This year at the NYAFF I had a chance to catch the recent Taiwanese epic war film "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale". An edited, international version of the movie had been screened in New York a couple of times, but I had missed each opportunity. Finally, the film festival showed the movie in its original two-part, four and a half hour version (which I had no idea existed until reading the festival schedule) The movie is about a little known part of history, and a little known ethnic group - the indigenous Seediq people of Taiwan. The Seediq, along with a number of other indigenous ethnic groups on the island, have a culture that most Westerners would associate more with Native Americans than with East Asians. Indeed, the ancient land bridge connecting Asia and North America might have resulted in those cultures settling and developing around the same time. (I had known a tiny bit about Taiwan's indigenous people already, or at least of their existence - I had seen a television special about them a few years back, which showcased some of their chants. The chants were immediately recognizable to me, and I soon realized that they had been sampled for the Enigma song "Return to Innocence", a New Age song that had achieved some popularity in the mid 90s.) When Japan acquired Taiwan at the end of the 1800s, they (like most other colonial powers), saw the tribespeople as savages whose culture needed to be eradicated and replaced. While the Han Chinese suffered abuses, the indigenous tribes suffered much worse, as their entire populations were displaced and sometimes even wiped out.
The movie relates a rebellion that occurred in 1930, when the displaced natives rose up against the Japanese en masse. The first "part" (or more appropriately, the first movie) was, in my opinion, incredibly well done. It establishes the Seediq characters well, flaws and all. It rightfully portrays the Japanese army as oppressive, but still three dimensional and human: a rarity among Chinese films, even by master filmmakers. And it concludes with a heart wrenching massacre, not of Seediq, but of Japanese men, women and children who have met for a sporting event and been made targets of the Seediq's first revolt. The attack is not portrayed as glorious or noble, nor is it portrayed as savage. It's simply a violent tragedy brought about by a people backed into a corner with violence. The conclusion had me eagerly anticipating an exploration of the moral and political ramifications in part two. Unfortunately, the second part of the epic descent into the inevitable nationalism that such subject matter elicits. The rational Japanese characters become consumed by a need for revenge, the Seediq's killing of civilians is barely questioned, and the whole conflict is presented as a sad but noble necessity. Part two has it's moments as well, and its failings do not ruin the ultimate achievements of the movie. But While "Seediq Bale" could have been truly great, it settles somewhere around "pretty good".
Accompanying all of this mayhem is a soundtrack by Chinese composer Ricky Ho, who I hadn't heard of before this movie. Some reviewers complain of the soundtrack becoming too tiresome - a legitimate concern seeing how the soundtrack revolves around one major theme. However, the motif sees enough variations that I never found it boring. Any weariness of the soundtrack is more likely brought about by a weariness of the movie and its flaws. The central theme is, in the end, not just beautiful, but versatile enough to elicit different feelings in different scenes. This track, which is the longest one featuring the motif, plays during the scene of Seediq being "civilized" by the colonizers. Coming early in the movie, it's able to take something as benign as Seediq children learning Japanese, and turn it into something heartbreaking - the knowledge that Seediq culture is being replaced and lost forever. It's actually the one track that made me want to buy the soundtrack, and I was not disappointed.
Overall, I would give the "Seediq Bale" a strong recommendation, if only for the brilliance of its first half. Most viewers might want to check out the two and a half hour international version, which I haven't seen but hope to soon. One would hope that the shorter version cuts out some of the gratuitous patriotism in favor of the more nuanced character moments and moral ambiguity. It's more likely that the movie just cuts out dialogue in favor of violence. But in either case, the shorter version will likely be easier to swallow, as well as dissect. Enjoy!
Album info: http://www.yesasia.com/us/seediq-bale-original-soundtrack-ost/1025036293-0-0-0-en/info.html
