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The Sandwich Man (Taiwan, 1983); Island Etude (Taiwan, 2006)

The Sandwich Man (1983)
March 8, 2014 - 7:30 pm

New Digital Restoration!

The Sandwich Man (Taiwan, 1983)

“Like most of Hou's work, Sandwich Man takes a subject that might easily lurch into bathos…and treats it with exquisite subtlety, convincing detail and luminous human perception.” —Los Angeles Times

Directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien, Wan Jen, Jong Cheung-Tsang

Based on short stories by the nativist writer Huang Chunming, the three episodes in this film explore the local and everyday effects of distant modernizing forces in Taiwan during the 1960s. One of the seminal films of the Taiwan New Cinema, The Sandwich Man launched the careers of its three young directors and shaped Taiwan’s onscreen image for years. 

Producer: Ming Ji. Screenwriter: Wu Nien-chen. Cinematographer: Chen Kun Hao. Editor: Liao Ching-song. Cast: Chen Bo Jeng, Cho Sheng-li, Chiang Hsia, Jing Ding, Yang Li-Yin.

Digital video, color, in Mandarin and Taiwanese with English subtitles, 102 min. 

Island Etude (Taiwan, 2006)

Directed by Chen Huai-en

A young man embarks upon a bicycle tour around the periphery of the island of Taiwan. Along the way he encounters many fellow travelers: a graffiti artist, a lovely traveling student from Lithuania, allowing each to affect him in some way. In this moving valentine to Taiwanese civil society, “Ming’s” experiences suggest the negotiations and transformations taking place everywhere in the country… for those open to experience. 

Producer: Yang Lai-yin. Screenwriter/Cinematographer: Chen Huai-en. Editor: Chen Bo-wen. Cast: Tung Ming-hsiang, Teng An-ning, Ruta Palionyte, Danny Deng, Darren.

35mm, color, in Mandarin and Lithuanian with English subtitles, 109 min.