Films & Schedules - TAIWAN

Based on the children’s book by Taiwanese illustrator Jimmy Liao, the gentle Starry Starry Night follows the intersecting lives of inward 13-year-old Mei, who’s coping with the death of her grandfather and her parents’ crumbling marriage, and shy Jay, who endures a rootless existence caused by his abusive father. When Mei falls in love with Jay, a recent transfer student at her school, she finds solace from her troubles and begins a journey to find the missing parts of her troubled life. Venturing into the starry night, Mei and Jay set off on a romantic, perilous trip into the mountainous...

Based on the children’s book by Taiwanese illustrator Jimmy Liao, the gentle Starry Starry Night follows the intersecting lives of inward 13-year-old Mei, who’s coping with the death of her grandfather and her parents’ crumbling marriage, and shy Jay, who endures a rootless existence caused by his abusive father. When Mei falls in love with Jay, a recent transfer student at her school, she finds solace from her troubles and begins a journey to find the missing parts of her troubled life. Venturing into the starry night, Mei and Jay set off on a romantic, perilous trip into the mountainous wilderness to find her grandparents’ cottage, a place of comforting memories, and destinations further. “A charming bit of whimsy that speaks to anyone who experienced a sense of emotional injustice during their formative years.”—Slant (99 mins.)

Selected Filmography: Winds of September (08)

Sponsored by Steven Smith Teamaker.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Narrative Feature, Asian, Literature.

“A neighborhood’s lives and loves intertwine in this almost novelistic film, seen mostly through the eyes of 17-year-old Xiao Yang. Together’s various storylines cycle through several families who live on the same street in contemporary Taipei. Xiao Yang is a patient observer but not a neutral one: most of the love letters that charmingly still circulate in this working-class Taipei community pass through his hands, and he’s the catalyst of several of the story’s love affairs. The community includes a costume vendor, a Japanese-Taiwanese newlywed couple, and Xiao Yang’s sometimes violent, sometimes romantically inclined classmates. Everyone seems to be in...

“A neighborhood’s lives and loves intertwine in this almost novelistic film, seen mostly through the eyes of 17-year-old Xiao Yang. Together’s various storylines cycle through several families who live on the same street in contemporary Taipei. Xiao Yang is a patient observer but not a neutral one: most of the love letters that charmingly still circulate in this working-class Taipei community pass through his hands, and he’s the catalyst of several of the story’s love affairs. The community includes a costume vendor, a Japanese-Taiwanese newlywed couple, and Xiao Yang’s sometimes violent, sometimes romantically inclined classmates. Everyone seems to be in the process of breaking up or finding a new lover. We are gently induced to interpret, to be active participants in framing the story. The result is a fully achieved first film of tangible power and abundant humanity.”—Vancouver International Film Festival (114 mins.)

First Feature.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: New Directors, Narrative Feature, Asian.