Leon Dai Movies

Separated from her husband, lonely dress-designer Ju-feng (Chen Shiang-chyi) hopes to spend time with her brother Chuen-sheng (Lee Kang-sheng), but when he returns from military service, he chooses instead to steal from their father, play the sax, and hang out with Taipei hookers. Mei-li (Chang Pen-yu) steals Ju-feng's cell phone, with the result that the two know each other only through phone conversations. Coincidentally, Chuen-sheng has sex with Mei-li, telling her in passing how he once slept with his sister. Unaware that Chuen-sheng is Ju-feng's brother, Mei-li uses no name when she relates this anecdote to Ju-feng. Later, Chuen-sheng introduces Mei-li to his father and sister, and Ju-feng is stunned when she finally begins to jigsaw together all the connections. In Mandarin and Hokkien dialogue. Shown at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Two young people begin a tragic love affair against a backdrop of political turmoil in Lin Cheng-sheng's Xingfu Jinxingqu. In 1945, Taiwan is under Japanese occupation and Yu (Hsiao Shu-shen), a merchant's daughter who is a member of a theater troupe, falls in love with a musician named Jin (Lim Giong) who works with her group. However, Yu's father is not pleased, as he hopes she will some day wed Ren-chang (Yang Cai-hsia), the son of a prominent doctor. When Allied forces begin bombing Taiwan, the players are forced to disband, and Yu and Jin do not see each other for two years. When they do, a great deal has changed; the Kuomintang, under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek, have established a Chinese-directed government in Taiwan, and local dialects are forbidden while residents are forced to speak Mandarin. Despite the new hardships, Yu and Jin renew their love and pledge to marry on Feb. 28, 1949 -- a day now remembered in Taiwan for a bloody massacre in which the Kuomintang forces attacked helpless Taiwanese citizens. Xingfu Jinxingqu was Lin Cheng-sheng's fourth film to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival, and his first to be screened in official competition. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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

Pornography helps to teach a lonely student an important life lesson in this rollicking teen sex comedy from Taiwanese director Su Chao-pin. A recluse whose extraordinarily large penis results in sexual anxiety, 15-year old Lin-Tsu Chuang's only solace in life is his unique collection of 4,572 porno magazines. The only friend that Lin-Tsu can truly confide in is the owner of the porno shop he frequents, and despite his lack of friends at school, fellow student Lin Xiao-ying secretly harbors an enormous crush on the well-endowed loner. When his friend in the porno shop dies and leaves Lin-Tsu a key to a place that will supposedly reveal all the secrets to love and sex in life, the young student does find clarity, although it may be too late for Lin Xiao, who has turned to juvenile delinquency after finding constant disappointment in her search for love. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Elements of the typical detective story blend with comedy and melodrama in this tale of a Taipei man who longs to patch up his relationship with his estranged wife, yet finds his noble efforts sabotaged when he steps out of his car to purchase a cake, and another driver parks him in. It's Mother's Day in Taipei, and Chen Mo is eager to patch things up with his beloved wife. In order to start things off on the right foot, Chen Mo stops by the local bakery to pick up a cake. Unfortunately, that's just about the time another driver chooses to double-park in the space next to him, effectively blocking him in. The driver of the other car is nowhere to be found, and Chen Mo searches every floor of the adjacent parking building to no avail. In the course of his quest, Chen mo encounters a series of quirky characters including a one-armed barbershop owner with a fondness for fish head soup, and a mainland prostitute on the run from her pimp. In time Chen Mo finds the driver of the offending car, and invites his newfound friends along as he prepares to drive off into new horizons. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide