Tsai Chen-Nan Movies
- 2001
Two rebellious youngsters deal with the harsh realities of life on the streets of Taipei in this tough but compassionate drama. Fei-Fei (Sinje) is a young woman chafing under the restrictive yoke of her mother's authority, and when she discovers her mother has been reading her diaries, she decides it's time to strike out on her own. Fei-Fei moves in with her best friend Yili (Kelly Kuo), whose boyfriend Tiger (Leon Dai) is the top man in a local street gang. Fei-Fei joins Yili in selling betelnuts on the street -- a pepper which in sufficient quantities produces a mild high not unlike marijuana. While hawking her wares, Fei-fei meets Feng (Chang Chen), who has just finished a hitch in the army and is looking for something to do with his life. Fei-Fei and Feng fall in love and move in together, but their lives quickly take divergent paths -- Feng makes friends with one of Tiger's underlings, Guang (Kao Ming-chun), and soon becomes a member of Taipei's criminal underground. Fei-Fei, on the other hand, is looking for something better than selling low-level drugs on the street, and tries to strike out in a new career in show business. Ai Ni Ai Wo (which literally translates as "Love You, Love Me," though the film's official English-language title is Betelnut Beauty) won an award for Lin Cheng-sheng as Best Director at the 2001 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chang Chen, Tsai Chen-Nan, (more)
- 1998
When the ghost of a former patron comes to haunt him, a bereaved Taiwanese cab-driver finds solace in the notion that there is indeed life after death. Though it has been years since his son suffered an accidental fatal fall from a rooftop, Ah-De remains trapped in a vortex of grief. Before the incident, Ah-De had been happily married and was actively involved with campaigning for the rights of Taiwan's indigenous people, but after his son's death, Ah-De withdrew from the world and his loved ones, causing his wife to leave him. Since then, Ah-De immersed himself in his career of driving a taxi in Taipei. One day, he stops to pick up Mah-Le, a native Taiwanese who came to the great city to find his parents. Just before hailing Ah-De's cab, Mah-Le had cut off the head of his construction boss with a ceremonial sword in retaliation against the latter's constant barrage of racial slurs and his cruel treatment of Mah-Le. The killer is caught and executed, and afterward his spirit comes to reside in Ah-De's cab, causing the cab driver to rethink his notions of an afterlife. This simple but dramatic tale was screened at the 1998 Venice Film Festival. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tsai Chen-Nan, Chang Cheng-yu, (more)
- 1994
- R
This Taiwanese drama focuses on the strained relations between a father and son. It is set in a small mining village on the northern tip of Taiwan. This area owes it's development to Japan which once controlled it. The older residents of the town still hold the Japanese in high regard, but the post-WW II generation is contemptuous of their benefactors. This generational difference creates the conflict between the father, Sega, a miner, and son, Wen-Jian. The story is told from Wen-Jian's point of view and flashes back to three parts of Wen-Jian's life. Each part reflects upon the impact the Japanese had upon the town and his father's life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tsai Chen-Nan, Tsai Chiou-Fong, (more)
