Genre: Drama
Director: Chen Huai-En
Cast: Tung Ming-Hsiang, Wang Chien-Ho, Wu Nien-Jen, Saya Chang, Hsu Hsiao-Shun
RunTime: 1 hr 48 mins
Rating: PG
Official Website: http://www.wretch.cc/blog/EtudeBike

Synopsis:

Island Etude follows the travels of Ming-Hsiang, a determined young man with a hearing problem. Circling the island of Taiwan on his bike, he meets a wonderful array of new friends. The warmth and sensitivity of the interactions between Ming-Hsiang and the people he meets, together with the strikingly beautiful coastline, makes Island Etude a wonderful introduction to the island of Formosa and its people.

Movie Review:

If you like your movies simple and lyrical, then Island Etude is just the movie for you.

Its story can be summed up plainly in a few words- a young college student. Ming, decides to bike around the island of Taiwan by himself a few months before his graduation carrying a guitar on his back.

Born with hearing difficulties, Ming speaks with a slurred speech and has learned how to play the guitar by watching others. The word “etude” derives its meaning from a composition Ming carries along with him- one that is designed to provide him with practice material for playing the guitar.

But Island Etude is less a drama about his motivations for his round the island bike trip (or for that matter, his guitar playing) than it is an observation of the people that Ming meets along the way. Each encounter serves as a standalone vignette, so while some (like a group of middle-aged women whom go on a protest against their sudden retrenchment from their factory jobs) are more memorable, and others (like a family of three on a outing by the coast) less so, they are all brief.

Nevertheless, it is a movie that pays homage to the diversities of people on the island, from Ming’s own superstitious grandfather to the Lithuanian model there on a job assignment. Yes, the people are varied and many, and this is one of the delights of watching this movie- that you will never know who you are going to meet next.

And ultimately, it is a tribute to the island of Taiwan itself, its sights just as much as its people. Each undulation of mountain or sea, each aspect of man or nature is framed ever so picturesquely through the eyes of writer-director Chen Huai-en. Best known as the famed cinematographer of Hou Hsiao Hsien classics such as “A City of Sadness” and “Good Men Good Women”, it is Chen’s eulogy of the island’s beauty.

Perhaps the most striking accomplishment of the movie is how it manages to thoroughly engage with its laidback charm and simplicity. Chen does not attempt to moralize or politicize anything in his film (except for a brief environmental message towards the end); instead, like Ming, he is content to let the audience be casual observers in the journey. And to that extent, composer Cincin Lee’s breezy score aids immeasurably in the enjoyment of this expedition.

My final words before you go on this journey- the best way you are going to enjoy this island etude is keep an open mind and simply let yourself go along for the ride. I guarantee you that along the way, you will find yourself enjoying it more than you’ll expect.

Movie Rating:



Review by Gabriel Chong