Cinema of Taiwan
Encyclopedia
The history of Chinese-language
cinema
has three separate threads of development: Cinema of Hong Kong
, Cinema of Mainland China
and Cinema of Taiwan
(or Cinema of Formosa
). Taiwan
ese cinema grew up outside of the Hong Kong
mainstream and the censorship of the People's Republic of China
.
Taiwanese cinema is deeply rooted in the Taiwan's unique and rapidly changing history
. Since its introduction to Taiwan in 1901 by the Japanese
, cinema has developed in Taiwan through several distinct stages.
, and many conventions in Japanese films were adopted by the Taiwanese filmmakers. For example, the use of a benshi
(narrator of silent films), which was a very important component of the film-going experience in Japan, was adopted and renamed benzi by the Taiwanese. This narrator was very different from its equivalent in the Western world. It rapidly evolved into a star system. In fact, people would go to see the very same film narrated by different benshi
, to hear the other benshi's interpretation. A romance could become a comedy or a drama, depending on the narrator's style and skills. Lu, a famous actor and benshi
in Taiwan wrote the best reference book on Taiwan cinema.
The first Taiwanese benshi master was a musician and composer named Wang Yung-feng, who had played on a regular basis for the orchestra at the Fang Nai Ting Theatre in Taipei. He was also the composer of the music for the Chinese film Tao hua qi xue ji (China, Peach girl, 1921) in Shanghai
.
"Other famous Taiwanese benshi masters were Lu Su-Shang and Zhan Tian-Ma. Lu Su-shang, is not primarily remembered for his benshi performances, but mainly because he wrote the inestimable history of cinema and drama in Taiwan, the bible of Taiwanese film history. The most famous of all was Zhan Tian-ma, whose story is told in a recent Taiwanese biographical film, March of Happiness (Taiwan, 1999, dir: Lin Sheng-shing)."
"Benshi masters were intellectuals: they spoke Japanese, often traveled to Japan and/or China, and were poets writing their own libretto for each film. Since 1910, films had been distributed with a script, but these poets of the darkness would rather explore their personal style. Notable films during this period include The Eyes of Buddha (1922) and Whose Fault Is It (1925)."
Then, with the Second Sino-Japanese War
came the Japanization era and Taiwan was restricted to playing Japanese repertoire only. The Japanese strove to transform the locals into Japanese citizens, giving them Japanese names, a Japanese education, encouraging them to wear Japanese clothes and the men to cut their long hair. Hou Hsiao-Hsien
's film, "The Puppetmaster" (1993), witnesses vividly this process of cultural annexation. In 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War
interrupted the movie industry, and virtually nothing was produced until after the Kuomintang
took over Taiwan in 1945.
brought many filmmakers sympathetic to the Nationalists
to Taiwan. Even then, the majority of films were still made in Taiwanese and this continued for many years. For example, in 1962, out of a total of 120 films produced, only seven were made in Mandarin; the rest were made in Taiwanese. However, the production of films in Taiwanese began to decline, due to a variety of reasons, ranging from limited scope and waning interest for such films, to the Nationalist government's promotion of Mandarin in mass media and its deeming of Taiwanese dialect as too "coarse". The last movie filmed entirely in Taiwanese was made in 1981.
The 1960s marked the beginning of Taiwan's rapid modernization. The government focused strongly on the economy, industrial development, and education, and in 1963 the Central Motion Picture Corporation (CMPC) introduced the "Health Realism" melodrama. This film genre was proposed to help build traditional moral values, which were deemed important during the rapid transformation of the nation's socioeconomic structure. During this time, traditional kung-fu films as well as romantic melodramas were also quite popular. The author Qiong Yao is especially famous for the movies made in this time period which were based on her widely-read romantic novels.
Taiwanese cinema of this period is related to censorship in the Republic of China and Propaganda in the Republic of China
.
, Te-Chen Tao, I-Chen Ko, and Yi Chang), began what would be known as the rejuvenation of Taiwanese cinema: the New Wave.
In contrast to the melodrama or kung-fu action films of the earlier decades, New Wave films are known for their realistic, down-to-earth, and sympathetic portrayals of Taiwanese life. These films sought to portray genuine stories of people living either in urban or rural Taiwan, and are often compared stylistically to the films of the Italian neorealism
movement. This emphasis on realism was further enhanced by innovative narrative techniques. For example, the conventional narrative structure which builds the drama to a climax was abandoned. Rather, the story progressed at the pace as it would in real life.
Due to its honest portrayal of life, New Wave films examined many of the important issues facing Taiwan society at this time, such as urbanization, the struggle against poverty, and conflicts with political authority. For instance, Hou Hsiao-Hsien
's A City of Sadness
portrays the tensions and the conflicts between the local Taiwanese and the newly arrived Chinese Nationalist government after the end of the Japanese occupation. Edward Yang's Taipei Story
(1985) and A Confucian Confusion
(1994) talk about the confusion of traditional values and modern materialism among young urbanites in the 1980s and 1990s. The New Wave Cinema films are, therefore, a fascinating chronicle of Taiwan's socio-economic and political transformation in modern times. Chen Kunhou
's 1983 film Growing Up
provides a nuanced perspective on the experience of a very young boy, from an ordinary family, getting into progressively more trouble.
For example, Tsai Ming-liang
's Vive L'Amour
, which won the Golden Lion at the 1994 Venice Film Festival
, portrays the isolation, despair, and love of young adults living in the upscale apartments of Taipei
. Stan Lai
's The Peach Blossom Land (1992) is a tragi-comedy involving two groups of actors rehearsing different plays on the same stage; the masterful juxtaposition and the depth of the play's political and psychological meanings helped it win recognition at festivals in Tokyo and Berlin.
Ang Lee
is perhaps the most well-known of the Second New Wave director. His early films Pushing Hands
(1991), The Wedding Banquet
(1993), and Eat Drink Man Woman
(1994) focus on the generational and cultural conflicts confronting so many modern families. His Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
(2000) revived the wuxia
genre successfully. Although not in the tradition of New Wave or Second New Wave, it is a commercial success which placed Asian films firmly in the international domain. The recent films Eternal Summer
(2006), Prince of Tears
(2009) and Winds of September
(2009) have pushed the boundaries of Taiwanese film-making and broken the island's long-standing taboo
s about the depiction of controversial subject matter.
Taiwanese cinema is now facing difficult times competing with Hollywood blockbusters. Box office for local films is dwindling to less than 20 films annually and many Taiwanese viewers prefer watching Hong Kong or Hollywood productions, making the country's film industry dominated by foreign repertoire. The once successful Taiwan's film industry went into decline in 1994 and collapsed in 1997 because of spiraling levels of piracy. There have been a few bright spots though, as in the high box office
takings of Cape No. 7
(2008), which had become so popular in Taiwan that on November 1, 2008, became her highest grossing domestic film, second in the country's cinematic history to Titanic
(1997). Another recent popular local film is the gangster flick Monga
(2010).
directed by Wei Te-Sheng
was a huge success in the Taiwanese
film history. Also, Cape No. 7 has won 15 awards to date such as the The Outstanding Taiwanese Film of the Year in the 45th Golden Horse Awards in 2008.
The record-breaking achievement of Cape No. 7 led the Taiwanese
audiences and movie producers to regain confidence in Taiwanese cinema. Soon after Cape No. 7, several Taiwanese movies are produced and most have positive response. Some of the examples are, Monga (2010), Seven Days in Heaven (2010) and Night Market Hero (2011).
After the succession of Cape No. 7, the Taiwanese movie industry recovered from the depression that last for about 10 years. The head of the Government Information Office
described, "2011 will be a brand new year and a new start for Taiwanese films".
The movie industry boom after Cape No. 7 promised more Taiwanese movies in the future. The director of Cape No. 7, Wei Te-Sheng's new movie, Seediq Bale
part 1 and part 2 was released in September 2011. Which has been selected as a contender for nomination for the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film in 2011. Some more examples are: The Killer Who Never Kills, which is based on a short story
in the Killer Series from the famous Taiwanese
Writer, Giddens Ko. Additionally, the popular TV series Black & White
will be adapted into a movie.
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
cinema
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
has three separate threads of development: Cinema of Hong Kong
Cinema of Hong Kong
The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China, and the cinema of Taiwan...
, Cinema of Mainland China
Cinema of China
The Chinese-language cinema has three distinct historical threads: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. Since 1949 the cinema of mainland China has operated under restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and...
and Cinema of Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
(or Cinema of Formosa
Formosa
Formosa or Ilha Formosa is a Portuguese historical name for Taiwan , literally meaning, "Beautiful Island". The term may also refer to:-Places:* Formosa Strait, another name for the Taiwan Strait...
). Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese cinema grew up outside of the Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
mainstream and the censorship of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
.
Taiwanese cinema is deeply rooted in the Taiwan's unique and rapidly changing history
History of Taiwan
Taiwan was first populated by Negrito, and then Austronesian people. It was colonized by the Dutch in the 17th century, followed by an influx of Han Chinese including Hakka immigrants from areas of Fujian and Guangdong of mainland China, across the Taiwan Strait...
. Since its introduction to Taiwan in 1901 by the Japanese
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, cinema has developed in Taiwan through several distinct stages.
Early cinema, 1900 – 1945
The first film was introduced into Taiwan by Toyojiro Takamatsu in 1901. From 1900 to 1937, Taiwanese cinema was strongly influenced by the Japanese. This was during the era of Japanese ruleTaiwan under Japanese rule
Between 1895 and 1945, Taiwan was a dependency of the Empire of Japan. The expansion into Taiwan was a part of Imperial Japan's general policy of southward expansion during the late 19th century....
, and many conventions in Japanese films were adopted by the Taiwanese filmmakers. For example, the use of a benshi
Benshi
were Japanese performers who provided live narration for silent films . Benshi are sometimes also called or .-Role of the benshi:...
(narrator of silent films), which was a very important component of the film-going experience in Japan, was adopted and renamed benzi by the Taiwanese. This narrator was very different from its equivalent in the Western world. It rapidly evolved into a star system. In fact, people would go to see the very same film narrated by different benshi
Benshi
were Japanese performers who provided live narration for silent films . Benshi are sometimes also called or .-Role of the benshi:...
, to hear the other benshi's interpretation. A romance could become a comedy or a drama, depending on the narrator's style and skills. Lu, a famous actor and benshi
Benshi
were Japanese performers who provided live narration for silent films . Benshi are sometimes also called or .-Role of the benshi:...
in Taiwan wrote the best reference book on Taiwan cinema.
The first Taiwanese benshi master was a musician and composer named Wang Yung-feng, who had played on a regular basis for the orchestra at the Fang Nai Ting Theatre in Taipei. He was also the composer of the music for the Chinese film Tao hua qi xue ji (China, Peach girl, 1921) in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
.
"Other famous Taiwanese benshi masters were Lu Su-Shang and Zhan Tian-Ma. Lu Su-shang, is not primarily remembered for his benshi performances, but mainly because he wrote the inestimable history of cinema and drama in Taiwan, the bible of Taiwanese film history. The most famous of all was Zhan Tian-ma, whose story is told in a recent Taiwanese biographical film, March of Happiness (Taiwan, 1999, dir: Lin Sheng-shing)."
"Benshi masters were intellectuals: they spoke Japanese, often traveled to Japan and/or China, and were poets writing their own libretto for each film. Since 1910, films had been distributed with a script, but these poets of the darkness would rather explore their personal style. Notable films during this period include The Eyes of Buddha (1922) and Whose Fault Is It (1925)."
Then, with the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
came the Japanization era and Taiwan was restricted to playing Japanese repertoire only. The Japanese strove to transform the locals into Japanese citizens, giving them Japanese names, a Japanese education, encouraging them to wear Japanese clothes and the men to cut their long hair. Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Hou Hsiao-Hsien is an award-winning film director and a leading figure of Taiwan's New Wave cinema movement.-Biography:...
's film, "The Puppetmaster" (1993), witnesses vividly this process of cultural annexation. In 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
interrupted the movie industry, and virtually nothing was produced until after the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
took over Taiwan in 1945.
Taiwanese cinema after 1945
Taiwanese cinema grew again after 1949, when the end of the Chinese civil warChinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
brought many filmmakers sympathetic to the Nationalists
Chinese nationalism
Chinese nationalism , sometimes synonymous with Chinese patriotism refers to cultural, historiographical, and political theories, movements and beliefs that assert the idea of a cohesive, unified Chinese people and culture in a unified country known as China...
to Taiwan. Even then, the majority of films were still made in Taiwanese and this continued for many years. For example, in 1962, out of a total of 120 films produced, only seven were made in Mandarin; the rest were made in Taiwanese. However, the production of films in Taiwanese began to decline, due to a variety of reasons, ranging from limited scope and waning interest for such films, to the Nationalist government's promotion of Mandarin in mass media and its deeming of Taiwanese dialect as too "coarse". The last movie filmed entirely in Taiwanese was made in 1981.
The 1960s marked the beginning of Taiwan's rapid modernization. The government focused strongly on the economy, industrial development, and education, and in 1963 the Central Motion Picture Corporation (CMPC) introduced the "Health Realism" melodrama. This film genre was proposed to help build traditional moral values, which were deemed important during the rapid transformation of the nation's socioeconomic structure. During this time, traditional kung-fu films as well as romantic melodramas were also quite popular. The author Qiong Yao is especially famous for the movies made in this time period which were based on her widely-read romantic novels.
Taiwanese cinema of this period is related to censorship in the Republic of China and Propaganda in the Republic of China
Propaganda in the Republic of China
Propaganda has been an important tool of the Republic of China government since its inception in 1912. It also was an important tool in legitimizing the Kuomintang controlled Republic of China government that retreated from Mainland China to Taiwan in 1949....
.
New Wave Cinema, 1982 – 1990
By the early 1980s, the popularity of home video made film-watching a widespread activity for the Taiwanese. However, the Taiwanese film industry was under serious challenges, such as the entry of Hong Kong films, well-known for their entertainment quality, into the Taiwanese market. In order to compete with Hong Kong films, the CMPC began an initiative to support several fresh, young directors. In 1982, the film In Our Time (1982), which featured four young talented directors (Edward YangEdward Yang
Edward Yang , along with Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Tsai Ming Liang, was one of the leading filmmakers of the Taiwanese New Wave and Taiwanese Cinema. He won the Best Director Award at Cannes for his 2000 film Yi Yi .-Biography:...
, Te-Chen Tao, I-Chen Ko, and Yi Chang), began what would be known as the rejuvenation of Taiwanese cinema: the New Wave.
In contrast to the melodrama or kung-fu action films of the earlier decades, New Wave films are known for their realistic, down-to-earth, and sympathetic portrayals of Taiwanese life. These films sought to portray genuine stories of people living either in urban or rural Taiwan, and are often compared stylistically to the films of the Italian neorealism
Italian neorealism
Italian neorealism is a style of film characterized by stories set amongst the poor and working class, filmed on location, frequently using nonprofessional actors...
movement. This emphasis on realism was further enhanced by innovative narrative techniques. For example, the conventional narrative structure which builds the drama to a climax was abandoned. Rather, the story progressed at the pace as it would in real life.
Due to its honest portrayal of life, New Wave films examined many of the important issues facing Taiwan society at this time, such as urbanization, the struggle against poverty, and conflicts with political authority. For instance, Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Hou Hsiao-Hsien is an award-winning film director and a leading figure of Taiwan's New Wave cinema movement.-Biography:...
's A City of Sadness
A City of Sadness
A City of Sadness is a 1989 Taiwanese historical drama film directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien. It tells the story of a family embroiled in the tragic "White Terror" that was wrought on the Taiwanese people by the Kuomintang government after their arrival from mainland China in the late 1940s, during...
portrays the tensions and the conflicts between the local Taiwanese and the newly arrived Chinese Nationalist government after the end of the Japanese occupation. Edward Yang's Taipei Story
Taipei Story
Taipei Story is a 1985 film by Taiwanese filmmaker Edward Yang.The film stars Yang's fellow filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien, and singer Tsai Chin, who Yang subsequently married.It is one of the earliest films of the New Taiwan Cinema.-Synopsis:...
(1985) and A Confucian Confusion
A Confucian Confusion
A Confucian Confusion is a 1994 Taiwanese comedy film directed by Edward Yang. It was entered into the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Shiang-chyi Chen - Qiqi* Yiwen Chen - Liren* Danny Deng - Larry* Hung Hung - Molly's brother-in-law...
(1994) talk about the confusion of traditional values and modern materialism among young urbanites in the 1980s and 1990s. The New Wave Cinema films are, therefore, a fascinating chronicle of Taiwan's socio-economic and political transformation in modern times. Chen Kunhou
Chen Kunhou
Chen Kunhou is a Taiwanese film director and cinematographer. He is known for his film, Growing Up , one of the films that initiated the Taiwan New Cinema movement. Chen was also the cinematographer for several of fellow director Hou Hsiao-Hsien's earlier films.-External links:...
's 1983 film Growing Up
Growing Up (1983 film)
Growing Up is a 1983 film by Taiwanese filmmaker Chen Kunhou.The screenplay was the first collaboration between Hou Hsiao-hsien and Chu T'ien-wen.The film made the young star, Doze Niu, "a pop icon and tagged him with a rebellious image."...
provides a nuanced perspective on the experience of a very young boy, from an ordinary family, getting into progressively more trouble.
Second New Wave, 1990 – 2010
The New Wave gradually gave way to what could be informally called the Second New Wave, which are slightly less serious and more amenable to the populace, although just as committed to portraying the Taiwanese perspective.For example, Tsai Ming-liang
Tsai Ming-liang
Tsai Ming-liang is one of the most celebrated "Second New Wave" film directors of Taiwanese Cinema, along with earlier contemporaries such as Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Edward Yang...
's Vive L'Amour
Vive L'Amour
Vive L'Amour is a 1994 Taiwanese New Wave film by Tsai Ming-liang. It is a slow-paced film with sparse dialogue about urban alienation, centering on three people who unknowingly share an apartment in Taipei.-Plot:...
, which won the Golden Lion at the 1994 Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
, portrays the isolation, despair, and love of young adults living in the upscale apartments of Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
. Stan Lai
Stan Lai
Stan Lai or Lai Sheng-chuan is a highly influential award-winning US born Taiwan based playwright and theater director, also known for his award-winning feature films, known for Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land...
's The Peach Blossom Land (1992) is a tragi-comedy involving two groups of actors rehearsing different plays on the same stage; the masterful juxtaposition and the depth of the play's political and psychological meanings helped it win recognition at festivals in Tokyo and Berlin.
Ang Lee
Ang Lee
Ang Lee is a Taiwanese film director. Lee has directed a diverse set of films such as Eat Drink Man Woman , Sense and Sensibility , Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , Hulk , and Brokeback Mountain , for which he won an Academy...
is perhaps the most well-known of the Second New Wave director. His early films Pushing Hands
Pushing hands
Pushing hands, , is a name for two-person training routines practiced in internal Chinese martial arts such as Baguazhang, Xingyiquan, T'ai chi ch'uan , Liuhebafa, Quan Fa, Yiquan.-Overview:...
(1991), The Wedding Banquet
The Wedding Banquet
The Wedding Banquet is a 1993 film about a gay Taiwanese immigrant man who marries a mainland Chinese woman to placate his parents and get her a green card. His plan backfires when his parents arrive in the United States to plan his wedding banquet....
(1993), and Eat Drink Man Woman
Eat Drink Man Woman
Eat Drink Man Woman is a Taiwanese film directed by Ang Lee and starring Sihung Lung, Yu-wen Wang, Chien-lien Wu, Kuei-mei Yang. Many of the cast had starred in Ang Lee's previous film, The Wedding Banquet with Sihung Lung and Ah Lei Gua once more playing central elderly figures, and Winston Chao...
(1994) focus on the generational and cultural conflicts confronting so many modern families. His Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a 2000 wuxia film. An American-Chinese-Hong Kong-Taiwanese co-production, the film was directed by Ang Lee and featured an international cast of ethnic Chinese actors, including Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, and Chang Chen...
(2000) revived the wuxia
Wuxia
Wuxia is a broad genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists. Although wuxia is traditionally a form of literature, its popularity has caused it to spread to diverse art forms like Chinese opera, manhua , films, television series, and video games...
genre successfully. Although not in the tradition of New Wave or Second New Wave, it is a commercial success which placed Asian films firmly in the international domain. The recent films Eternal Summer
Eternal Summer
Eternal Summer is a 2006 Taiwanese film starring Joseph Chang, Bryant Chang and Kate Yeung. It was directed by Leste Chen. In 2006 the film received four nominations at the 44th Golden Horse Awards, including Best Supporting Actor and Best New Performer for Joseph Chang, and Bryant Chang won Best...
(2006), Prince of Tears
Prince of Tears
Prince of Tears is a historical drama film by Yonfan. It was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 66th Venice International Film Festival. It tells the story of a family embroiled in the tragic "White Terror" suppression of political dissidents that was wrought during the 1950s by the Kuomintang...
(2009) and Winds of September
Winds of September
Winds of September is a 2008 Taiwanese film, set in 1996 in Hsinchu, that focuses on a gang of teenage boys who drink, smoke and gamble, and the relationships between them...
(2009) have pushed the boundaries of Taiwanese film-making and broken the island's long-standing taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
s about the depiction of controversial subject matter.
Taiwanese cinema is now facing difficult times competing with Hollywood blockbusters. Box office for local films is dwindling to less than 20 films annually and many Taiwanese viewers prefer watching Hong Kong or Hollywood productions, making the country's film industry dominated by foreign repertoire. The once successful Taiwan's film industry went into decline in 1994 and collapsed in 1997 because of spiraling levels of piracy. There have been a few bright spots though, as in the high box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
takings of Cape No. 7
Cape No. 7
Cape No. 7 ) is a 2008 Taiwanese romance comedic music-drama film written and directed by Wei Te-Sheng, his first full-length motion picture. The film is in Taiwanese and Mandarin Chinese with significant lines in Japanese. Before its commercial release, the film was world premiered on June 20,...
(2008), which had become so popular in Taiwan that on November 1, 2008, became her highest grossing domestic film, second in the country's cinematic history to Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
(1997). Another recent popular local film is the gangster flick Monga
Monga (film)
Monga is a 2010 Taiwanese gangster film set in 1980s Taipei. The film stars Ethan Ruan from TV series Fated To Love You and Mark Chao, also features Ma Ju-Lung from Cape No.7 and Rhydian Vaughan from Winds of September...
(2010).
Revival of Taiwanese Films after Cape No. 7
In 2008, Cape No. 7Cape No. 7
Cape No. 7 ) is a 2008 Taiwanese romance comedic music-drama film written and directed by Wei Te-Sheng, his first full-length motion picture. The film is in Taiwanese and Mandarin Chinese with significant lines in Japanese. Before its commercial release, the film was world premiered on June 20,...
directed by Wei Te-Sheng
Wei Te-Sheng
Wei Te-Sheng , Taiwan) is the director of Cape No. 7, the 2nd top-selling film in Taiwanese history.-Career:Wei’s film career began when he got a job in a small production house. Then he became an assistant in Edward Yang's film studio in 1995. When Yang was filming Mahjong , he was promoted to...
was a huge success in the Taiwanese
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
film history. Also, Cape No. 7 has won 15 awards to date such as the The Outstanding Taiwanese Film of the Year in the 45th Golden Horse Awards in 2008.
The record-breaking achievement of Cape No. 7 led the Taiwanese
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
audiences and movie producers to regain confidence in Taiwanese cinema. Soon after Cape No. 7, several Taiwanese movies are produced and most have positive response. Some of the examples are, Monga (2010), Seven Days in Heaven (2010) and Night Market Hero (2011).
After the succession of Cape No. 7, the Taiwanese movie industry recovered from the depression that last for about 10 years. The head of the Government Information Office
Government Information Office
The Government Information Office is a cabinet-level agency of the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China in charge of promoting government policies and regulating domestic media.-History:...
described, "2011 will be a brand new year and a new start for Taiwanese films".
The movie industry boom after Cape No. 7 promised more Taiwanese movies in the future. The director of Cape No. 7, Wei Te-Sheng's new movie, Seediq Bale
Seediq Bale
Seediq Bale is the fourth studio album by the Taiwanese black metal band ChthoniC, and the first to receive full promotion and release outside of Asia...
part 1 and part 2 was released in September 2011. Which has been selected as a contender for nomination for the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film in 2011. Some more examples are: The Killer Who Never Kills, which is based on a short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
in the Killer Series from the famous Taiwanese
Taiwanese
Taiwanese may refer to:* things of or pertaining to the current Republic of China, commonly known as Taiwan* things of or pertaining to the island of Taiwan* Taiwanese people, residents of Taiwan or people of Taiwanese descent...
Writer, Giddens Ko. Additionally, the popular TV series Black & White
Black & White (TV series)
Black & White is a 2009 Taiwanese Drama starring Vic Chou, Mark Chao, Ivy Chen, Janine Chang. It was produced by Prajna Works and directed by Cai Yuexun with location fliming in Kaohsiung, Taiwan....
will be adapted into a movie.
Notable directors, actors and actresses
- Jay ChouJay ChouJay Chou is a Taiwanese musician, singer-songwriter, music and film producer, actor and director who has won the World Music Award four times. In 1998 he was discovered in a talent contest where he displayed his piano and song-writing skills. Over the next two years, he was hired to compose for...
- Hou Hsiao-hsienHou Hsiao-HsienHou Hsiao-Hsien is an award-winning film director and a leading figure of Taiwan's New Wave cinema movement.-Biography:...
- Nien-Jen WuNien-Jen WuWu Nien-jen , Taiwan) is a famous scriptwriter, director, and author from Taiwan. He is one of the most prolific and highly regarded scriptwriters in the country and a leading member of the New Taiwanese Cinema, although he also acted in a number of films. He starred in Edward Yang's 2000 film Yi...
- King HuKing HuKing Hu was a Hong Kong- and Taiwan-based Chinese film director whose Wuxia films brought Chinese cinema to new technical and artistic heights. His films Come Drink with Me , Dragon Gate Inn and A Touch of Zen inaugurated a new generation of wuxia films in the late 1960s...
- Ang LeeAng LeeAng Lee is a Taiwanese film director. Lee has directed a diverse set of films such as Eat Drink Man Woman , Sense and Sensibility , Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , Hulk , and Brokeback Mountain , for which he won an Academy...
- Tsai Ming-liangTsai Ming-liangTsai Ming-liang is one of the most celebrated "Second New Wave" film directors of Taiwanese Cinema, along with earlier contemporaries such as Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Edward Yang...
- Nicky WuNicky WuNicky Wu is a Taiwanese singer and actor. Wu found fame in 1988, by joining the Taiwanese boy band, Little Tigers Team, performing alongside Alec Su and Julian Chen. Since then, his career has also expanded into film and television in Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland China.-Childhood:Nicky Wu is the...
- Shu QiShu QiShu Qi is the stage name of a Taiwanese actress born Lin Li-Hui . Her stage name is occasionally romanized as Hsu Chi or Shu Kei . Her name is sometimes seen in the Western order as Qi Shu.-Early life:...
- Alec SuAlec SuAlec Su is a Taiwanese pop star and versatile actor in films and television dramas. He became famous as a member of the Taiwanese Idol Band The Little Tigers, formed in 1988, and later for his first Chinese TV series Princess Returning Pearl .-Little Tigers:Alec Su's career started in 1988, at...
- Ruby LinRuby LinRuby Lin is a Taiwanese actress and pop singer. Her English name is from her mother's love of the jewel.Lin made her acting debut in a TV commercial in Taiwan. When she received her first experience in front of the camera in 1995, for a minor role, she started to develop a passion for acting...
- Edward YangEdward YangEdward Yang , along with Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Tsai Ming Liang, was one of the leading filmmakers of the Taiwanese New Wave and Taiwanese Cinema. He won the Best Director Award at Cannes for his 2000 film Yi Yi .-Biography:...
- Brigitte LinBrigitte LinBrigitte Lin or Brigitte Lin Ching Hsia is a Taiwanese actress. She was a popular actress, regarded as an icon of Chinese cinema, who acted in both Taiwanese and Hong Kong movies...
- Jimmy Lin
- Jerry YanJerry YanJerry Yan was born 1 January 1977. He is a Taiwanese actor and member of Taiwanese boy band F4. His birth name is Liao Yangzhen .-Career:...
- Tom Lin
- Chang ChenChang ChenChang Chen is a Taiwanese actor, born in Taipei, Taiwan. His name is sometimes seen in the Western order . He is the son of a Taiwanese actor Chang Kuo Chu and brother of a Taiwanese actor, Chang Han .-Career:...
- Takeshi KaneshiroTakeshi KaneshiroTakeshi Kaneshiro , born October 11, 1973, is a Taiwan-born Japanese actor and singer.-Name:...
- Sylvia ChangSylvia ChangSylvia Chang is a Taiwanese actress, writer, singer, producer and director. In 1992, she was a member of the jury at the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival.- Actress :...
- Rene LiuRené LiuRené Liu was born June 1, 1969. She is a Taiwanese actress and singer. She is the first to win Best Actress awards at the Asia Pacific Movie Festival in both television and film productions...
- Sihung LungSihung LungSihung Lung was an actor in the cinema of Taiwan who appeared in over 100 films and was best known for playing paternal roles in films including Eat Drink Man Woman and The Wedding Banquet...
- Wu Chien-lien
- Yang Kuei-MeiYang Kuei-MeiYang Kuei-Mei is a Taiwanese actress. She has had starring roles in Eat Drink Man Woman, Vive L'Amour and The Hole.-Career:Yang has received several awards for her acting...
- Hsu Feng
- Lin Feng-chiao
- Chin HanChin HanNg Chin Han , usually credited as just Chin Han, is a Singaporean actor of stage, film and television whose career has spanned over twenty years. He starred in Masters of the Sea, Singapore television's first foray into English-language drama. In recent years he broke into the Hollywood film...
- Charlie Chin Hsiang-lin
- Li Han-Hsiang
- Richie RenRichie RenRichie Jen is a Taiwanese singer and actor. He has become extremely popular throughout Asia, particularly in the Chinese-speaking countries. He graduated from the Chinese Culture University's physical education department.-Films:...
See also
- Chinese Culture and Movie CenterChinese Culture and Movie CenterThe Chinese Culture and Movie Center is a former movie studio and tourist attraction located in the Shilin District of Taipei, Taiwan. It is owned by the Republic of China Central Motion Pictures Company. In its early period, it functioned as a film and TV drama filming location and studio...
- Cinema of the world
- Culture of TaiwanCulture of TaiwanThe culture of Taiwan is a blend of Confucianist Han Chinese, Japanese, European, American, global, local, and Taiwanese aborigines cultures, which are often perceived in both traditional and modern understandings...
- Golden Horse Film Festival and AwardsGolden Horse Film Festival and AwardsThe Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962, by Government Information Office, Republic of China...
(TaipeiTaipeiTaipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
) - List of Taiwanese actresses
- List of Taiwanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
External links
Chinese Taipei film Archive- Chinacinema.fr A french site on Chinese/Taiwanese cinema Database of Taiwan Cinema
- Asia Society: The Cinema Scene - Asia Society's regular podcast program containing news, reviews and interviews related to Asian Film
- Taiwanderful Taiwan Movie Guide - A community index of Taiwanese movies.