| Shutter In this American remake of a Thai horror opus directed by a Japanese, a young American couple in Japan seem to run down a woman with their car, resulting in something travel insurance doesn’t cover: a peeved poltergeist delivering omens and wreaking vengeance via the photographs and cameras of the photographer husband. From the director of Infection, which was much better — and more original — by most accounts. Fangoria magazine called this retread “the precise moment when the Asian-horror-remake trend ... officially disappeared up its own asshole.” |  |
| Late Bloomers A scandalized reaction awaits when Martha, a sprightly old lady, finally fulfills her dream of opening a store selling the latest lines of lingerie. The problem is that she lives in a conservative part of Switzerland and her son is the local priest, which doesn’t help matters. This is a comedy from 2006 that milks the potential outrageousness of elderly people who refuse to fit stereotypes. Originally meant for TV, Late Bloomers eventually served as Switzerland’s nomination for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars. |  |
| Cherry Blossoms Here’s a more serious treatment of old age. After his wife dies, an elderly German man continues their planned trip to Japan to visit his son and discovers a new world while making the acquaintance of a young practitioner of Butoh dancing. Mount Fuji figures prominently in this film for unusual symbolic and narrative reasons. From veteran German writer-director Doris Dorrie, probably best known for her comedy Men… from 1985. |  |
| Bread Superman 2008 This is the 19th and latest in Japan’s Anpanman series of animated features for kids featuring a cheerful hero with a bun for a head filled with bean paste. In this outing, Anpanman rescues a timid but talented young creature named Purun in a forest and escorts her home, only to find that his regular foe from Germ World is menacing the whole town. Original title: Go! Anpanman: Purun of Bubbles, this was made last year, notwithstanding the title. As usual, a Bread Superman short will screen with the feature. It’s called Go! Anpanman: Horaman and Hora-Horako. |  |
| Necromancer Belatedly attempting to cash in on decent box office for the similarly themed but far more graphic Art of the Devil 3, a rival Taiwanese distributor has given us this Thai fantasy thriller from 2005 featuring a rogue cop who dabbles in black magic, only to be caught and jailed. Upon his escape, he is pursued by a younger policeman who must match his skills in necromancy to survive. The film opened last week at the Caesar grindhouse in Ximending and the Scholar theater complex, but won’t likely be around for too long, no matter what hex they put on the audience. |  |
Even by the standards of Ukraine’s International Legion, which comprises volunteers from over 55 countries, Han has an unusual backstory. Born in Taichung, he grew up in Costa Rica — then one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — where a relative worked for the embassy. After attending an American international high school in San Jose, Costa Rica’s capital, Han — who prefers to use only his given name for OPSEC (operations security) reasons — moved to the US in his teens. He attended Penn State University before returning to Taiwan to work in the semiconductor industry in Kaohsiung, where he
On May 2, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), at a meeting in support of Taipei city councilors at party headquarters, compared President William Lai (賴清德) to Hitler. Chu claimed that unlike any other democracy worldwide in history, no other leader was rooting out opposing parties like Lai and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). That his statements are wildly inaccurate was not the point. It was a rallying cry, not a history lesson. This was intentional to provoke the international diplomatic community into a response, which was promptly provided. Both the German and Israeli offices issued statements on Facebook
May 18 to May 24 Pastor Yang Hsu’s (楊煦) congregation was shocked upon seeing the land he chose to build his orphanage. It was surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the only way to access it was to cross a river by foot. The soil was poor due to runoff, and large rocks strewn across the plot prevented much from growing. In addition, there was no running water or electricity. But it was all Yang could afford. He and his Indigenous Atayal wife Lin Feng-ying (林鳳英) had already been caring for 24 orphans in their home, and they were in
Australia’s ABC last week published a piece on the recall campaign. The article emphasized the divisions in Taiwanese society and blamed the recall for worsening them. It quotes a supporter of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) as saying “I’m 43 years old, born and raised here, and I’ve never seen the country this divided in my entire life.” Apparently, as an adult, she slept through the post-election violence in 2000 and 2004 by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the veiled coup threats by the military when Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) became president, the 2006 Red Shirt protests against him ginned up by
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