Co-produced by Hong Kong action master John Woo, Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale is the most expensive Taiwanese film to date (with an approximate $25 million budget). An authentic epic of brutal guerilla warfare, combining a little-known chapter of Taiwanese history with breathtaking, realistically violent battle scenes set in the lush mountain jungles of Taiwan, the action takes place in 1930, with the aboriginal tribes of Taiwan subdued under the power of Japanese colonial occupation. One tribe is the Seediq, led by imposing and charismatic warrior Mouna Rudo (Lin Ching-Tai). Forming a coalition with other tribal leaders, Mouna plots a rebellion, and initially their well-planned uprising appears to be triumphant, as 300 warriors kill thousands of Japanese soldiers. The victory is short-lived, however, and the Japanese retaliate in full force, climaxing with a final battle that pits tribal swords and rifles against Japanese machine gunners and biplanes dropping experimental gas-bombs. Directed by Wei Te-Sheng, the film unfortunately suffers from a chaotic succession of action-packed battles at the expense of character development. Optional. (J. Shannon)
Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale
Well Go USA, 150 min., in Aboriginal & Japanese w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $24.99, Blu-ray: $29.99 Volume 27, Issue 6
Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale
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