The Dull Ice Flower (1989 film)
Encyclopedia
The Dull Ice Flower is a 1989 Taiwanese film based on the novel
of the same title by Chung Chao-cheng
. Dealing with education
and other social issues in rural Taiwan
in the deprived 1950s
and early 1960s
, the story was adapted into screenplay by Wu Nien-jen.
in Shuiyu Township. Despite being not very good in most subjects at school he is very talented in art, and has a great imagination, though most teachers don't know what he's expressing in his artwork. During morning assembly, a new art teacher named Mr. Kuo asks if anyone is interested at joining the ECA
art club. Ku A-ming is the first one to volunteer. During an art competition, the school teachers vote to decide who's going to represent the school to compete with other schools in the county. A-ming lost the vote and Mr. Kuo needs to leave the school. Before he leaves, he asks A-ming to give him one of his drawings. Sadly, after Mr. Kuo has left, A-ming dies of liver illness. Mr. Kuo sends A-ming's drawing to a world children art competition and A-ming's drawing is the champion. The teachers start to regret neglecting A-ming's ability in art.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
of the same title by Chung Chao-cheng
Chung Chao-cheng
Chung Chao-cheng , sixth-generation Hakka writer, born and raised in Taiwan. A proponent and promoter of Taiwanese hsiang-tu literature . "We are pioneers of Taiwanese literature, a literature with unique characteristics," he once said...
. Dealing with education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and other social issues in rural 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...
in the deprived 1950s
1950s
The 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...
and early 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
, the story was adapted into screenplay by Wu Nien-jen.
Synopsis
Ku A-ming is a 4th grader boy in Chungshan Elementary SchoolElementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
in Shuiyu Township. Despite being not very good in most subjects at school he is very talented in art, and has a great imagination, though most teachers don't know what he's expressing in his artwork. During morning assembly, a new art teacher named Mr. Kuo asks if anyone is interested at joining the ECA
ECA
ECA may refer to:Government and government agencies:* Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, a part of the United States Department of State* Economic Cooperation Administration, a former United States government agency...
art club. Ku A-ming is the first one to volunteer. During an art competition, the school teachers vote to decide who's going to represent the school to compete with other schools in the county. A-ming lost the vote and Mr. Kuo needs to leave the school. Before he leaves, he asks A-ming to give him one of his drawings. Sadly, after Mr. Kuo has left, A-ming dies of liver illness. Mr. Kuo sends A-ming's drawing to a world children art competition and A-ming's drawing is the champion. The teachers start to regret neglecting A-ming's ability in art.