No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti. I was quite impressed by that movie. Very gritty, and a great criticism of Taiwan’s Kafkaesque bureaucracy. As I mentioned to my friends after we saw it, I felt that I could smell the oil and briny air while watching the movie.
Sure he motorcycles his way to Taipei and back, when it might have been cheaper to take a bus, but it makes for nice road-trip scenes.
Actually the driving the motorcycle to Taipei and back struck me as one of the most realistic elements. Because when you’re really poor, you don’t have the wherewithal or the luxury to make rational decisions. The couple of times I’ve been pretty poor in my life I always paid much more for basic necessities than I ever have when well off. This is a fundamental part of why being poor is such a b*tch, and one of the things that makes it harder to drag oneself back above that poverty line.
Just watched Tears. I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately and not really enjoying any films, but rented this one on Feiren’s recommendation. I happened to run into him in Ximenting as he was coming out of the theater a few weeks ago, and have been waiting for the DVD. I rented it yesterday and was up late tonight and thought I’d watch a few minutes before bed. Couldn’t take my eyes off it. One of the best and most realistic cops and criminals films I’ve ever seen, as well as having a bit of weird romance, biting humor at well-timed intervals (e.g. the totally off-kilter scene with the indigenous guys in the mountain, and some of the scenes in the hotel), and interesting cinematography.