Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale, premiered at the Venice Film Festival 2011 where it was screened in its 150-min long international version (original version is 270-min). This taiwanese epic blockbuster received mostly mixed reviews.
TheHollywoodReporter is among the few who enjoyed discovering the film, saying that director Wei “throws a bit of legend and magic into history” with an “extraordinary cast of emotionally expressive, non-pro actors of aborigine descent” who display “physical prowess as they run barefoot through tropical forests“. As for the action, “no martial arts here, but skillfully realistic fighting with spears and machetes, guns and cannons“. Adding that “the non-stop fighting becomes oppressive in the long run“. Yet, THR explains the most memorable moments are the quieter ones, “showing director Wei’s dramatic flare and the actors’ surprising natural talent“.
On a less optimistic note, Variety wishes this “wildly ambition rumble-in-the-jungle battle epic” was “less kitschy and more coherent“. Pointing that the “primitive warfare recalls that of Apocalypto, minus Mel Gibson’s sense of pacing and technique“. And while the film offers an “impressive degree of variation and anthropological detail in the weaponry and fighting techniques“, “the chaotic combo of hard-slamming edits, gory mayhem and Ricky Ho’s forever-hemorrhaging score makes the picture simply exhausting to watch over the long haul.” Ultimately, the review underlines that director “Wei means to erect a cinematic memorial to the nobility and selflessness of a lost culture“, it’s “sincere enough to command attention“.
The story being about a revolt against Japanese colonial troops, how’s the depiction of the Japanese soldiers? On this matter, Variety thinks the film is “surprisingly even-keeled“, they are “portrayed as properly barbarous but never descend into comic villainy“. When FilmBusinessAsia writes, “they’re almost all portrayed as either sadists, ranting military or arrogant colonials“, at least in the international version.
More interesting comments from FBA’s review, criticizing the international cut which is considered to be “hardly a very marketable proposition“, as this version concentrates “heavily on action at the expense of character and clarity“, “with almost no social or historical backgrounding“. The “result is a watchable, visually detailed but uninvolving action drama“. About the battles scenes, the review points out there’s “no screen geography to the action (largely shot in close-up), and no graphics to show even where the fighting is taking place, the viewer gets no sense of strategy“. This sounds more like a directing problem than an editing one?
Meanwhile, The Golden Rock has posted some insightful details about Taiwanese media reports about the film, and how Seediq Bale would appears to be used as “Taiwan’s own propaganda tool, promoted as the pride of the nation“. The film’s first part is coming out in Taiwan on Sept 9th, wait & see.
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It’s amazing! The country name is raped by China, it continues EXACTLY the thema of this film, Taiwan is dominated still by the politic power of colonials, shame of Venice and international film makers!!!