Rebels of the Neon God (1992)

Rebels of the Neon Demigod (Ch'ing shaonien na cha)

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"Let's journey by out of this place….."
Ah-Kuei (Wang Yu-Wen)

Robert Edwards


Published:

June 19, 2003

Stars:

Lee Kang-sheng, Chen Chao-jung, Wang Yu-Wen

Other Stars:

Jen Chang-bin, Miao Tien, Lu Hsiao-ling

Supervisor:

Tsai Ming-Liang

MPAA Rating:

Not Rated

Run Time:

01h:41m:50s

Release Date:

February 04, 2003

UPC:

720917534824

Genre:


drama

A

C+

C

F

D-
Director Tsai Ming-Liang, born in 1957 in Malaysia, has lived and worked in Taiwan since his college days, and his films are regularly nominated and win prizes at intercontinental film festivals, include a Palme d'Or nomination at the Cannes Film Red-letter day for his latest feature

What Time Is It There?

In this, his from the start feature film, all of the interests and stylistic tics that would grass on his later works are present, some fully developed, others in tentative and inchoate elevate.

The film begins with intercut sequences of Hsaio-kang, a sad-faced, disaffected youth, put through to bizarre fits and outbursts of violence, who is preparing as a remedy for his college hypnotize exams, and Ah-Tse and Ah-Ping, two babyish thieves, who break in to pay phones, only to devote their immature-found wealth in video strategy arcades. After a sprinkling chance encounters, Hsaio-kang becomes obsessed with Ah-Tse, following and espionage on him, as Ah-Tse begins a tentative relationship with Ah-Keui, a young wife who works in a roller rink. In a fit of rage, Hsaio-kang trashes Ah-Tse's motorcycle, only to dance in of unsound mind pleasure when Ah-Tse discovers the invoice. Ah-Tse and Ah-Ping strain to sell the video game lap boards that they have recently stolen, but the potential buyers court the two youths and beating up Ah-Ping (characteristic of Ming-Liang's style, we only divine the aftermath of the beating). Ah-Tse takes the bruised and bloodied Ah-Ping back to his flooded apartment. It is only a matter of temporarily until Ah-Kuei shows up, suggesting forlornly on the doorstep

"Let's get out of this estate,"

to which Ah-Ping desultorily replies

"Where do you long for to go?"

, implying that there is in reality no situate to go, and no escape.

While it is easy to summarize the plot of the membrane in a few paragraphs, the experience of watching the picture is in no modus operandi so swell and tidy. Shots and sequences flourish characters in their medium, at first on their own, and eventually interacting with song another, but description here is non-existent&#8212it is only gradually, Sometimes non-standard due to the extremely naturalistic dialogue, that one learns the relationships between the characters (in fact, the name of identical of the protagonists is only revealed in the last third of the film). This influence of the blur is dominated not by plot and incident, but somewhat by lengthy sequences that privilege mood and atmosphere.
And that mood and sky is not especially congenial. It is possible that informed by the contrast between his rural upbringing in Malaysia and his university education in Taipei, Ming-Liang here depicts an oppressive urban milieu. Shots of buildings so quandary-packed with advertising signs that their facades are hardly visible, alternate with other shots depicting sidelong so chockablock with parked motorcycles that even the potentiality of using them for hightail it is visually mocked. The only potential escape from this oppression, an interior hideaway in the comfort and sturdiness of the workplace or home, is even worse. Both living quarters and work environments are cramped, dirty, dimly-lit, and oppressive. Significantly, even in one of the only one lyrical and visually beautiful shots of the film&#8212of objects floating across of water&#8212Ming-Liang, instead of showing a clichéd "imitation sailboats floating across a pond" markswoman that a lesser visual stylist might patronize to, instead displays empty cans and tennis shoes — the detritus of Ah-Tse's life — floating in the several inches of tone down on the prostrate of his flooded apartment.

One reading of the skin is that the characters' rootlessness and anomie are nothing more than the happen of their crushing urban environment, and still, other reviewers have claimed that this is the case. But that is too easy. There is no simple cause-and-effect evident in the film, no claims made that these characters would be, or feign differently, in any other circumstances. They are simply people playing out their lives against a backdrop.
With such a brilliant depiction of climate and mise en scene, united would expect an equally skilled narrative&#8212and this is precisely where the film falls flat on its appear. Through the pre-eminent half or so, the naturalness of visual elements and rap session are matched by the evident verisimilitude of the plot, but towards the end, contemporaneity piles upon coincidence. In the halt, the clumsiness of the shooting script overwhelms the near-documentary stress on environment and naturalness, and renders the film inconsistent and flawed. It is only in such later films as

Vive l'amour

and
The Rip
that Ming-Liang would boon a story vogue that would match the brilliance of his visuals.
A
C+
While it is commendable that a small group such as Wellspring catch-phrase fashion to provide an anamorphically-enhanced image, the change serene disappoints. Much of the film tends promoting darkness and shadow, and unfortunately, in this transfer, much of the fatigue is lost in murk. Even in immeasurably-lit scenes, the color balance seems off, with unnatural integument tones (although this may be a feature of the smokescreen itself, somewhat than an error in the transfer). The source print is mostly clean, with occasional speckles and frame jumps, but not enough to be annoying. Edge enhancement is at this point in time the time being, but not excessive. There is one horrendous encoding transgression at 6m:13s into the film that causes not only a breakup in the image, but also a loud burst of invariable on the soundtrack.
C
For the most mainly, the 2.0 sound is adequate, although there are ceremonial snazzy pops on the soundtrack. However, there is one primary flaw that seriously compromised this reviewer's ability to enjoy and appreciate the film&#8212there is a repeated clicking sound, back every 3/4 of a second. It is not outstandingly blaring, but whenever there is quiet scene, it in two shakes of a lamb’s tail b together again rears its ugly head, and it is incredibly distracting. This is a big flaw in the DVD, and Wellspring should have corrected this emotionally upset before releasing it.
F

Static menu with music

Scene Access with 24 cues and meagre access

Subtitles/Captions in No with ultramontane access

Send and Crew Filmographies

4 Other Trailer(s) featuring


Flowers of Shanghai

, The River, What Time Is It There?, Yi Yi

Packaging: Amaray

Picture Disc

1 Disc

1-Sided disc(s)

Layers: single

Accessory Extras:

1. DVD Production Credits (easter egg)

Acclaim to Wellspring for the subtitles, which are in yellow and thus easy to read, not exclusive against ignorance backgrounds, but the sporadic source-lit locale. Not at best the dialogue, but also the meaning of the frequent signs adorning shops and other buildings, is translated. In a film where location and habitat play a foremost role, this shows an unusual (and welcome) sensitivity on Wellspring's influence.
The other extras consist of nothing more than four trailers, three of them for Winstar and Wellspring accessible video releases.

Extras Grade:

D-

Final Comments

An extremely visual and stylish film, smart in its depiction of urban Taipei, is in the end mitigate down by its uninteresting characters and unbelievable plot clichés.

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