A Confucian Confusion (1994) [Film Review]

A Confucian Confusion; or, The Way of a Copywriter
     Don't you feel emotion is becoming dangerous nowadays? Emotion has only become an excuse. It can be faked. Take you, for example, your innocence, loveliness, tenderness, vivacity. They all can be faked. Think about it.
Recently, I found myself in a dire need for Edward Yang. Yi Yi (2000) is obviously a masterpiece and to date remains one of my all-time favourite movies, but I wanted to check out the director’s earlier works as well. My choice became A Confucian Confusion from 1994. I have been eyeing this particular motion picture for quite some time, but I was either not in the mood for it or too tired to pay attention to multiple storylines. Well, I finally watched it, so here are my thoughts on the film.

Release Info

Directed by: Edward Yang Starring: Suk Kwan Ni, Bosen Wang, Chen Shiang-chyi, Danny Dun

Language: Mandarin Original Title: 獨立時代 Runtime: 125 min

Synopsis
The story focuses on the misadventures of Molly (Suk Kwan Ni), a fast-paced yet moody businesswoman who is unhappy at work and also within a relationship. She is engaged to Akeem (Bosen Wang) who is a businessman doing international travels. Needless to say, he is hopelessly in love with Molly and incredibly jealous. Molly manoeuvres through her friends, former colleagues, and relatives, who are also in search of true meaning in life and true love. Will they be able to find both?

Taipei Nights
Description of the film on MyDramaList says that if Woody Allen were to direct a Taiwanese picture, then it would have looked like A Confucian Confusion. In my opinion, this statement is a bit far-fetched. Edward Yang, in his own, idiosyncratic auteur style, mercilessly dissects the social stratum of Taipei yuppies. The 1990s were a decade in which Taiwan was a rapidly growing economy; therefore, people became overwhelmed by rampant consumerism. What were the implications of that?

In A Confucian Confusion, Yang elaborates on the themes of fakeness and emptiness. It is always so easy to fake emotions or to pretend to be somebody else at work just to achieve a certain goal. What is more, the masses are interested only in the mainstream stuff, opting to cheer for a scummy artist rather than series writer. If Confucius himself got reincarnated and returned to Earth, people would tell him that he is a fake.

So this is the main modus operandi of the characters. They are deeply unhappy in modern society and desperately try to do something about it, to make the right choice. Here Yang's allegory about choosing either autocratic rule or democracy is important. To be honest, I very much enjoyed all the interactions and conflicts presented in the film. Yang presented the whole thing as if the audience performed the function of bystanders who witness flashes of events concerning ordinary people. My favourite subplot was the one focusing on Qiqi and her boyfriend.

With regard to performances, I obviously enjoyed Suk Kwan Ni as the main lead, but I also greatly liked seeing Chen Shiang-chyi and Danny Dun in the supporting roles. Interestingly, there are small parts done by veteran actresses: the late Chen Limei who played Molly’s sister and Elaine Jin who portrayed the Auntie.

Recommendations
If you are in the mood for a satirical (nearly Shakespearean, indeed) comedy flick from Edward Yang that rides to the ground the unlikable (yet deeply existentialist) business people from Taipei, then I recommend A Confucian Confusion. It is indeed a hidden treasure from director Edward Yang.

Overall score: 7/10

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Taipei Story (1985) [Film Review]

Taipei Story; or, The Journey of Souls
     Look at these buildings. It's getting harder for me to tell... which ones I designed and which ones I didn't. They all look the same. Whether I'm involved or not seems less and less important.
The late director Edward Yang is, arguably, best known for his final motion picture Yi Yi (2000) but his older works also deserve attention. In 1985, he made his third feature film Taipei Story which is hailed by critics as the paragon of New Wave cinema. Starring a fellow director Hou Hsiao Hsien and a popular singer Tsai Chin in the leading roles, the movie presents a slice-of-life story about two people searching for happiness in a big city.

Release Info

Directed by: Edward Yang Starring: Tsai Chin, Hou Hsiao Hsien

Language: Mandarin, Hokkien Original Title: 青梅竹馬 Runtime: 120 min

Synopsis
Chin (Tsai Chin) is a manager’s assistant at a construction company. Due to the takeover of the business by another corporation, she loses the job. She lives at an apartment complex together with her sister and childhood love, Lung (Hou Hsiao Hsien). He is a former baseball player who remembers the good old days. Lung intends to move to the United States and start a business there, but he still has feelings for his former girlfriend who lives in Japan. On top of that, Chin and Lung are plagued by family problems as Chin’s father falls in debt. Will the two ever form a long-term relationship?

Quiet and Restless
In Taipei Story, Edward Yang masterfully paints an image of westernized Taiwan from the 1980s. This is no longer a world of traditional values and hierarchical society. Americanization creeps into every aspect of life. At one moment you can find yourself watching aesthetically-pleasing Japanese commercials, and soon after, you suddenly dance at a nightclub to the beats of Footloose song.

Indeed, Yang positions the protagonists against the backdrop of a metropolis full of neons. How they can move on with their lives, when there’s always something holding them back? I think that the most striking scene of the film is the one in which Chin and some random guy play with a pencil on the top floor of an abandoned building. Even Haruki Murakami would not have been able to come up with such an image of two people killing time.

Although Chin tries to find her way in the abyss of urban cityscape, her boyfriend, Lung, is literally stuck in the past. He does not give a damn about the present or future consequences of his actions, he just acts, because (in view of what he experienced) it is a right thing to do (for instance, helping out Chin’s father or his baseball friend in need). Nevertheless, Yang condemns such longing for things long gone, and, as a result, Lung drifts further away from Chin.

The movie’s purpose is not to tell a story, but rather to make the viewer experience a feeling of spiritual emptiness. To be honest, I am amazed that the movie has yet been dissected into retrowave memes. It contains all the right tropes: VHS, Japan vibes, long shots of driving through a city, etc…

Recommendations
If you are in the mood for a poetic feast from Edward Yang himself, then I recommend Taipei Story. Personally, I think that it is best to watch this film back to back with Wong Kar-wai’s Chungking Express. Both movies complement each other stylistically.
Overall score: 8/10

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