Cheerful Wind + A Morning in Taipei(RTRFH 2022)

Movie Name: A Morning in Taipei (New Score by Lim Giong)
Language: Silent with score
Category: --
Duration: 20 minutes
Director: Pai Ching-jui
Story: This is the director’s first film after he returned from his studies in Italy. The film illustrates the life forms in Taipei from dawn till noon, in the same vein as the semi-documentary style of Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (1927). Dawn breaks, early religion class begins, school guards rehearse, seamstresses clocks in, and offices begin to come to live…. The use of cinematography and editing is rich and powerful, incorporating both the lives of civilians and views of construction. The film did not have sound at the time and was put away for years. Lim Giong created electronic sounds to reinterpret the dream of a fledgling East Asian city.

Pai Ching-jui (1931-1997)
Born in Yingkou, Lioning, Pai Ching-jui learned filmmaking in Italy before joining Central Motion Picture Corporation. He made his name with Lonely Seventeen (1968) and shot mostly romantic melodramas in the 1970s, including classics such as Fantasies Behind the Pearly Curtain (1976). He was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at Golden Horse Awards posthumously in 1999.

Lim Giong (1964-)
Acclaimed Taiwanese musician Lim Giong produces New Taiwanese Songs and electronic music. He also has experience in acting, soundtrack composition, and multimedia art. He scored multiple films by directors such as Hou Hsiao-hsien and Jia Zhangke.

Movie Name: Cheerful Wind (aka Play While You Play) (Restored Version)
Language: Mandarin (Chinese & English subtitles)
Category: --
Duration: 92 minutes
Director: Hou Hsiao-hsien
Cast: Feng Fei-fei, Kenny Bee, Chan Yau, San Shu-kong (Chou Wan-sheng), Shih Ying, Wu Ling

Story: Like his debut feature Lovable You (1981), Hou Hsiao-hsien’s second film is also a Lunar New Year box office hit starring ‘Queen of Hats’ Feng Fei-fei and Kenny Bee. It is a departure from the literary romances of the 1970s and forges a new style of urban romantic comedy. The film features youthful and creative characters who are unpretentious and depiction of one’s pursuit of romance and career. The nonchalant humour and pleasant folk songs enliven the film with an easy-going style. Audience can get a glimpse of Hou’s aesthetics in the long shots, wide compositions, use of the Taiwanese language, and naturalistic performance. One can argue his direction here is even livelier and more astute than his later films. The portrayal of romance is contemplative and open-minded while it respects the persistence and exploratory nature of the youth’s personal choices. Romance cannot stop life from moving on and its ‘non-ending’ lure viewers to look forward to the future. This film is a gem in the romance genre that witnesses the development of a world-class filmmaker.

*Taiwan Cinema Digital Restoration 2018. The image was scanned from the 35mm original camera negative and the audio from 35mm print.

Hou Hsiao-hsien (1947- )
Born in Meixian, Guangdong, Hou Hsiao-hsien entered the film industry in 1973. His The Sandwich Man (1983) and The Boys from Fengkuei (1983) are foundational works of New Taiwanese Cinema. ‘Taiwan Trilogy’ made him world famous. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award at Golden Horse Awards in 2020.

^Pre-screening Introduction; Online talk by Ka Ming and Lau Yam (in Cantonese)