The Government Information Office yesterday introduced a new version of the movie footage that accompanies the national anthem at some cinematic events. Traditionally, national anthem films were shown at cinemas preceding the running of movies. The footage is still played at school events.
The new "anthem film" revolves around the theme of "Taiwanese Vitality."
Directed by Cannes award-winning director Lin Cheng-sheng (林正盛), the one-minute-and-48-second-long film will replace the old version from today.
PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
"In this new version," said Director-General of the GIO Su Tzen-ping (蘇正平), "there is no showing-off of army troops, planes, tanks and all that sort of grand military footage [as was used in the old version."
Su said the new version instead portrayed a sense of warmth "that emanates from the relationship between the land and its people."
According to the GIO, the national anthem film changes every two years and "this new version is the first such production under the new administration," said Chang Kuo-bao (張國葆), section chief in the GIO's Audio Visual Department.
By using scenes from old documentary films as its foundation -- and then combining these with modern footage -- "the montage gives a rich sense of history," Su said.
"Unlike previous versions, this version does not include a caption that asks viewers to stand up," Chang said.
The new version also does not display the lyrics of the national anthem on the screen, "because the captions would interfere with the film's visuals," Lin said.
The film starts off as a silent movie, with a mute actor guiding the audience down memory lane. Historic scenes feature footage of traditional tea-picking girls, disaster relief teams, industrial workers, Taiwanese opera actors, team members of the Red Leaf Junior Baseball Team and the Ching-ma bus lady -- who accompanied the first-class Ching-ma bus that was popular in the 1960s.
The movie ends with footage of the home-run hit by Chen Ching-fen (陳金鋒) that won Taiwan a bronze medal at this year's Baseball World Cup playoff against Japan.
"All these scenes mark Taiwan's civilian culture throughout different historic periods," Su said.
The Red Leaf Junior Baseball Team (紅葉少棒隊) was made up of members from the Bunion Aboriginal tribe, who used sticks to bat with and substituted balls with stones in their training sessions. They beat the world champion little league team from Japan 7-0 in 1968.
The Red Leaf team's victory marked a legendary moment in the history of Taiwanese baseball and was a great inspiration for Taiwanese during a period of intense diplomatic uncertainty.
"Aside from illustrating Taiwan's vitality during the hardships of the past decades," Su added, "we also hope that this film will awaken the audience's collective awareness of a shared history."
Lin said the reason he directed the film is because he hoped to encourage people to stay strong when faced with uncertainty and challenges, "just like we've done before.
"Taiwan's sagging economy and the natural disasters that have hit the nation these past two years seem to have made many people feel insecure," Lin said.
Lin said he wanted to remind people that "we have overcome tough times in the past and we will do so now and in the future -- as long as we stay courageous."
Su added that Lin himself is "a vivid testimony of Taiwan's vitality."
Su was referring to Lin's positive attitude despite a personal history of struggle.
Lin was born into a farming family in eastern Taiwan. With only a junior high education, he turned from baking to cinema after attending a directing and scriptwriting workshop in 1986. He soon started to make documentaries.
In 1996, his first feature film, A Drifting Life, won him a silver medal in the Young Cinema Competition at the Tokyo International Film Festival.
His second film, Murmur of Youth, was screened at the Director's Week at the Cannes International Film Festival.
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