Thus, Gaga offers refreshingly specific Taiwanese indigenous take on a rather universal theme of modernity v. In an interview, Mebow stated that she wanted Gaga to explore the very real practicalities of maintaining traditions that indigenous Taiwanese face today. The film’s title “gaga” is an Atayal word that refers to the tribe’s traditional practices and beliefs. To make matters worse, a granddaughter returns from New Zealand with an unexpected pregnancy, while her father and the family’s eldest son decides to run for township head. When their grandfather patriarch-who maintained the family’s traditional practices-passes away, the Hayung’s begin to disintegrate. Gaga traces three generations of the Hayung family, who belong to the Atayal tribe. In 2022, she returned with Gaga, her first feature in six years following her success with 2016’s Hang in There, Kids! ( Lokah Laqi). Laha Mebow is perhaps Taiwan’s most renowned indigenous director.
GagaĬhinese Title: 哈勇家 | Director: Laha Mebow | Starring: Andy Huang, Esther Huang, Wilang Noming, Kagaw Piling | Genre: Family, Comedy, Drama We get to explore the dichotomies of victim versus perpetrator, night versus day, online versus offline, asuras versus gods, and so forth.
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Saying more would give key elements of Goddamned Asura away, but the movie is immensely powerful in its exploration of duality, which it carries forth in both narrative and artistry. The film takes place in three distinct acts, and explores the effect that small decisions can have on fate. Goddamned Asura weaves together the lives of six young people living in Taipei who eventually end up connecting through acts of violence. The film is yet another member of a recent trend in Taiwanese media featuring stories about young people committing violent public crimes, in the wake of certain incidents in the mid-2010s. A Holy FamilyĬhinese Title: 該死的阿修羅 | Director: Lou Yi-an | Starring: Joseph Huang, Morning Mo, Peijia Huang | Genre: Crime, DramaĪlthough Goddamned Asura had a festival release in late 2021, it didn’t get a theatrical wide release in Taiwan until 2022-which is why it’s on this year’s list of best Taiwanese movies, and not 2021’s. Stream this Taiwanese movie on Netflix 4. Learn more about Incantation our full-length review This was so inspiring of terror that a quick look at Chinese-language online reviews of the film shows many audience members who have, in fact, come to believe that they were cursed after watching the film–or at least claim that online for kicks. The most distinctive aspect of the film may be its metafictional element, however. Subsequently, the family struggles with the consequences of the curse, with Duo-duo showing signs of possession, and inexplicably seeing things. Incantation’s distributors tout the film as the highest-grossing Taiwanese horror film of all time.Īfter Ruo-nan and her boyfriend make a YouTube video of a forbidden religious ceremony, the young family becomes cursed. Demigod: The Legend BeginsĬhinese Title: 咒 | Director: Kevin Ko | Starring: Hsuan-yen Tsai, Sin-Ting Huang, Ying-Hsuan Kao, Sean Lin | Genre: HorrorĪcclaimed as one of the most effective Taiwanese horrors in recent memory, Incantation follows young mother Ruo-nan and her daughter Duo-duo.
While slightly overwrought, the movie aims for social realism. Apart from showing the lives of the people involved in pigeon races, including organized crime elements, its protagonists work in socially disreputable jobs, and embody the “taike” stereotype of benshengren Taiwanese. In particular, Coo-Coo 043 stands out for its attempts to show the lives of destitute rural working class people.
The reappearance of a prized pigeon that disappeared seven years ago, the titular “043”, prompts reflection in Ching and his family about their course in life, haunted as they are by the disappearance of their son around the same time that “043” disappeared. Chinese Title: 一家子兒咕咕叫 | Director: Ching-lin Chan | Starring: An-Shun Yu, Li-Yin Yang, Rimong Ihwar, Jhih-Ciang Hu | Genre: DramaĪlthough its chances of international marketability were likely sunk by its strange title, Coo-Coo 043 follows the lives of a working-class Taiwanese family whose patriarch, Ching, is addicted to pigeon racing (which has historically been a popular gambling sport in Taiwan).
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