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SAT 3/11 4:00
PM
KAB311F SOLD OUT
SUN 3/12 7:00 PM
KAB312I
Director
WAN Jen
Producers
WAN Jen & FAN Chien-yu
Screenplay
CHEN Fang-ming, CHENG Wun-tung, WAN Jen
Cinematography
SHEN Rai-yuan
Cast
TSAI Cheng-nan, CHANG Chen-yue
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CONNECTION
BY FATE
Chaoji Gongming
US
PREMIERE
Taiwan, 1998, 115 mins, 35mm, color, Taiwanese, Paiwanese & Mandarin
w/e.s.
One of the most
significant figures of New Taiwan Cinema, director Wan Jen brings
us the latest of his SUPER CITIZEN series (SUPER CITIZEN KO,
SFIAAFF 1997). Another elegiac meditation on Taiwan's past, this
one entitled CONNECTION BY FATE (the Chinese title translates
to SUPER CITIZEN). As in Wan's other films, the characters in
CONNECTION BY FATE seem more allegorical than real, and narrative
events are minor intrusions upon the historical, political and
cultural context that they inhabit. In this case, the director
addresses the mistreatment and disempowerment of aborigines in
Taiwan, and the spiritual malaise resulting from Taiwan's economic
miracle and uncertain political future. Nevertheless, Wan has
a delicate touch and his works resonate with a curious emotional
intensity.
Ah-de (Tsai) is
a disillusioned activist who floats on the edge of life as aimlessly
as the yellow taxicab he now drives for a living. Mah-le (Chang),
a Taiwanese aborigine, is on the run for beheading his exploitative
and bigoted employer. A chance encounter brings them together,
sparking a "connection by fate" that intensifies after
Mah-Le is caught, executed for his crime and becomes a wandering
ghost. Mah-le's youthful spirit stirs up painful memories for
Ah-de, but also propels him to take action. What follows for
Ah-de is a lesson for all of us: the discovery that liberation
lies somewhere between honoring the past and learning to forget.
-Jean
Cheng
Presented
with the Northern California Formosa Federation
Talk
about this film and other festival films at the SFIAAFF Club
at Click2Asia
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