CANCELLED Film Screening: "Super Citizen Ko"
Key information
- Date
- Time
-
11:00 am to 1:00 pm
- Venue
- Brunei Gallery
- Room
- BGLT
About this event
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED
CANCELLED
Registration
*Please be aware that this session follows British Summer Time (BST) .
Synopsis
1994∣120min∣Color∣Fiction∣Mandarin, Taiwanese
The film narrates the political history of Taiwan over a period of 50 years, following the imposition of martial law in 1947 and ‘The White Terror.’ Suspected of being a leftist, KO spent around 30 years in prison and institutions, always obsessively worrying about the fate of his best friend CHEN executed in the 1950s. Their friendship and CHEN's fate is chronicled in flashback. Soon after his release, KO goes in search of the truth and a part of himself. Only when he learns the truth is he able to pay his respects.
This intense and sad film depicts the mind of KO as he wanders back and forth through time and space, history and the city, memory and reality. Using an idealistic political prisoner from the 50s to form a poignant contrast with the corrupt politicians of the 90s, WAN thrusts the motifs of “introspection” and “redemption” to the poetic summit using thick and heavy brush strokes, resulting in a great artistic achievement.
1995 Golden Horse Awards, Best Actor
1995 Golden Horse Awards, nominated for Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Sound Recording
1998 Fajr International Film Festival, Best Script Award
Director: WAN Jen
One of the most influential directors in Taiwan’s New Wave Cinema of the 1980s, he made his debut, The Taste of Apple, in the landmark work The Sandwich Man (1983) with HOU Hsiao-hsien and ZENG Chuang-hsiang. WAN has consistently explored Taiwan’s social problems and political issues. His work has always been politically sensitive and critical of the impacts of industrialization and political corruption, and has been powerful in challenging how the past is presented and whose story is told.
Organiser: Centre of Taiwan Studies
Contact email: hl55@soas.ac.uk
Sponsor: Taiwan Ministry of Culture & Taiwan Cinema Toolkit