6/5(Sat) Recent Taiwanese Films Review (Host:Christine Wang)

[Christine_Wang]

Dear YoYo members,

I am so sorry for the delay of posting the article. I didn’t realize that I would be the host on this Saturday until Eddie called me this afternoon (Thanks a lot for Eddie's reminder). Since we will have dinner together after the meeting, let’s talk about something relaxing, movies. Have you watched any Taiwanese movies recently? Here are some links for your reference.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar ... 2003472940
http://www.taipeitimes.com/images/2010/ ... P17-IB.pdf

FILM REVIEW: Pennies for their thoughts
‘Taipei Exchanges’ juxtaposes capitalism against a more idealistic way of life in the form of two sisters, one practical, the other utopian
Taipei has recently been portrayed as an exotic landscape for a Swedish mother and her son in Miss Kicki (霓虹心) and as a city of romance in Au Revoir Taipei (一頁台北). Now comes television commercial director Hsiao Ya-chuan’s (蕭雅全) Taipei Exchanges (第36個故事), which was commissioned by the Taipei City Government’s Department of Information and Tourism (台北市觀光傳播局). The movie attempts to downplay the city’s reputation as a center of capitalism populated by money-grubbing consumers by limiting much of the action to a cafe where an idealistic young woman opens a side business based on bartering.
…….
(I delete some parts of the article (they are about the detail of this film), so some members who haven’t watched this film yet can still have a surprise in the theater. )
…….
Given its director’s background in an environment that prizes efficiency, Taipei Exchanges paints a surprisingly sweet, romantic portrait of a Taipei where capitalism is superseded by a barter economy, and memory and relationships are more valuable than commerce and commodity. The film neatly plays with the two distinct value systems as represented by the two sisters, one practical, the other utopian, and aims for a reconciliation between the two.

The movie is well-crafted, and its fairy-tale feel is charmingly enhanced by artist Wu Meng-yun’s (吳孟芸) child-like illustrated art, and a warm, comforting score by Summer Lei (雷光夏) and Ho Zhi-jian (侯志堅). The narrative flow is sometimes interrupted by footage of street interviews with real-life Taipei residents, who comment on the choices Doris makes in the film.

But with 80 percent of the film taking place inside the coffee shop, Hsiao stretches his already thin material a bit too much and loses the momentum he would have needed to make a serious statement. Much like the pretty drawings and postcards on display in the cafe, the film’s characters seem to live exclusively in delightful vignettes that are inspired by the real world but not truly rooted in it.

Doris’ Coffee Shop (朵兒咖啡館) was built from scratch by the film crew in an old apartment on Taipei’s tree-lined Fujin Street (富錦街), an area that is home to an assortment of interesting boutiques and other shops. It became a real coffee shop after the shooting of the film, and it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if this stylish cafe becomes a popular tourist attraction after Taipei Exchanges hits theaters across the country.

In case you were wondering, no, you can’t trade in your old toaster for someone else’s discarded teddy bear at Doris’ Coffee Shop. That’s just in the movie.
http://www.taipeiexchanges.com/taipeiexchanges.html
http://www.facebook.com/pagetaipei
http://tw.movie.yahoo.com/movieinfo_main.html/id=3218


Question for Discussion
Session One

1. Have you watched any Taiwanese films recently? Share with other members your feeling about these films you watched.

2. Do you like Taiwanese films? Are you a big fan of Taiwanese films? Why or why not?

3. Can you tell the difference of Taiwanese films from different area? Which period of Taiwanese films do you prefer? Why?

Session Two

1. It seems that Taipei or Kaohsiung governments made a great effort on promoting their cities by supporting films making. Do you think are they successful on tourism?

2. Government also took a lot of measures on increasing domestic touristic business. For example, finding some specific events for 319 towns (鶯歌陶瓷, 深坑豆腐, 台南小吃古蹟) and holding some festivals or activities in different countryside in different seasons (墾丁春吶, 貢寮音樂季, 苗栗桐花季). Do you buy them? Why or why not?

3. If you were a film director, and your hometown will support money, places and facilities to help you finish your film, what kind of story will you tell? Any special elements from your hometown you would like to put into your film? (the whole world might see it in one day when your film becomes famous)

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Agenda:
Session I:
2:15 ~ 2:30 Greeting / Ordering Beverage or Meal
2:30 ~ 2:40 Opening Remarks / New comers' Self-introduction / Grouping
2:40 ~ 3:20 First Group Discussion
3:20 ~ 3:35 First Summarization
3:35 ~ 3:40 Regrouping /Break
Session II:
3:40 ~ 3:45 Introduction
3:45 ~ 4:25 Second Group Discussion
4:25 ~ 4:40 2nd Summarization
4:40 ~ 4:50 Concluding Remarks / Announcements

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聚會日期：列於該貼文主題內
聚會時間：請準時 2:15 pm 到 ~ 約 5:00 pm 左右結束
星期六聚會地點：丹堤濟南店
地址、電話：台北市濟南路三段25號
捷運站：板南線 忠孝新生站 3 號出口
走法：出忠孝新生站 3 號出口後，沿著巷子(忠孝東路三段10巷)走約 2 分鐘，到了濟南路口，左轉走約 2 分鐘即可看到。
最低消費： 50 元

注意事項：
1. 文章是否需要列印請自行斟酌，但與會者請務必自行列印 Questions for discussion。
2. 與會者請先閱讀過文章，並仔細想過所有的問題，謝謝合作！

給新朋友的話：
1. 請事先準備2~3分鐘的英語自我介紹；會議結束前可能會請你發表1~2分鐘的感想。

[toshi]

Very good topic! ^_^

This one is pretty good: 乘著光影旅行

[Julian]

Dear Christine,

Thanks for the nice topic, and Sorry for informing you under such a short notice.
There should be something wrong and I think we can try to prevent the situation happen again. Wish a very successful hosting you will have in the coming weekend.

Regards,
Julian

[Eddie]

Hi Christine

Wow. You are my hero. How could you finish all the jobs in 3 hours. I think you can be very good rescuer (Maybe rescue me next time )
Sorry for my forgetting to remind you since I invite you to be host. I also just know when Steven remind me.

Happy hosting

[Julian]

Host: Christine Wang
Participants:
Timothy, Debby, Mountain, Regina, Gavin, Michael, Luis, Tammy, Julian, Arther, Chris, Brain, Eddie, Peter, Cindy, Nicol, Stephen, Winson, Marian, Sunny, Steve

New comer: Alex Liu and Alex Chen

Total: 24