Guang yin de gu shi

IN OUR TIME (1982) is widely known as the film that evoked Taiwan New Wave Cinema in the early 1980s, followed by a commercially more successful THE SANDWICH MAN next year.

It's an episodic film written and directed by 4 new-comers: Teh-Chen Tao, Teh-Chong (Edward) Yang, Yi-Chen Ko, and Yi Chang. All of them have film education backgrounds. Tao gained a master degree at Syracuse University while Ko got his at Columbia College; Chang graduated from Film Program of a college in Taipei and became a famed screenwriter before making this movie; Edward Yang, who studied at USC for a year, has won international reputation for his later works.

The theme of IN OUR TIME deals with 4 stages in life. The first episode titled LITTLE DRAGON HEAD, directed by Tao, is a stylish depiction of childhood misery in 1950s Taiwan. His camera work is impressive, but the pace a bit slow.

Second episode EXPECTATION, directed by Yang, is a simple realization of young girl's yearning for love, set in 1960s. Also sparked by filmic style, but not much dimension.

Third episode THE JUMPING FROG, directed by Ko, is fast-paced comedy about vigorous college life in 1970s. Some absurd vignettes adding to its flavor.

Fourth episode SAY YOUR NAME, directed by Chang, is a sitcom about identity problems of a young couple in 1980s. Interesting idea, fair performances, and tight direction.

What makes the movie so important in Taiwan film history is that most directors before them learned their crafts under studio system, working their ways up step by step for years. After becoming film directors, they don't have individual style or abilities to write their own screenplays, just make routine productions according to what they learned from veteran director.

On the contrary, IN OUR TIME is a conscious creation by 4 young filmmakers with high-level education backgrounds. They know exactly what they want in every single shot instead of telling stories written by others.

In Our Time is an anthology film directed by four Taiwanese New Wave directors. Though the four stories are obviously independent, I felt like that they present a single stream.

I'm pretty sure that Taiwanese New Wave directors are all shooting the movements of objects, including characters, in the camera. It is more of a setup than a capture. Even the movement of light seems set. This makes me feel such pleasant to watch their movies.

All four films are really wonderful, but the second one by Edward Yang and the fourth by Yi Chang are particularly good.

The fourth episode is wrapped up in Claude Bolling's music from Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio album. As soon as the story started, Sentimentale came out and it really stimulated me. It's just a fuss, but such emotions are poured into it.

I must begin to watch Edward Yang's another masterpiece, "That day, on the Beach."

In Our Time is a portmanteau film, consisting of four films by four different directors. Along with Sandwich Man (another portmanteau film), it kicked off Taiwanese New Cinema. It represented a bold experiment in film-making, away from escapist romances and action movies - in which competition from Hong Kong was very strong - and towards a truly national cinema, socially, culturally and linguistically aware of the unique Taiwanese situation. The directors were trained in film school rather than through the studio system, and most of the actors were non-professional. This historical importance of this movie makes it hard to evaluate, therefore, purely in terms of entertainment.

The first segment, 'Little Dragon Head', was directed by Tao De Chen, and concentrated on a young boy who was picked on by his parents and his classmates. His only friend is a plastic dinosaur. One can't help but feel sorry for the boy as people and events continually conspire against him, but since the presentation is so subjective (even including a funny dream segment), is this perhaps no more a presentation of infant self-pity? The second segment, 'Expectation', was directed by the then unknown Edward Yang. It appears that his interest in telling women's stories was present from the very beginning. The main protagonist in this tale is a young adolescent girl, who lives with her older sister and widowed mother. One of her friends is a small, bespectacled boy, but when her family takes on a male student as a lodger, she becomes aware of her blossoming womanhood. This story is told with great sympathy for the main character, and is, like the first, presented subjectively through her eyes, elaborated by her imagination.

The third segment, by Ko I-Cheng (Ke Yizheng), takes place in college. The main character is a lively fellow, called 'Fatty' in jest, who spends his time exercising and working as a driver for women who have use of their husbands' cars, but cannot drive. Like the protagonists of the earlier tales, he too seems caught between hopes and dreams, and less promising reality.

The last segment, by Zhang Yi, was also the shortest. 'Say Your Name' is an amusing comedy about a young couple who have just moved into a new apartment in Taipei. Their neighbours seem to assume that anyone they don't know must be a thief, which makes things even more complicated.

There is a definite progression through the four films, in time (from the fifties to the eighties) and in the age of the protagonists (from early primary school to young, working adults). Though the four stories were essentially short films, characterisation was achieved quite well in all of them, at least for the main characters. The young non-actors did well in roles that required them to be themselves rather than impersonate someone else.

Also, the social context of the films is impossible to ignore. Along with the usual problems of growing up, there is also poverty and alienation, also music and traffic jams. Movies had suddenly become art and social commentary, rather than simple entertainment. These are the great strengths of this film. It is a triumph of youth over experience, energetic engagement over complacent distraction.

Having become accustomed to the New Taiwanese style of film-making, it is difficult to appreciate just what a breath of fresh air this film (and Sandwich Man) must have been at the time. Even in sections where production seems a little 'rough around the edges,' this is compensated for by ideas and inventiveness, by the sheer audacity of the experiment.

The first segemt portrays an innocent childhood, the second a curious and confused adolescent, the third a charming college student and fourth athe everyday struggles of a new relationship. They are all very funny especially the last segment and brings a great smile on your face. Definitely a must match for edward yang and new Taiwanese cinema fans which will give you a lasting memory of happiness even after seeing it a long time ago.

A superb portmenteau film, instrumental to the birth of the New Taiwan Cinema. The first two segments entail sublime moments, particularly in the expertly use of score and in the subtle chromatic compositions, the latter thoroughly cinematic and enhanced by the nice soft focus effect. The remaining two are obviously good but slightly less evocative in capturing the memories but very sharp in social criticism. Lovely.