With twist after twist and suspenseful, nuanced storytelling, The Soul (緝魂) makes full use of its 130 minute running time. Whenever things seem to be wrapping up, there’s always something else in store — all the way up to the very last scene, but in a way that makes sense and isn’t too confusing.
Helmed by The Tag-Along (紅衣小女孩) series director Cheng Wei-hao (程偉豪), this mystery thriller has his fingerprints all over it with similarly subdued cold tones and Taoist-based supernatural elements. Set in 2031 Taipei, however, this film adds futuristic, sci-fi components to the mix to create a grim yet technologically-advanced cityscape devoid of warmth. It feels slightly dystopian, and the fact that the audience barely gets to see this world outside of the police station, hospital, criminal court and crime scenes, only adds to this unsettling atmosphere.
Gone are the jump scares and spine-tingling moments; instead the film moves at a deliberately moderate pace, just slow enough for each detail to sink in before the next surprise. This isn’t horror. The Soul is purely focused on unraveling the mystery behind the murder of business mogul Wang Shih-tsung (Samuel Ku, 古斌), who is found murdered in the opening scene with a cursed Taoist-based method that would send his soul to eternal hell. All signs point to his mentally unstable son (Erek Lin, 林暉閔), who harbors a deep grudge against his father for neglecting his mother, but other suspicious characters close to Wang suggest that there’s something much deeper and sinister.
Photo courtesy of Vie Vision Pictures
An emaciated, frail Chang Chen (張震), who shed 24kg within three months for the role, enters the fray as the city’s top prosecutor, A-Chao. Despite being stricken with cancer, he spends the whole film getting to the convoluted bottom of what really happened as his health deteriorates. Chang’s harsh appearance and mannerisms fit perfectly with the bleak tones of the film, and his sublime acting really brings his complex character to life and serves as the engine that propels the movie.
A-Chao’s pregnant wife A-Bao (Janine Chang, 張鈞甯) also pulls her punches (literally), not just as a prominent member of the city’s criminal investigative unit but also as a loving partner who brings out the softer side of A-Chao that nobody else sees. The two mesh well together on screen as both lovers and coworkers, giving some tenderness to this uninviting city.
As they try to unravel the tangled web between Wang (who was also dying from cancer), his son, his ex-wife (Zhang Baijia, 張柏嘉), his current wife Li Yan (Sun Anke, 孫安可) and the corporation’s top scientist Dr Wan (Christopher Lee, 李銘順), things keep getting stranger and more intriguing, keeping the audience engaged throughout.
Photo courtesy of Vie Vision Pictures
While all have their acting chops down, Sun’s performance is especially layered and commendable.
There’s too much going in the plot to go into more without further spoiling it, but ultimately, the story is still about the humanity and relationships that drive the characters’ decisions. How far would one go for someone they love? This is the unifying theme that no character gets to avoid in this movie, no matter which side they’re on, and a decision they have to make for themselves.
And that’s what makes the movie so powerful. As each layer of the mystery is peeled off, it’s not just the criminal details that are revealed, but also aspects of the characters that they spend the entire movie trying to hide.
That’s all that really can be said. Just go watch the movie, it’s worth your time.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” was crowned best picture at the 98th Academy Awards, handing Hollywood’s top honor to a comic, multi-generational American saga of political resistance. The ceremony Sunday, which also saw Michael B. Jordan win best actor and “Sinners” cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw make Oscar history as the first female director of photography to win the award, was a long-in-coming coronation for Anderson, a San Fernando Valley native who made his first short at age 18 and has been one of America’s most lionized filmmakers for decades. Before Sunday, Anderson had never won an Oscar. But “One Battle
In Kaohsiung’s Indigenous People’s Park (原住民主題公園), the dance group Push Hands is training. All its members are from Taiwan’s indigenous community, but their vibe is closer to that of a modern, urban hip-hop posse. MIXING CULTURES “The name Push Hands comes from the idea of pushing away tradition to expand our culture,” says Ljakuon (洪濬嚴), the 44-year-old founder and main teacher of the dance group. This is what makes Push Hands unique: while retaining their Aboriginal roots, and even reconnecting with them, they are adamant about doing something modern. Ljakuon started the group 20 years ago, initially with the sole intention of doing hip-hop dancing.
What was the population of Taiwan when the first Negritos arrived? In 500BC? The 1st century? The 18th? These questions are important, because they can contextualize the number of babies born last month, 6,523, to all the people on Taiwan, indigenous and colonial alike. That figure represents a year on year drop of 3,884 babies, prefiguring total births under 90,000 for the year. It also represents the 26th straight month of deaths exceeding births. Why isn’t this a bigger crisis? Because we don’t experience it. Instead, what we experience is a growing and more diverse population. POPULATION What is Taiwan’s actual population?
You would never believe Yancheng District (鹽埕) used to be a salt field. Today, it is a bustling, artsy, Kowloon-ish “old town” of Kaohsiung — full of neon lights, small shops, scooters and street food. Two hundred years ago, before Japanese occupiers developed a shipping powerhouse around it, Yancheng was a flat triangle where seawater was captured and dried to collect salt. This is what local art galleries are revealing during the first edition of the Yancheng Arts Festival. Shen Yu-rung (沈裕融), the main curator, says: “We chose the connection with salt as a theme. The ocean is still very near, just a
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