Buttonman 鈕扣人
“There are no good people in the world, just people with different levels of bad,” says the poster for this moody, intriguing underworld saga. Francis Ng (吳鎮宇) stars as the title character, a triad fix-it man who cleans up after killings and leaves nothing behind for the authorities to investigate. Things turn sour for our antihero when his associate in organ plundering is killed and his girlfriend gets it on with his trainee. This is the first feature from Taiwanese director Chie Jen-hao (錢人豪), though the film was financed by Hong Kong investors. Screening exclusively at Spring Cinema Galaxy in Ximending, Taipei.
The Sparrow 文雀
Charismatic actor Simon Yam’s (任達華) characters have swung from the truly repellent (Dr Lamb) to the heroic (Bullet in the Head), but whatever the movie, he delivers. In this unusual film, Yam stars as a Hong Kong “sparrow” (pickpocket) who, together with his petty criminal friends, meets his match in a female admirer from China (Taiwan’s Kelly Lin Hsi-lei, 林熙蕾). Sparrow took a long time to make and won’t reach a big audience, but it deserves a look, not least for a pickpocketing climax to end them all. As with Buttonman, you’ll have to go to Spring Cinema Galaxy in Ximending to catch this one. Directed by Johnnie To (杜琪峰), whose consultants for the film’s pickpocket scenes included professional thieves and ballet dancers.
Getting Home 落葉歸根
Established Chinese director Zhang Yang (張楊) adapts a true story for the screen, earning plaudits around the world for an award-winning film of humanity, humor and unobtrusive satire. A man whose workmate and friend dies as the two are drinking decides to honor a promise the deceased had made to him — take his body to his home village after passing on. Thus follows an odyssey of strange encounters with people across half the Chinese countryside as the man (played with restraint by comedian Zhao Benshan, 趙本山) struggles with the task of single-handedly transporting a corpse.
Outlander
A spacecraft crash-lands in Norway in the time of the Vikings, and the locals don’t take to one of its occupants (Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in The Passion of the Christ) too kindly when he shows up in their kingdom. Eventually the king (John Hurt) and his men see the wisdom of letting “Outlander” deal with a creature even more strange and dangerous. This movie took even longer to complete than Sparrow, but early critical reaction was less than kind, which might explain the delay of its US release to sometime next year.
Paris
Hard to think of a movie title that might bite off more than it can chew than this one (perhaps excepting Australia, which opens on Dec. 24), but Francophiles should be delighted with a trip to Paris: It’s got all the self-absorption, fine acting, photogenic locations and quirkiness you could ask for — and no plot intrusions by ethnic violence or threats of terror attacks. Juliette Binoche is a social worker who helps her dancer brother cope with a career-threatening ailment, setting in motion the introduction of characters both funny and appalling as the city unfolds before the viewer.
The Sky Crawlers
This is a contemplative, award-winning anime from director Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell), who focuses on permanently youthful pilots fighting and dying in battles for public entertainment in what resembles a Nipponese aerial Rollerball with Orwellian trimmings. Variety called it a “labored parable,” perhaps helping to explain its failure in Japanese theaters, but the Japan Times was more supportive, in particular lauding the battle sequences, said to be “thrilling in a primal, adrenaline-pumping way.”
Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit
Like The Sky Crawlers, Ikigami is set in a Japan of the future in which the government sanctions the murder of a small proportion of the population as an incentive for the rest to be good cogs in the wheel (presumably this is the same administration that will launch live-to-air contests of teens killing teens, as depicted in Battle Royale). Government operative Shota Matsuda is one of the Men in Black/Meet Joe Black types who helpfully give victims 24 hours’ notice of their fate. Based on a manga, as if you hadn’t guessed.
Dragon Hunters
Finally, a European animated co-production in English and French that has eyes on Pixar’s market — in Europe at least. In feudal times, two dragon hunters of dubious motivation are forced by circumstances into hunting down their scaly, ruthless prey. Like the Singaporean animation Zodiac: The Race Begins that was released here back in May, this film apparently suffers from an imbalance between the quality of the animation and the effort put into story and characterization, though the visuals themselves might interest aficionados. The rest may just see a cinematic video game.
Just after 6am, I walked up to the ticket gate at Taipei Main Station and entered the Taiwan Railway platform without scanning any ticket; instead, I flashed the Sanrio Fun Rail pass on my phone to the gate worker and was admitted. I found my train and prepared to board. My destination? This very same station. I was embarking on a 13-hour journey on one of two round-the-island trains operated by ezTravel. They run each day, one counterclockwise around the island and one clockwise. They differ in a number of ways from an ordinary Taiwan Railway train and can make for
Jason Han says that the e-arrival card spat between South Korea and Taiwan shows that Seoul is signaling adherence to its “one-China” policy, while Taiwan’s response reflects a reciprocal approach. “Attempts to alter the diplomatic status quo often lead to tit-for-tat responses,” the analyst on international affairs tells the Taipei Times, adding that Taiwan may become more cautious in its dealings with South Korea going forward. Taipei has called on Seoul to correct its electronic entry system, which currently lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan),” warning that reciprocal measures may follow if the wording is not changed before March 31. As of yesterday,
The Portuguese never established a presence on Taiwan, but they must have traded with the indigenous people because later traders reported that the locals referred to parts of deer using Portuguese words. What goods might the Portuguese have offered their indigenous trade partners? Among them must have been slaves, for the Portuguese dealt slaves across Asia. Though we often speak of “Portuguese” ships, imagining them as picturesque vessels manned by pointy-bearded Iberians, in Asia Portuguese shipping between local destinations was crewed by Asian seamen, with a handful of white or Eurasian officers. “Even the great carracks of 1,000-2,000 tons which plied
On Thursday, former Taipei mayor and founder of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was sentenced to 17 years in prison and had his civil rights suspended for six years over corruption, embezzlement and other charges. Seven others related to the case were also handed prison sentences, while two were found not guilty. It has been a bad week for the TPP. On Tuesday, prosecutors charged Chinese immigrant Xu Chunying (徐春鶯) with suspicion of taking part in Beijing-directed election interference. Xu has strong links to the TPP, which once offered her a party list legislator nomination. Tuesday also
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