At the movies in Taiwan

Few people may be in the know when it comes to Taiwan’s film industry let alone that of any foreign country, but the truth is that Taiwanese cinema is not only for the film buffs amongst us. The island that brought us huge international successes such as Ang Lee’s ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ has a lot to offer its international audience and has a history of film that is well worth getting to know.

Since introduction into Taiwan in 1901, cinema has developed through several distinct stages. The era of Japanese rule from 1900 to 1937 had huge impacts on Taiwanese society and early Taiwanese cinema. Many Japanese film conventions were adopted by the Taiwanese, including the use of a benshi or narrator of silent films. One of the most famous benshi masters in Taiwan was Zhan Tian-ma, whose story has been told in a recent biographical film called ‘March of Happiness’. The benshi masters were considered intellectuals and poets, writing their own emotive feeling into the film and often travelling to Japan to enhance their skills.

The Japanese influence became more ubiquitous with the Second Sino-Japanese War, when Taiwan was restricted to playing only films from Japan. Virtually nothing was produced in Taiwan until 1945. Throughout this era the Japanese strove to transform Taiwanese locals into Japanese citizens, giving them Japanese names, a Japanese education, and even enforcing Japanese clothing. This process of cultural conquest is intricately portrayed in Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s 1993 film, ‘The Puppetmaster’.

Taiwanese cinema was able to grow again with the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. Many Chinese filmmakers who were who were sympathetic to the nationalists flocked to the island to explore their ideas through film. This era also saw the decline of films in the Taiwanese era, as the rise of Mandarin gradually started infiltrating into Taiwanese cinema. The last film made entirely in Taiwanese was produced in 1981.

Rapid modernisation in the 1960s meant Taiwan’s government focused strongly on the economy, industrial development and education. This atmosphere transferred itself to the interesting film genre ‘Health Realism’ which was created by the Central Motion Picture Corporation in 1963 to help build traditional moral values.  Romantics subverted this realism through the infamous Kung-fu films and romantic melodramas that were also popular during this time.

The following decades brought a new style of cinema to Taiwan that is known as the New Wave, heavily influenced by the widespread nature of home video watching. Filmmakers subverted the romanticism and melodrama of the 60s with realistic and sympathetic portrayals of life in Taiwan, exploring issues such as urbanisation, the struggle against poverty and political conflicts. Key films of this era include Edward Yang’s 1985 ‘Taipei Story’ and the 1994 ‘A Confucian Confusion’.

More recently, Taiwanese films have been just as committed to an honest portrayal of Taiwanese life, however are slightly less serious, playing with the black comedy genre. They have also enjoyed great success in the international film world. Tsai Ming-lian’s ‘Live L’Amour’ won the 1994 Venice Film Festival through the portrayal of the desperation and isolation of a young couple living in upscale apartments in Taipei. Likewise, Stan Lai’s 1992 ‘The Peach Blossom Land’ enjoyed success at film festivals in Berlin and Tokyo for its deep exploration of political and psychological themes. In 2000, Edward Yang’s ‘Yi Yi’ was named the best film of the year in any language by the US National Society of Film Critics, a huge step for Taiwan in the world of international cinema

Perhaps the most well known Taiwanese director in the international arena is Ang Lee, most specifically for his film ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ in 2000 which was a commercial success, boosting the Asian film industry’s international reputation, and becoming the highest grossing foreign language film in American history. Lee’s recent films ‘Eternal Summer’ (2006), ‘Prince of Tears’ (2009) and ‘Winds of September’ (2009) have pushed the boundaries of Taiwanese filmmaking and the arts in the country with his portrayal of controversial subject matter.

While the most recent highlight in the industry has been Wei Te-Sheng’s ‘Cape No. 7’ which took home 15 awards and was the second highest grossing film in Taiwan’s history after ‘Titanic’, piracy and competition with Hollywood blockbusters has meant that the once successful film industry in Taiwan has dwindled and nearly collapsed. But despite the struggle, the Taiwanese film industry still enjoys support, with Taiwanese film festivals occurring around the world.