The film which has won 12 awards to date, including 6 at the 2008 Golden Horse Awards, and It will also be Taiwan's entry to compete in the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, "Cape No. 7," now is up to purchase in a Hong Kong version with English sub DVD.
"Cape No. 7" is a last year Taiwanese romance comedic music-drama film which written and directed by Wei Te-Sheng as his first full-length motion picture, following his success with Seediq Bale, the tale of an indigenous Taiwanese hero.
Prior to this film, the two leading actors Van Fan and Chie Tanaka only had minor acting experience while some of the supporting roles were filled by non-actors. Even without a strong promotional campaign, the film had become so popular in Taiwan that on November 1, 2008 it became the 2nd top grossing film in the island's cinematic history, behind "Titanic" with final figure around NT$ 232 million. The film only made with a sizable NT$50 million budget and is one of only two Taiwanese entries into the International category. In fact, "Cape No. 7" just might be the highest grossing Chinese-language film ever in the Taiwanese box office (not adjusting for inflation, of course) -- higher that any film by Ang Lee, John Woo, Zhang Yimou, or Stephen Chow.
Critics attribute the film's box office success to its honest depiction of the rural southern Taiwan; the strong emotional resonance among older viewers; the humorous tone, optimistic characters, and musical performances.
The film also made its United States premiere on October 10, 2008 in Honolulu at the Hawaii International Film Festival, where it won the Halekulani Golden Orchid Award for Best Narrative.
The story set in the 1940s near the end of the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, an unnamed teacher (Kousuke Atari) dispatched to the southernmost town of Hengchun falls in love with a local girl with the Japanese name Kojima Tomoko (Rachel Liang). After the Surrender of Japan, the teacher is forced to return home as the Chinese has reoccupied Taiwan. On his trip home, he pens seven love letters to express his regret for leaving Kojima Tomoko, who originally planned to elope with him in Japan.
More than 60 years after the teacher left Kojima Tomoko, Aga (Van Fan) is introduced as a struggling young Hengchun-native rock band singer who could not find success in Taipei. After returning to his hometown, Aga's step father (Ju-Lung Ma), the Town Council Representative, arranged a position for him as a postman, replacing the senile Uncle Mao (Johnny C.J. Lin), on leave after a motorcycle accident broke his leg. One day, Aga comes across an undeliverable piece of mail that was supposed to be returned to the post office; the daughter of the now deceased Japanese teacher has decided to mail the unsent love letters to Taiwan after discovering them. Aga unlawfully keeps and opens the package to discover its contents, but the old Japanese-style address Cape No. 7, Hengchun County, Takao Prefecture can no longer be found.
Meantime a local resort hotel inside Kenting National Park is organizing a beach concert featuring Japanese pop singer Kousuke Atari, but Aga's step father makes use of his official position to insist that the opening band be composed of locals. Tomoko (Chie Tanaka), an over-the-hill Mandarin-speaking Japanese fashion model dispatched to Hengchun, is assigned the difficult task of managing this hastily assembled band, led by Aga along with six other locals of rather particular backgrounds. After a frustrating trial period, Aga and Tomoko unexpectedly begin a relationship. With some assistance from hotel maid Mingchu (Shino Lin), who is revealed to be Kojima Tomoko's granddaughter, Tomoko helps Aga find the rightful recipient of the seven love letters. Tomoko then tells Aga that she plans on returning to Japan after the concert because of a job offering. After returning the seven love letters, a heartbroken but determined Aga returns to the beach resort and performs a highly successful concert with his local band alongside Kousuke Atari, during which he convinces Tomoko to stay.
DVD Specifications:
Product Title: Cape No. 7 (DVD) (2-Disc Limited Edition) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Language: Mandarin
Subtitles: Traditional Chinese, English
Picture Format: NTSC
Sound Information: Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS-ES Discrete 6.1
Disc Format(s): DVD-9, DVD-5, DVD
Region Code: 3 - South East Asia (including Hong Kong, S. Korea and Taiwan)
Release Date: 2009-01-22 (Save your copy)
Movie Review (By John Li):
You know whether a film’s got heart when you watch it. You know whether the filmmakers have injected their hearts into the film when you watch it. And your heart knows the answer to this when a film so deeply moving touches you in ways you never would have imagined. Sure, you may have read about all the promotional campaigns in the media about this Taiwanese film (the most outrageous one being the leading actor going for a skinny dip in the ocean after the film reported success at the local box office), but it is a film you have to experience yourself to understand how it managed to touch so many people’s hearts in this bafflingly perplexing times we live in.
Written and directed by up and coming filmmaker Wei Te-sheng, the well put together script narrates the stories of seven unlikely individuals who come together to form a local warm up band for a popular Japanese singer who will be arriving in the scenic town of Hengchun, Taipei, for a beach concert. Amongst them are interesting characters like a frustrated band singer, a Japanese model turned translator, a violent police officer and a talented, young but weird synthesizer player. There is also another storyline which involves seven unsent love letters from 60 years ago.
With a plot like that, we can already predict how romantic die-hards will be flocking to the theatres when the movie opens.
Imagine that it is the 1940s. There are seven penned but unsent love letters that expresses a Japanese man’s regret for leaving a Taiwanese woman, who originally planned to elope with him to Japan. Then picture magnificently filmed sequences at a ship dock where the two lovers are separated. Craning shots, romantic music, anxious expressions and a Japanese narration voiceover make these scenes feel atmospherically epic – How can anyone not be touched by them?
The above picturesque moments are nicely weaved in and contrasted with present day depictions of daily life where common folk go about their lives and have dreams. The hustle and bustle of a busy town, suddenly brought to life when a Japanese superstar announces that he will hold a concert, is vividly caught on lens in this film. Although there are many supporting characters along the way, you learn to care for them throughout the film’s 129 minute runtime. Each has a unique character which reminds you of someone you know, each has an aspiration that reminds you of what you want in life.
And this connectedness is possible because of the cast’s endearing and honest performances. Van Fan, who plays the angst ridden band leader, is a perfect personification of many young lost souls today. Chie Tanaka, who plays the Japanese correspondent, may appear unlikable at first with her feisty attitude, but the character grows on you gradually. The candid, sincere and entertaining portrayals of other characters by native Taiwanese artistes like Min-Hsiung, Ying Wei-min and Johnny C.J. Lin also add nice human touches to the film.
As the movie comes to a finale where music takes centre stage, you’ll be cheering the human spirit which celebrates love and hope.
"Cape No. 7" is a last year Taiwanese romance comedic music-drama film which written and directed by Wei Te-Sheng as his first full-length motion picture, following his success with Seediq Bale, the tale of an indigenous Taiwanese hero.
Prior to this film, the two leading actors Van Fan and Chie Tanaka only had minor acting experience while some of the supporting roles were filled by non-actors. Even without a strong promotional campaign, the film had become so popular in Taiwan that on November 1, 2008 it became the 2nd top grossing film in the island's cinematic history, behind "Titanic" with final figure around NT$ 232 million. The film only made with a sizable NT$50 million budget and is one of only two Taiwanese entries into the International category. In fact, "Cape No. 7" just might be the highest grossing Chinese-language film ever in the Taiwanese box office (not adjusting for inflation, of course) -- higher that any film by Ang Lee, John Woo, Zhang Yimou, or Stephen Chow.
Critics attribute the film's box office success to its honest depiction of the rural southern Taiwan; the strong emotional resonance among older viewers; the humorous tone, optimistic characters, and musical performances.
The film also made its United States premiere on October 10, 2008 in Honolulu at the Hawaii International Film Festival, where it won the Halekulani Golden Orchid Award for Best Narrative.
The story set in the 1940s near the end of the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, an unnamed teacher (Kousuke Atari) dispatched to the southernmost town of Hengchun falls in love with a local girl with the Japanese name Kojima Tomoko (Rachel Liang). After the Surrender of Japan, the teacher is forced to return home as the Chinese has reoccupied Taiwan. On his trip home, he pens seven love letters to express his regret for leaving Kojima Tomoko, who originally planned to elope with him in Japan.
More than 60 years after the teacher left Kojima Tomoko, Aga (Van Fan) is introduced as a struggling young Hengchun-native rock band singer who could not find success in Taipei. After returning to his hometown, Aga's step father (Ju-Lung Ma), the Town Council Representative, arranged a position for him as a postman, replacing the senile Uncle Mao (Johnny C.J. Lin), on leave after a motorcycle accident broke his leg. One day, Aga comes across an undeliverable piece of mail that was supposed to be returned to the post office; the daughter of the now deceased Japanese teacher has decided to mail the unsent love letters to Taiwan after discovering them. Aga unlawfully keeps and opens the package to discover its contents, but the old Japanese-style address Cape No. 7, Hengchun County, Takao Prefecture can no longer be found.Meantime a local resort hotel inside Kenting National Park is organizing a beach concert featuring Japanese pop singer Kousuke Atari, but Aga's step father makes use of his official position to insist that the opening band be composed of locals. Tomoko (Chie Tanaka), an over-the-hill Mandarin-speaking Japanese fashion model dispatched to Hengchun, is assigned the difficult task of managing this hastily assembled band, led by Aga along with six other locals of rather particular backgrounds. After a frustrating trial period, Aga and Tomoko unexpectedly begin a relationship. With some assistance from hotel maid Mingchu (Shino Lin), who is revealed to be Kojima Tomoko's granddaughter, Tomoko helps Aga find the rightful recipient of the seven love letters. Tomoko then tells Aga that she plans on returning to Japan after the concert because of a job offering. After returning the seven love letters, a heartbroken but determined Aga returns to the beach resort and performs a highly successful concert with his local band alongside Kousuke Atari, during which he convinces Tomoko to stay.
DVD Specifications:Product Title: Cape No. 7 (DVD) (2-Disc Limited Edition) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Language: Mandarin
Subtitles: Traditional Chinese, English
Picture Format: NTSC
Sound Information: Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS-ES Discrete 6.1
Disc Format(s): DVD-9, DVD-5, DVD
Region Code: 3 - South East Asia (including Hong Kong, S. Korea and Taiwan)
Release Date: 2009-01-22 (Save your copy)
Movie Review (By John Li):
You know whether a film’s got heart when you watch it. You know whether the filmmakers have injected their hearts into the film when you watch it. And your heart knows the answer to this when a film so deeply moving touches you in ways you never would have imagined. Sure, you may have read about all the promotional campaigns in the media about this Taiwanese film (the most outrageous one being the leading actor going for a skinny dip in the ocean after the film reported success at the local box office), but it is a film you have to experience yourself to understand how it managed to touch so many people’s hearts in this bafflingly perplexing times we live in.
Written and directed by up and coming filmmaker Wei Te-sheng, the well put together script narrates the stories of seven unlikely individuals who come together to form a local warm up band for a popular Japanese singer who will be arriving in the scenic town of Hengchun, Taipei, for a beach concert. Amongst them are interesting characters like a frustrated band singer, a Japanese model turned translator, a violent police officer and a talented, young but weird synthesizer player. There is also another storyline which involves seven unsent love letters from 60 years ago.With a plot like that, we can already predict how romantic die-hards will be flocking to the theatres when the movie opens.
Imagine that it is the 1940s. There are seven penned but unsent love letters that expresses a Japanese man’s regret for leaving a Taiwanese woman, who originally planned to elope with him to Japan. Then picture magnificently filmed sequences at a ship dock where the two lovers are separated. Craning shots, romantic music, anxious expressions and a Japanese narration voiceover make these scenes feel atmospherically epic – How can anyone not be touched by them?
The above picturesque moments are nicely weaved in and contrasted with present day depictions of daily life where common folk go about their lives and have dreams. The hustle and bustle of a busy town, suddenly brought to life when a Japanese superstar announces that he will hold a concert, is vividly caught on lens in this film. Although there are many supporting characters along the way, you learn to care for them throughout the film’s 129 minute runtime. Each has a unique character which reminds you of someone you know, each has an aspiration that reminds you of what you want in life.And this connectedness is possible because of the cast’s endearing and honest performances. Van Fan, who plays the angst ridden band leader, is a perfect personification of many young lost souls today. Chie Tanaka, who plays the Japanese correspondent, may appear unlikable at first with her feisty attitude, but the character grows on you gradually. The candid, sincere and entertaining portrayals of other characters by native Taiwanese artistes like Min-Hsiung, Ying Wei-min and Johnny C.J. Lin also add nice human touches to the film.
As the movie comes to a finale where music takes centre stage, you’ll be cheering the human spirit which celebrates love and hope.
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