Work in progress
Between its premiere on April 27 and early July, the time of writing, Island Etude has become a blockbuster by local film standards, becoming the most screened and longest running Taiwanese film, and looks to have a shot at being this year's top locally made box-office earner, with approximately NT$17 million to its name so far. But of course, where there are supporters, there are inevitably critics.
Bloggers have accused the film of being too light on tension and having sub-par moving shots, amongst other things. Some have leveled such criticisms as "What is this, the 2007 Tourism Bureau video?" To these, Chen laughingly responds, "Thank you for the comments. Film is a very personal form of creativity, but once it's done, every filmmaker has to hand their baby over to the audience. I appreciate any and all opinions."
"From the beginning I wanted to capture Taiwan's best side, so I chose to include scenes that are part of the common memory and sentiment of all Taiwanese. Just like braised pork rice, it might be simple, it might be cheap, but it reminds you of home, and can be a moving experience in itself." This is how Chen, who is clearly a man on a mission regarding Taiwanese film, describes his intended foundation for Island Etude, and how he addresses the doubts of some of the audience.
Over the 40-day shooting schedule for Island Etude, the cast and crew traveled almost 160,000 kilometers, with the vehicular crew traveling 16,000 km. In total, everyone traveled far enough to circumnavigate Taiwan 16 times. You can imagine how hard this was on them. And it was more than just the distance; the expense was also huge, and at the end it seemed there would be no way of paying off their debts, making the effort somewhat of an unfinished symphony, and leaving Chen and Yang with another problem--handling the changes in their lives the film would make, financially and career-wise.
"Now that I've made my debut as a director, who's going to want me as a cinematographer?" says Chen somewhat bitterly. But will there be a second part to his directorial dream? Chen answers with a sigh, "I hope so!"
For those who watch Island Etude, by the time local singer Kimbo Hu's melancholic end theme plays both ordinary moviegoers and moviemakers alike have been inspired to reflect and consider how to bring more people into Taiwanese films.
Island Etude is a road movie that takes the audience on a trip around the beautiful coastline of Taiwan in the space of 100 minutes.