Taiwan pins hopes on aboriginal epic movie
Source: Agencies |
August 23, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
TAIWAN director Wei Te-sheng has reason to be thrilled about the upcoming Venice premiere of "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale," his four-hour epic about a 1930 aboriginal uprising against Taiwan's Japanese rulers.
A decade in preparation, the US$24 million production is stirring hopes that the island's film industry is set to stage a comeback, after burning out in the 1980s following a series of groundbreaking efforts, many about young romance in rural locales.
Wei began shooting Seediq Bale in 2009 after the success of "Cape No. 7" - a drama about the romance between a Taiwan man and Japanese woman - made him the darling of local financial angels interested in the revival of the Taiwan cinema.
Seediq Bale is one of 22 films competing for best feature film at next month's Venice Film Festival.
Wei yesterday thanked Seediq Bale's backers and paid special tribute to its hundreds of aboriginal actors - few of whom had any professional experience.
Aboriginals, who comprise about 2 percent of Taiwan's population of 23 million, live mostly along the island's mountainous spine. Traditionally farmers and hunters, many young people are now seeking jobs in construction and other types of manual labor in Taiwan's Han Chinese dominated cities.
Seediq Bale is about a warrior who incites his tribe to revolt against Japanese colonial administrators, who ruled Taiwan between 1895 and 1945. Taiwan's pop star Vivian Hsu, who plays a Seediq woman forced to adopt a Japanese lifestyle, said the aboriginal actors' lack of experience was more than compensated for by their natural acting ability.
"They had that stern, killing look in their eyes," she said, referring to a crowd scene depicting a decisive moment in the rebellion.
A decade in preparation, the US$24 million production is stirring hopes that the island's film industry is set to stage a comeback, after burning out in the 1980s following a series of groundbreaking efforts, many about young romance in rural locales.
Wei began shooting Seediq Bale in 2009 after the success of "Cape No. 7" - a drama about the romance between a Taiwan man and Japanese woman - made him the darling of local financial angels interested in the revival of the Taiwan cinema.
Seediq Bale is one of 22 films competing for best feature film at next month's Venice Film Festival.
Wei yesterday thanked Seediq Bale's backers and paid special tribute to its hundreds of aboriginal actors - few of whom had any professional experience.
Aboriginals, who comprise about 2 percent of Taiwan's population of 23 million, live mostly along the island's mountainous spine. Traditionally farmers and hunters, many young people are now seeking jobs in construction and other types of manual labor in Taiwan's Han Chinese dominated cities.
Seediq Bale is about a warrior who incites his tribe to revolt against Japanese colonial administrators, who ruled Taiwan between 1895 and 1945. Taiwan's pop star Vivian Hsu, who plays a Seediq woman forced to adopt a Japanese lifestyle, said the aboriginal actors' lack of experience was more than compensated for by their natural acting ability.
"They had that stern, killing look in their eyes," she said, referring to a crowd scene depicting a decisive moment in the rebellion.
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