there was a crazy ass review by Bongkok Times of Seediq Bale’s debute in Venice.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/arts-and-culture/film/254633/venice-film-fest-kicks-off-with-clooney
Quotes from the Review
On the contrary, the other competition film screened on the first night flaunts its nationalist politics to such a humorous extent, quickly raising the question if Venice is sometimes too indulgent in its programming.
That film is Seediq Bale. Set during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, the 150-minute film focuses on the passionate revolt of an aboriginal tribe of the island.
The proud leader of the exotically costumed tribe is Chief Mouna, a hot-blooded warrior who hunts boars and dives into waterfalls and doesn’t hesitate to shoot a child. When the Japanese army, portrayed as cartoonishly brutal and ignorant, begins its campaign of “civilising” the local savages, Mouna leads his people in a bloodied war against the well-armed invaders.
Seediq Bale was directed by Wei Te-sheng, a young film-maker who made Ha’i-kak chhit-ho (Cape No 7), Taiwan’s high-grossing film of all time. With more money at his disposal, Wei goes blithely over-the-top in a story that could’ve been less bombastic and more intense. It’s neither Apocalypto nor Avatar, though the film’s attempt to instill primal energy would remind you of those two superior films. The most interesting thing is the clear portrayal of the Japanese as an evil force; nationalism remains a hot currency in many parts of the world.
I made a comment to that article, but since Bangkok Times screens their comments before showing them, chances are my reply won’t see the light of day.
this is what I replied to them…
uh, the same director, Wei Te-sheng, made his name with “Cape No. 7” which is a movie about Taiwanese and Japanese romance across generations. That film caused politically charged people, especially politicians in China, to claim Wei is polluted by Japanese colonialism.
now that he made a film about an actual historical event, all of the sudden he is way too nationalistic? That kind of conclusion only proves that you have predetermined that making any Japanese the villain is nationalism.
about the cartoonishly brutal nature of the Japanese depicted in the film, are you not aware there are other Japanese in the film who are anything but brutal? The truly brutal characters come from the Imperial Army. If you have any historical knowledge you’d know that before and during War World II, being cartoonishly brutal is their bread and butter. They were a modern army who shared the same passion for chopping off enemy heads with those they refered to as “savages”.
Your conclusion about a film, that’s trying to be as authentic and historically accurate as possible, is only about Taiwanese nationalism, is about as valid as saying films about holocaust are all about Israeli nationalism.
Look, this is “Bangkok Post”, it’s not like the Japanese weren’t there in Thailand during WW2. Go watch Bridge over River Kwai or something. Or maybe go ask your family elders about how comically harmonious the Japanese Imperial Army was.
