Cinematic awakening
Alex Yang's interest in movies started in high school. A typical "renaissance youth" at Taipei's Chienkuo High School, he enjoyed photography, helped publish the school magazine, and joined several school clubs. He frequently talked classmates into cutting class to see movies-windows to the world during those stifling, stressful days at school.
Yang explains that his school had a tradition of being liberal and lenient with students. For their part, students did not go overboard and neglect their studies. During his last year in high school, when his classmates had all returned to the classroom to plow away in preparation for the Joint College Entrance Examination, Yang was still searching for his future outside of textbooks.
Fortunately, the entrance test for the newly established Taipei National University of the Arts was scheduled for the same day as the college entrance exam. He opted to take the test for NTUA to "avoid the embarrassment of flunking the college entrance exam." NTUA did not, as yet, have a movie department, but well known directors like Wang Shau-di and Edward Yang taught in the Theater Department.
Edward Yang, in particular, characterized the new generation of directors. His nervous stammering and lack of structure when he lectured left students scratching their heads, but he enjoyed taking students out for coffee, to see movies, and to discuss films. Edward Yang's creative passion and analytical skills filled Alex Yang with dreams for his own future. After graduating, Yang shot the movie A Brighter Summer Day with Edward Yang. He had many important responsibilities: he was appointed assistant director, and was tasked with performance direction and scriptwriting. In 1991, Edward Yang, Yen Hung-ya, and Alex Yang won the Golden Horse Award for Best Script.
Yang explains that although Edward Yang wanted to cultivate the younger generation, in reality his personal style was overpowering. As a student, Yang was relegated to the task of gathering and organizing information. For ten years after he won the award, no other director or distributor asked him to write scripts. He found himself teaching courses on performing at Hwa Kang Arts School and Fuhsing Senior High School. He also shot the occasional commercial.
The commercials were well funded, but Yang had trouble adjusting to their formulaic nature. "All those people working together to sell instant noodles? Packaging a car to impart some warm, fuzzy values? Maybe everything else pales in comparison, because shooting movies is so fascinating." Yang used to struggle with the idea of getting a job and earning a steady salary. Then he got married and had a child. Gazing at his son's innocent face, he decided that he was going to be a father with dreams.
Yang told himself he could not simply sit back and complain about how bad things were. He began planning his creations. He looked around for money, read books, and wrote scripts. He demanded of himself that he write at least three scripts a year.
In 2000, he applied to the Guidance and Assistance Fund for Motion Pictures for a grant to shoot The Trigger. The regulations required applicants to submit shooting plans to be reviewed by a judging panel. Winners would be awarded NT$2 million. If the finished film was deemed good enough, another NT$8 million could be awarded. In the initial application, The Trigger was a runner up, so Yang received no assistance. Later, however, he was awarded the NT$8 million from the Assistance Fund.
The title of Taipei 21 symbolizes both 21st-century Taipei and the quandaries that life throws our way-we are frequently faced with 2 options, but can only choose 1. In the story, the lead character works in real estate. But on his 27th birthday, when his girlfriend secretly signs an agreement to buy a small flat, he rejects her idea on the grounds that they cannot afford it. This breaks her heart and sends the relationship onto a bumpy road.