movie, Summer's Tail proves that a familiar if not formulaic coming-of-age story line can be a commercial success, as long as the movie stars teen idols, has strong technical credits, and perhaps most importantly, portrays a young adult's firsthand perspective.
Next week, candidates will officially register to run for chair of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). By the end of Friday, we will know who has registered for the Oct. 18 election. The number of declared candidates has been fluctuating daily. Some candidates registering may be disqualified, so the final list may be in flux for weeks. The list of likely candidates ranges from deep blue to deeper blue to deepest blue, bordering on red (pro-Chinese Communist Party, CCP). Unless current Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) can be convinced to run for re-election, the party looks likely to shift towards more hardline
Enter the Dragon 13 will bring Taiwan’s first taste of Dirty Boxing Sunday at Taipei Gymnasium, one highlight of a mixed-rules card blending new formats with traditional MMA. The undercard starts at 10:30am, with the main card beginning at 4pm. Tickets are NT$1,200. Dirty Boxing is a US-born ruleset popularized by fighters Mike Perry and Jon Jones as an alternative to boxing. The format has gained traction overseas, with its inaugural championship streamed free to millions on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Taiwan’s version allows punches and elbows with clinch striking, but bans kicks, knees and takedowns. The rules are stricter than the
“Far from being a rock or island … it turns out that the best metaphor to describe the human body is ‘sponge.’ We’re permeable,” write Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie in their book Slow Death By Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things. While the permeability of our cells is key to being alive, it also means we absorb more potentially harmful substances than we realize. Studies have found a number of chemical residues in human breast milk, urine and water systems. Many of them are endocrine disruptors, which can interfere with the body’s natural hormones. “They can mimic, block
Sept. 15 to Sept. 21 A Bhutanese princess caught at Taoyuan Airport with 22 rhino horns — worth about NT$31 million today — might have been just another curious front-page story. But the Sept. 17, 1993 incident came at a sensitive moment. Taiwan, dubbed “Die-wan” by the British conservationist group Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), was under international fire for being a major hub for rhino horn. Just 10 days earlier, US secretary of the interior Bruce Babbitt had recommended sanctions against Taiwan for its “failure to end its participation in rhinoceros horn trade.” Even though Taiwan had restricted imports since 1985 and enacted
RSS