Taiwan Black Movies (2005)

Wow! Such a good movie.

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

This is an important documentary focusing on a mostly-lost genre of exploitation and "social-realist" films from Taiwan. We're talking about films with titles such as THE SPY ON WOMEN'S ISLAND, GIRLS CONCENTRATION CAMP, QUEEN BEE, WOMAN REVENGER, GUNSHOT AT 6 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING and FANTASY OF THE DEER WARRIOR According to director Hou, who I spoke to following a screening of his film at the New York Asian Film Festival, it is not true (as rumored) that the "Black" in the title refers to the forbidden nature of the films, nor to the black hole that the genre fell into, but rather, is meant to characterize the dark, criminal subject matter. Think "Noir", perhaps. Similarly, he indicated it was not true - as also rumored - that prints of most of these films were destroyed by the Taiwanese government. Instead, he indicated that they simply became a victim of neglect. As explained in the film, so many movies of this type were made so quickly and cheaply in such a relatively short span of time, that their quality was a crap-shoot, and – not only did audiences rapidly lost interest – but the studios, and even the filmmakers themselves, came to see little lasting commercial (or artistic!) value in the bulk of the films. Thus, little if any effort was made at preservation.In any case, the genre was essentially kicked off by director Tsai Yang-ming's NEVER TOO LATE TO REPENT, a serious, sometimes melodramatic, social-realist film about a criminal that struggles to walk the straight and narrow path and be accepted back into society after his release from prison. Interestingly, the author/murderer insisted on playing himself in the movie, something that did much to increase the public's interest in the film. Still, in an interview with REPENT's scriptwriter, it is revealed that - at minimum - the premise of the book and film is false, in as much as his personal research indicates that the author/star had been imprisoned, not for murder, but on mere obscenity charges.In any case, from these roots the genre grew increasingly exploitative, retaining the "criminal" element, while upping the ante with regard to nudity and gratuitous violence, eventually going so far as to feature teams of scantily clad women with whips, eye-patches and violent grudges against the men who had raped or abused them earlier in their lives.Consisting of a collection of talking heads and clips from the various films, there's a decided accent on the talking. In fact, there is so much, so fast, that it is sometimes a task for those of us relying on English subtitles to keep up (and sometimes, the task is made more difficult via some poor subtitling).Several of the talking heads in the film address the lack of eventual lack of realism in the so-called "social-realism" films. They suggest that women don't generally form ninja gangs or hoist men from large cranes located on the roofs of Taiwan's tallest buildings. Basically, they note, the films were about sex, nakedness, gangsters and female revenge! At most, one commentator notes, the films offered viewers a release from the feelings of violence and anger they might have. He says that the films were not reality, nor escapes from it, but rather, outlets for negative emotions, which were boiling to the surface at this time, due to a growing disenchantment with the Taiwanese government which had recently left the U.N. and cut off ties with both the U.S. and Japan. Previously, the government had been viewed through rose-colored glasses, but it was during this period that it increasingly became clear that a false historical narrative had been woven, and that official efforts had been, and were being made, to squash dissent.Discussing the issue of getting the increasing sex and violence (and any social political commentary) past censors, many filmmakers would try to embarrass the authorities by including a title at the beginning of each film referencing the historical struggles of Taiwanese patriots. Things kinda-sorta like this (sorry, I don't have an exact quote): "This film is dedicated to the courageous men and women who spoke truth to the oppressors during this Great nation's "Brave Ethnic Patriots Incident." Discussing the declining interest by the studios in these films, one talking head succinctly explained that it very simply boiled down to butts in seats: "Full is full. Empty is empty".Others discuss the damaging involvement of real life gangsters who would show up on the set of any crime film and "ask" if there were any parts for them. Then, after being given something to do in the background of a scene, they would insist on payment for their work.

This is an overview and critical examination of a genre of violent exploitation movies that flourished very briefly in Taiwan in the late 70's and early 80's. Typically featuring gangsters and rape/revenge tales these were lurid, low brow and very successful at the time. Sadly, few of the movies seem to have survived today in anything like a watchable form. Consequently the documentary has to resort to VCD and VHS clips, often cropped and in very poor shape indeed.The subject is an interesting one that few viewers, in the west or the east, will know much about. However, the documentary is quite poorly made. The subtitles in particular are so slapdash and essentially unreadable that they make viewing something of a chore. I guess the film was made for local audiences so maybe context was not considered an essential component. However, for viewers unfamiliar with the last thirty or so years of Taiwanese history much of what is discussed on screen will come across as confused or confusing.At the very least, let's hope that this documentary leads to a rediscovery of better quality elements for some of the fascinating sounding features briefly extracted here.