Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale has all the appropriate surface elements of an epic, but lacks the emotional gravity to lift it beyond simply an impressive production. A grand spectacle that tips the scales of action and melodrama at its own leisurely four-and-a-half hour pace, Seediq Bale is an archetypal tale of repression and rebellion chronicling the 1930 uprising of the Seediq, an aboriginal tribe living in the interior of Taiwan, against the ruling Japanese colonists. Historically known as the Wushe Incident, the cinematic treatment of the battle is an unapologetic pageant garnished with an unrelenting body count. The number of lopped off heads may be one of its conceits, but, with a cast of 15,000 and a budget of $10 million, so is being the largest film production in Taiwan's history. Seediq Bale is an unbelievable undertaking that will likely be lauded and criticized for its blockbuster state of mind.
Seediq Bale has been making the festival rounds in a truncated 150-minute version, but Vancouver opted for the full two-part 270-minute version released in Taiwan last month. This full-length go-for-broke edition is divided into two distinct films that, digested together, feel bloated. The first part covers the main events of the story and the second part offers a hyperbole filled, slow drive resolution. Contrary to other epics doled out in parts, I feel that visiting the second part with a little separation from the first might reduce some of the redundancy that weighs the viewing experience down in the forth hour.
Part one opens in the late as 19th century as China, defeated in the First Sino-Japanese War, cedes full sovereignty of Taiwan to Japan. Just as Japan is hatching a plan to tame the wild interiors of the island, Mouna Rudo is emerging as a fierce warrior and confident leader in his Seediq clan. When the Japanese make their first expeditions into the interiors, the Seediq hand them defeat after defeat. But when supply chains from the compliant Han Chinese to the aboriginal tribes are cut off, the Seediq become cobbled and are inevitably forced to bow to a kind of repression that they never saw coming. Among them is Mouna, who suffers the shame of not protecting his clan and his hunting grounds.
The opening sequence in the highlands sets precedence for a film that is primed with picturesque yet physical combat. The Seediq are made up of warring clans who earn their valor through head hunting, and have no qualms in chopping off the head of someone who is nearly their brother. And right there, within the first twenty minutes, we are delivered the first signs of a dichotomy that will make Seediq Bale divisive to the bitter end. Although it is a David and Goliath story, the honest brutality and infighting make the underdogs very uncharacteristic heroes. Although films can survive and even be interesting without a moral center, a historical epic like Seediq Bale suffers without even the illusion of a clear and engaging protagonist. Instead, the story's historical integrity takes priority over winning the audience's sympathy.
The film flashes forward to 1930, and the Seediq are still living under the allegiance of separate tribes, but are completely obedient to the Japanese rulers. Their fighting spirit has been diluted by commerce and servitude--a need to work and a need to drink. Mouna has aged into a docile leader, but still seems to carry a torch for a day to return to his hunting grounds and traditional way of life. An abusive Japanese soldier pushes the Seediq laborers just a little to far, leaving Mouna's tribe seething for justice. A ruthless plan is hatched under the premise that honor, even in death, is better than the life dictated by the Japanese.
As the men ready themselves for the secret attack, the women realize that the men are committing all of them, children included, to death. In resignation, one woman sings a song that no one seems to hear except the conflicted audience: "Why do men belittle women? Don't they know their pride comes from us?" Poignant to a fault, the song is hardly a rally cry for taking up arms. The unsavory patriarchy is driven home with brutal effect as the men literally send the women to the afterlife to wait for them.
The most surprising thing about Seediq Bale is how little we care about either side winning. The uprising reaches a dramatic climax at the end of part one, with the camera pulling up over a courtyard of headless bodies. But there is no thrill of victory or redemption, and it is hard to imagine where director Wei Te-Sheng is going to get two more hours of material. What the film tries to do in those last two hours is draw a stirring conclusion to a suicide mission with inspiring fables and montages. But it is an empty shell of heavy-handed melodrama, poorly used CGI and historical edification.
Seediq Bale was a film that Wei put on the back burner due to lack of funding. When Wei stuck gold with Cape No. 7 in 2007, toppling all kinds of box office records, he found the backing he needed. Although he was dedicated to a certain amount of authenticity when telling the story of the Wushe Incident, the result is a stylishly flashy yet emotionally flat product. As compelling as some of the battle scenes are, Seediq Bale never wins the dramatic fight for our hearts.
Seediq Bale has been making the festival rounds in a truncated 150-minute version, but Vancouver opted for the full two-part 270-minute version released in Taiwan last month. This full-length go-for-broke edition is divided into two distinct films that, digested together, feel bloated. The first part covers the main events of the story and the second part offers a hyperbole filled, slow drive resolution. Contrary to other epics doled out in parts, I feel that visiting the second part with a little separation from the first might reduce some of the redundancy that weighs the viewing experience down in the forth hour.
Part one opens in the late as 19th century as China, defeated in the First Sino-Japanese War, cedes full sovereignty of Taiwan to Japan. Just as Japan is hatching a plan to tame the wild interiors of the island, Mouna Rudo is emerging as a fierce warrior and confident leader in his Seediq clan. When the Japanese make their first expeditions into the interiors, the Seediq hand them defeat after defeat. But when supply chains from the compliant Han Chinese to the aboriginal tribes are cut off, the Seediq become cobbled and are inevitably forced to bow to a kind of repression that they never saw coming. Among them is Mouna, who suffers the shame of not protecting his clan and his hunting grounds.
The opening sequence in the highlands sets precedence for a film that is primed with picturesque yet physical combat. The Seediq are made up of warring clans who earn their valor through head hunting, and have no qualms in chopping off the head of someone who is nearly their brother. And right there, within the first twenty minutes, we are delivered the first signs of a dichotomy that will make Seediq Bale divisive to the bitter end. Although it is a David and Goliath story, the honest brutality and infighting make the underdogs very uncharacteristic heroes. Although films can survive and even be interesting without a moral center, a historical epic like Seediq Bale suffers without even the illusion of a clear and engaging protagonist. Instead, the story's historical integrity takes priority over winning the audience's sympathy.
The film flashes forward to 1930, and the Seediq are still living under the allegiance of separate tribes, but are completely obedient to the Japanese rulers. Their fighting spirit has been diluted by commerce and servitude--a need to work and a need to drink. Mouna has aged into a docile leader, but still seems to carry a torch for a day to return to his hunting grounds and traditional way of life. An abusive Japanese soldier pushes the Seediq laborers just a little to far, leaving Mouna's tribe seething for justice. A ruthless plan is hatched under the premise that honor, even in death, is better than the life dictated by the Japanese.
As the men ready themselves for the secret attack, the women realize that the men are committing all of them, children included, to death. In resignation, one woman sings a song that no one seems to hear except the conflicted audience: "Why do men belittle women? Don't they know their pride comes from us?" Poignant to a fault, the song is hardly a rally cry for taking up arms. The unsavory patriarchy is driven home with brutal effect as the men literally send the women to the afterlife to wait for them.
The most surprising thing about Seediq Bale is how little we care about either side winning. The uprising reaches a dramatic climax at the end of part one, with the camera pulling up over a courtyard of headless bodies. But there is no thrill of victory or redemption, and it is hard to imagine where director Wei Te-Sheng is going to get two more hours of material. What the film tries to do in those last two hours is draw a stirring conclusion to a suicide mission with inspiring fables and montages. But it is an empty shell of heavy-handed melodrama, poorly used CGI and historical edification.
Seediq Bale was a film that Wei put on the back burner due to lack of funding. When Wei stuck gold with Cape No. 7 in 2007, toppling all kinds of box office records, he found the backing he needed. Although he was dedicated to a certain amount of authenticity when telling the story of the Wushe Incident, the result is a stylishly flashy yet emotionally flat product. As compelling as some of the battle scenes are, Seediq Bale never wins the dramatic fight for our hearts.
I am person who stay away from the watching war related movie but after seeing the trailer I decided to give it a chance. And I am glade that I saw it. The film totally blows my mind, not because of its superficial violence of head chopping but because it challenges my view of barbarian and civilization (which is center theme of the movie).
The first part of the movie basically is a rundown of events leading to Wu Shu. It describes seediq tribes’ way of life. Conflicts between tribes due to hunting ground (like territories), how they resolve their issue by head hunting (thankfully the fake looking heads and deliberately silence the head cutting sound effect make it little more tolerable.). Later I found out that winner keep the hunted head/skull NOT as a memento of victory but as a symbol to show they resolve their issue and had become friend as the hunted soul become part of him and stay with him until his death. When they (male seediq) dies, their and their "friends" will go to the rainbow bridge where their ancestors meet them and judge if they are seediq bale (real man in seediq language), and if they are, they will be able to cross the bridge where there is a hunting ground without boundary is waiting for them. And if they are not seediq bale then they will be thrown down from the bridge and be feed by crabs in the river.
Back to the story ... Japanese wanting to get into the mountains where Seediq lives to gain nature resources starts warring with Seediq. However, they had much trouble due to lack knowledge of the landform and the indigenous people combat/defense style. The Japanese decided to cut off seediq resources and manipulate indigenous people into co-operating with them in defeating Seediq. They ultimately succeed then starts taking away seediq culture and pride. One of the memorable scenes (also show in trailer) is where young Mona cry out as he was pin down by group of Japanese when they were forced to hand out their hunted skulls. Mona’s cry signifies his inability to protect his people and his friends (those skulls), and a protest of Japanese tramples their culture and their pride.
The film then takes people into 1930 after 20 years of colonization and what civilization did to seediq people. Turn man into labors and women into servants. Educate their kids to be become the second rated Japanese who are looked down by Japanese and never get a praise when they do good work. Then an incident happed and seediq people fear of what the Japanese will do to them leaves them in a sticky situation where if they do nothing the whole tribe will be severely punished and if they fight the tribe faces extermination. Of course we know they choose to fight else history and movie won’t exist. But why do they choose to face extermination of their tribe? Because they choose to fight for their spirit, culture, dignity and their afterlife, a promise land where there is no more war and all people are friends.
The fight for spiritual freedom is definitely something totally different from the usual warring movie of fighting to gain physical freedom of the living.
The second part of the movie is actually very emotional and I had hard time holding my tears. It shows conflict of those seediq’s who had been educated as Japanese. Challenges them into choosing side, which is like asking them to choose their Seediq birth parents or their Japanese adoptive parent.
It also shows how Seediq women choose to stand by their men and choose to suicide to ensure their man have enough food; not to be concern about them and let their man concentrate on the combat. At the same time it reveals men’s guilt about their incompetency to protect their women and acknowledge women’s courage by telling women to cross the bridge first, making rice wine (symbol of celebration) and men will join them later.
The film makes me rethink about definition of barbaric and civilization. Thoughts like the following keep on popping up my head:
Is it more brutal to chop a person’s head and let them die in few seconds or, spray poison gas from the sky and force people to surrender and in the meantime torture massive people physically?
Is it more civilized to take away someone’s culture, belief and way of life and impose on yours that is totally different?
Is it more civilized to reduce someone into nothing, then look them down and not giving them a chance to shine? And the list just goes on.
I like the way the director decided to use singing and reveal seediq’s culture through lyrics instead of conversation (which I think will sound like a lecture on Seediq culture).
The film definitely needs some improvement on their graphic effects but the story itself is interesting enough for me to overlook this fault.