Cape No. 7

The title is what I believe after I saw this movie.

Cape No.7 is a great movie and a humble self-introduction of Taiwan. Few that live in mainland China know the real Taiwan. What are the people like? How is their life there? These questions are not merely out of our curiosity; it's more because we care.

Movie has always been a good way of knowing other peoples and cultures. I've always been wanting to know Taiwan through their movies, but the fact is movie industry of Taiwan hasn't been doing well for a long time. If you go to a DVD shop(not to mention cinema) and look for Taiwan movies, mostly, you'll find, or the owner will recommend to you stupid little romances with good-looking faces or extremely low-key boring meaningless experiments(usually in experiments' disguise making erotic stuff), but what we wanna see and the filmmakers in Taiwan should show us is a real Taiwan, a real life of the people. Unlike most other Taiwan movies you can easily find, Cape No.7 is not only a 100% percent authentic Taiwan movie, encouragingly, it's honest and humble too, in order that a real Taiwan will be demonstrated to everyone, including Taiwan natives.

And the effort paid off. We see the beauty of the island, and the beauty of its people. You may think of another movie that is like a place's self-introduction, The Barber of Siberia. Critics say Russia in The Barber of Siberia is not the real Russia, which is not that good in fact. You might feel Taiwan in Cape No.7 is not the real Taiwan either; you might think Taiwan could never be such a nice place. Truthfully, Taiwan has its good and bad things, if there is nothing good in Taiwan and the movie tells you it's good then that's called fake; if there are good things and people, and the movie shows the good to us, why should we say it's not real? There is a time to reveal bad and ugly and there is a time to show good and beauty. Same reasoning with The Barber of Siberia. At this moment, why don't we enjoy seeing a good, beautiful and true Taiwan and hope there are more and more movies like Cape No.7.

I can understand why this movie broke box office record in Taiwan, because it is truly a movie Taiwanese people can fully appreciate. But I doubt others can understand it and enjoy it as much.

As they say in Japan, the "common sense" in Japan is not the common sense in other countries. The characters in this movie seem to be doing things that are not thinkable or allowed in other countries. But in Taiwan, they are completely acceptable. Even though they are just subplots and do not affect the whole story, they may be confusing to non Taiwanese viewers. Especially there is a lose end to a very important part. If you can ignore these non essential parts, then you will enjoy the movie.

After the beginning mess, the movie stays focused. With every passing minute, draws you closer to the characters. In the end, the movie grows on you, after it's finished, you will want to see it again.

If the director gives it some editing, it can be a serious Oscar contender.

I, too, grew up partly in Taiwan and am now living in the States. I'm from South Taiwan, and quite often frequented the town here the movie takes place.

There are indeed a bunch of Taiwanese humor, and due to such may be difficult for those who are not so adjusted to the culture to understand.

The plot was touching, and environment VERY local--I'd even call it authentic. It's not exactly an OMG AMAZING script, as plenty of Japanese cartoon (anime), with which many Taiwnese are familiar with, and a lot of older Taiwnese stories that are based around the general plot. However, that is not to say the movie wasn't creative, as it is arguable that there are only 5 stories, and seemingly infinite ways to present them.

I personally loved the movie. It was touching, and admittedly, I cried--from flooding nostalgia of memories past.

Because the majority of the movie is based on Taiwanese culture, it is definitely a hard one to push internationally, especially in the western part of the world.

However, I felt that a movie like Cape No. 7 was long overdue in Taiwan, and believe that it is a first step for Taiwan to take to gain international footing in the movie industry.

Wow! I just finished seeing this with a group of friends and everybody in the cinema seemed to truly enjoy themselves.

Filmed in Taiwan with a Taiwanese director and mostly local actors, this timeless plot features a small town that must come up with a band comprised of local musicians that will be the opening act for a big beach concert starring a big Japanese star. Will the beautiful Japanese concert coordinator fall for the local boy that has left a musical career in Taipei to return home to become a mailman? Can a band with a 10-year-old keyboardist, a 70-year-old bassist, and various other misfits help put Hengchun on the map?

This may strike some as a Taiwanese version of "The Commitments"/"School of Rock" and, yes, there are a few saccharine moments. Yet, director Wei Te-sheng, a former assistant director under the legendary Edward Yang (director of one of Taiwan's all-time best films, "Yi Yi," IMHO), skillfully pulls everything off without a hitch. Recommended to movie lovers of all ages!

By the time I watched this film, it has broken Taiwan's all time box-office record. Taiwan has no Hollywood, but for decades until recent years, it has produced dozens of movies every year. It's been the hub of Chinese-speaking film making industry and nurtured internationally renowned directors such as Hsiao-hsien Hou, Edward Yang and, of course, Ang Lee. That's why it's a surprise to see what the film has achieved because, whichever way you look at it, it fell short of many high standards set by its predecessors. It's by no means a bad movie though. A warm story executed reasonably well. The elements of romance and certainly music (Taiwan's pop music industry is also well developed) added to its viewing pleasure. Beautiful photography gives extra charms to the tropical town in the southern tip of the island. Acting wise not overall brilliant, but some roles depicting typical local characteristics are particularly lovable. Old Mao is the best example.

Perhaps the underlying reason for the film's popularity is something beyond its plot. Taiwan society, in recent years, has suffered from slow economy, isolation from the world as a result of "One China Policy", and especially the conflict between political parties within the island. People are tired. Tired of struggling to make a living in the big cities and tired of watching confrontations among politics everyday and night on TV. The simple small town lifestyle and good-willed characters demonstrated in the film remind people of the good old days. For two hours, it's like providing an escape for people who have long been trapped or bringing light to people who have long been live in dark. This film will represent Taiwan for the quest of Oscar's best foreign language film. It's not going to win. It's even unlikely to be nominated. But, maybe by accident, this film has achieved something that makes it bigger than winning prizes -- bringing hope to depressed souls!