At times, Invisible Justice (盲人律師) feels more like a television special due to its penchant for melodrama and soap opera-esque production style. But overall, it tells a solid and satisfying story that is worth paying attention to. It’s no groundbreaking masterpiece as a legal drama, but it tells a true story in an entertaining, emotional and informative way.
The film’s events are inspired by the real-life Radio Corporation of America (RCA) industrial pollution case, which allegedly caused more than 1,300 former Taiwanese workers to develop cancer. After a prolonged battle, the workers finally gained their first victory last year when the Supreme Court upheld its ruling for RCA to compensate 262 of its former employees and their families. The rest have vowed to continue to fight on.
As evident from the movie’s title, the focus is visually impaired lawyer Lee Cheng-hong (Chang Che-hao, 張哲豪), who has a major chip on his shoulder due to discrimination toward his disability and takes on the case to prove his worth. The character is based on his real-life counterpart, Lee Bing-hung (李秉宏), who became the nation’s first visually impaired lawyer in 2004. After being rejected from firm after firm due to his blindness, RCA was his first case.
Photo courtesy of atmovies.com
Lee’s story is even more dramatic than that portrayed in the film. He failed his graduate school exams 10 times and his bar exam twice, and suffered a devastating car accident in 2008 that took him a year to recover from. But as director Chris Hung (洪成昌) indicated in an interview, the main story is still the victims and their battle against an international corporate goliath, and the myriad challenges they face while seeking justice.
The pacing is fast, and the characters are understandably emotional given the circumstances, but as mentioned earlier, the dramatics could be toned down for more nuance and reflection. Still, the various sub-conflicts in the story arising from Lee’s pride and dogged persistence is what provides the human aspect to the story, from the fierce arguments he has with his devoted mother to him taking on his former mentor, who represents RCA, to his often tempestuous relationship with his plaintiffs. This man has something to prove, and it is through him that the story shines.
The use of humor also lightens the mood, which is timed well in small doses. And Hung obviously did his homework as the legal aspects of the battle are laid out in a way that a layperson could understand. The dialogue frequently alludes to various injustices in the world against the disadvantaged, and it’s clear what Hung is trying to say here.
Photo courtesy of atmovies.com
Chang does a pretty good job portraying a blind man, but more importantly he channels well Lee’s various emotions throughout the movie — especially the bitterness when Lee’s pride is hurt. However, his delivery is jerky and unnatural at times, and it’s not clear whether that’s just part of Lee’s persona.
The best actor in the film is acclaimed veteran Lu Yi-ching (陸弈靜), who portrays Lee’s mother. She does not seem to understand why Lee wants to be a lawyer so badly, but she quietly supports him in her own way, even when she knows it will cause conflict with her son.
Although kept to a minimum, a Christian element is apparent in the film, as it begins with a verse from the Bible and zooms in on a cross at Lee’s house in the opening scene. The end credits give thanks to numerous churches across Taiwan, and this reviewer overheard several people in the theater searching for their pastor in the movie — apparently quite a few characters are played by pastors from a number of churches.
Hung is a devout Christian, and makes no secret of his plans to use a portion of the proceeds to spread his faith. The real-life Lee is also a Christian, who frequently mentions God in his writings and interviews as the reason for his success. None of this is mentioned in the film, which is a wise decision to let the story tell itself instead of being too preachy.
If you do see the movie, make sure you stay in the theaters for the post-credits scene. Unlike the common use of this device for foreshadowing sequels or hiding Easter eggs, this scene actually explains a significant part of the movie — and those who walked out earlier probably left scratching their heads. This decision is highly questionable; this is no Marvel Studios production and post-credit scenes are usually not expected for this sort of film.
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