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Blue Gate Crossing (2003)

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Posted on January 8, 2006 by Alison

I’m now forced to take back every rash generalisation I’ve ever made about Taiwanese films. This one is brilliant, and I couldn’t help but love it.

Blue Gate Crossing has the same slow pace, and is imbued with the same minimalist realism, as every other Taiwanese film I’ve seen. But where other Taiwanese films either bore me senseless or force me to leave the cinema in high dudgeon, this one had me enthralled. I’d have watched the whole thing again … (read more)

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Blade Of The Rose (2004)

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Posted on January 8, 2006 by Alison

Of all sequels, this is the one that should never have been made. The original Twins publicity vehicle, The Twins Effect, was not a strong enough film to warrant a sequel, which is probably why the film-makers decided to use a completely different story. Bad move. Exceedingly bad move.

The story is complicated, but not well-thought out. It doesn’t hang together, and helps to make the whole film look rather like an undergraduate effort: full of grand ideas rendered … (read more)

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About Love (2005)

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Posted on August 4, 2005 by Eugene

There is always a sense of fondness when looking at the short film. Part of that has to do with being exposed too often to ideas and stories forcibly drawn out to meet certain time expectations, so that when one comes across a short film that gets to its point and does it well, it’s always refreshing. Besides which, that sense of a bite of culture without the commitment of a full feature appeals to my capricious, contrary nature.

This … (read more)

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