Titles
Twenty Something Taipei (台北晚九朝五)
Director:
Leon Dai (戴立忍)
Genre:
Popular Culture
Time:
97 min.
Language:
Mandarin, English subtitles
Rating:
3/5
Twenty Something Taipei showcases Taiwan’s youth culture and attempts to shock and intrigue the audience with themes of drugs, promiscuity, and deviant sexual relations. In all honesty, the movie is edgy but isn’t that shocking (unless you’ve watched PG-13 movies...[Read more.]
Women of the Southern Wind (南管女子)
Director:
Mei-Juin Chen (陳玫君)
Genre:
Documentary
Time:
53 min.
Language:
Taiwanese (Hokklo), Mandarin, English subtitles
Rating:
4/5
Women of the Southern Wind records Mei-o Chen’s (陳美娥) biography as well as the ancient art of Nanguan (南管), weaving the two together throughout the film. Chen’s biography is a unique story of her brother’s love and generosity towards Chen...[Read more.]
City of Sadness (悲情城市)
Director:
Hou Hsiao-Hsien (侯孝賢)
Genre:
Historical Drama
Time:
152 min.
Language:
Taiwanese (Hokklo), Mandarin, Japanese, English subtitles
Rating:
5/5
This critically acclaimed, award winning film belongs to Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s (loose) trilogy on Taiwan’s modern history; it is followed (in production) by The Puppetmaster (戲夢人生) (1993) and Good Men, Good Women (好男好女) (1995). City of Sadness portrays the aftermath of...[Read more.]
The Strait Story (南方紀事之浮世光影)
Director:
Huang Yu-Shan
Genre:
Documentary
Time:
103 min.
Language:
Taiwanese (Hokklo), Hakka, Mandarin, Japanese, English subtitles
Rating:
3.5/5
In 1943, Taiwanese artist Huang Qing-cheng (黃清埕) was returning to Taiwan from Japan where he studied art when an American submarine torpedoed his Japanese liner as the liner approached Keelung (基隆) harbor in Taiwan. Huang was one of hundreds who...[Read more.]
Taipei’s Bohemians (台北波希米亞)
Director:
Hung Hung
Genre:
Documentary
Time:
55 min.
Language:
Mandarin, English subtitles
Rating:
2/5
As the title suggests, Taipei’s Bohemians is a look at Taiwan’s community of thespians and part-time thespians of modern theater. The documentary is about the lives of very artsy people. Those who have a hard time appreciating modern art will...[Read more.]
The Rhythm in Wulu Village (霧鹿高八度)
Director:
Chun-hsiung Wang
Genre:
Documentary
Time:
75 min.
Language:
Mandarin, English subtitles
Rating:
4/5
The Rhythm in Wulu Village documents the struggle facing many indigenous Taiwanese peoples trying to preserve their unique culture in the face of modernization and the predominant Han culture on Taiwan. The film tracks how the Bunun people of Wulu...[Read more.]
Let It Be (無米樂)
Director:
Yen Lan-chuan & Juang Yi-tseng
Genre:
Documentary
Time:
110 min.
Language:
Taiwanese (Hokklo), Mandarin, English subtitles
Rating:
4/5
Let It Be is a documentary on the daily lives of Taiwan’s rice farmers. Hear how these farmers cope with nature, modernization, and their spouses in an honest and oftentimes comical way. The interviews with the rice farmers are mostly...[Read more.]
Jump! Boys (翻滾吧!!男孩)
Director:
Lin Yu-Hsien
Genre:
Documentary
Time:
85 min.
Language:
Mandarin, English subtitles
Rating:
4/5
Prepare to laugh a lot when you see Jump! Boys, a light-hearted documentary on the experiences of a youth gymnastics team. Watch how a group of children cry, laugh, and train with their coach who’s hard on the outside but...[Read more.]
