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The following is issued on behalf of the Provisional Regional Council:
Through the camera produced by the Taiwanese new generation, you may not only know more about the culture and custom of the Taiwanese people, but also feel the coincidence of human life.
Presented by the Provisional Regional Council and co-ordinated by prominent director Shu Kei, "Taiwanese Cinema Entering the Millennium" will bring to Hong Kong audience five films including two Hong Kong premiere shows "March of Happiness" and "Spring Cactus" at the Cultural Activities Hall of the Tsuen Wan Town Hall (TWTH) from January 2 to 30.
The schedule of the films is as follows:
"March of Happiness" January 2 and 30 (Sunday) 2.30 pm
"Blue Moon" January 9 (Sunday) 2.30 pm
"Spring Cactus" January 14 (Friday) 7.30 pm
"Jam" January 23 (Sunday) 2.30 pm
"Wolves Cry Under the Moon" January 29(Saturday) 7.30 pm
"March of Happiness"
This premiere is award-winning director Lin Cheng-sheng's recent and most ambitious work.
The story is set in 1945, a time of war and confusion. Two teenagers fall in love despite the objection from the girl's family. Their tragic love story is played out in travelling troupes, tea-houses and cafeteria.
The beauty of youth is still the obsessive theme of this subtle filmmaker. The film won acclaims in 1999 Cannes Film Festival (selected by "Un Certain Regard" section). Actor Lim Giong is one of the most popular singers in Taiwan.
The film is in Mandarin with Chinese subtitles.
"Blue Moon"
Occasionally there are two full moons in a month and that particular second full moon is called the "Blue Moon". Legend says a person makes a wish before a blue moon, he will be granted a second chance in things.
The film is about two young men and a woman. They are luckier than most people because they are granted not only a second, but in fact, 120 chances in some of their encounters. This film is structured in a way so that its five reels of footages can actually be projected in random sequences and the story will still make sense. The probability is 120 times and each time there is a different story, different rhythm, and different atmosphere.
Director Ko I-cheng, begun his career together with Hou Hsiao-hsien and Edward Yang, is probably the most underrated filmmaker in contemporary Taiwanese cinema.
The film is in Mandarin with Chinese subtitles.
"Spring Cactus"
Also premiere in Hong Kong, it is a story about trust. Under the camera of Huang Yu-shan, life of the main cast may be one of the most colourful but tragic experiences ever seen in the cinema. She becomes a prostitute soon after leaving home. She falls in love with a priest and then a gambler. However, she is sent to jail for killing them. In the cell, she befriends a young girl in prison but is ultimately betrayed.
Casting includes Chia Ching-wen, Hu Ping and Lin Li-ying.
The film is in Mandarin with Chinese subtitles.
"Jam"
One car theft, two murderers, three sets of characters with different backgrounds, four overlapping segments of the same story combine to form the content of "Jam". For director Chen Yi-wen, modern Taipei is like jam - a colourful concoction, a processed compression of ingredients, and a hodgepodge of tastes. People indulge in - love, friendship, sex, seduction, adultery and betrayal.
From this film, the fate of a group of strangers: small crooks, mob veterans and film professionals link together due to a car theft. And all these coincidence pave the way for a memorable love story. With the main cast including Cai Xinghung, Vina Xu and Jine Shijie, "Jam" has won high acclaims in the Hong Kong International Film Festival.
The film is in Mandarin with English subtitles.
"Wolves Cry Under the Moon"
It is an uncommon road movie in its every sense, directed by Ho Ping.
Highways in Taiwan are crammed with million of cars everyday. One day many cars as well as the lives of the people who drive them are forced off their usual routes as the authority closes the highways for 12 hours.
The film contains more than a dozen speaking parts and each character, played by Annie Shizuka Inoh, Chang Chih and To Tzong-hua, etc., reflects a different facet of contemporary Taiwanese society.
They include a young girl, a typical Generation X-er who steals a roadside jeep but develops an ambiguous relationship with its owner through his mobile phone; three traveling puppeteers who sell aphrodisiacs on the side; a professional killer avenging for his father's death by assassinating a political candidate; a public bus driver kidnapped by the killer and a hysterical chauffeur for the boss of a big corporate.
The film is in Mandarin with English subtitles.
All the films have not been submitted to the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority. If a film is classified as Category III, refunds will be made to ticket holders aged under 18 who have bought the ticket before announcement.
Refund arrangements will be available at the box office of TWTH from the day of announcement until one month after the day of screening.
Details of the film categories will be announced through the press and at TWTH.
Tickets, each priced at $30, are now available at all URBTIX outlets. Half-price tickets are available for senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities holding a concessionary card, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Recipients. Concessions for the latter two are available on a first-come-first-served basis. Half-price ticket holders must produce evidence of their identity or age upon admission.
For reservations, please call 2734 9009. For enquiries, please call 2414 0144.
End/Saturday, December 18, 1999
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