The Falls (瀑布) by Chung Mong-hong (鍾孟宏) is Taiwan’s selection to vie for a Best International Feature Film nomination at the 94th Academy Awards, the third time one of the director’s films has been chosen and the second year in a row.
Upon being informed that his feature film would have the chance to be nominated for an Oscar, Chung — a 55-year-old with six directorial works — said: “Thank you. We will keep working hard.”
A panel convened by the Ministry of Culture’s Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development selected The Falls from among 11 candidates, praising its accurate and deep portrayal of reality.
“Visual metaphors and human relations are depicted vividly,” the ministry said.
The previous two films of Chung’s that were selected were Soul (失魂) in 2013 and A Sun (陽光普照) in 2019, with the latter being critically acclaimed and shortlisted for the this year’s Academy Awards, although it was ultimately not nominated.
Set during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Falls follows a 17-year-old who is sent home to quarantine after a classmate tests positive for COVID-19 and her mother, who is asked to take a leave of absence.
The two are isolated in their apartment, which is wrapped in blue construction tarp amid renovation work.
Their relationship takes an unexpected turn.
The Falls premiered in the Horizons section of the Venice Film Festival, followed by an screening at the Toronto International Film Festival.
It received 11 nominations at the 58th Golden Horse Awards, including Best Feature Film and two Best Leading Actress slots.
“To me, this film is not about the pandemic, or the virus. The pandemic is only a backdrop,” Chung told Variety in an interview.
“I wanted to make a film about the search for something that we have long lost or forgotten, like trust or tolerance. Those really good, precious things in life that have gone missing,” he told the magazine.
It is the first time he has told a story from the perspective of female characters.
“The casting of the two female leads was a big gamble,” Chung said.
“Although the pandemic has pulled us apart, people need to think about how to get closer,” Chung said, adding that he hopes The Falls generates discussion about interpersonal relations, Chinese-language media quoted him as saying.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
RSS