An Excellent Film About the Tribal Peoples of Taiwan/Formosa

CharlesS · 22nd October 2012, 12:40 AM

Hi all,

I must admit I am now a little ashamed to say I know absolutely nothing about the history of Taiwan pre-1949, and even less about the the aboriginal peoples of the island nation, beyond the fact that they used some very distinctive swords.

A film about the little known 1930 Seediq tribal rebellion against the Japanese occupation was released in 2011 and I have just today had a chance to see it....and it was 'jaw-dropping' good. The title of the film is Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale. It's 2.5 hours, a great story, and superbly filmed on a grand scale. It tells a lot about the very violent and vicious headhunting culture of the Seediqs as well as their animistic religious beliefs and their suicidal tendancies. I am sure a great deal of the battle sequences are romanticised and 'over the top', but it's fun to watch...especially for us ethnographic buffs.

It really parallels the struggle of many aboriginal cultures worldwide as they were forced to come into contact with an alien and "civilized" world. They are much like the Native Americans, Moros and countless others in their quest for independence and maintaining their own culture, no matter how brutal it may have been.

Now I really want to read more about these people.

I haven't been that pleasantly surprised by a film in a very long time and wanted to share it with others I thought might enjoy it as much as I did.

Best Regards,
Charles Saunders

22nd October 2012, 12:40 AM	#1
CharlesS Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greenville, NC Posts: 1,857	An Excellent Film About the Tribal Peoples of Taiwan/Formosa Hi all, I must admit I am now a little ashamed to say I know absolutely nothing about the history of Taiwan pre-1949, and even less about the the aboriginal peoples of the island nation, beyond the fact that they used some very distinctive swords. A film about the little known 1930 Seediq tribal rebellion against the Japanese occupation was released in 2011 and I have just today had a chance to see it....and it was 'jaw-dropping' good. The title of the film is Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale. It's 2.5 hours, a great story, and superbly filmed on a grand scale. It tells a lot about the very violent and vicious headhunting culture of the Seediqs as well as their animistic religious beliefs and their suicidal tendancies. I am sure a great deal of the battle sequences are romanticised and 'over the top', but it's fun to watch...especially for us ethnographic buffs. It really parallels the struggle of many aboriginal cultures worldwide as they were forced to come into contact with an alien and "civilized" world. They are much like the Native Americans, Moros and countless others in their quest for independence and maintaining their own culture, no matter how brutal it may have been. Now I really want to read more about these people. I haven't been that pleasantly surprised by a film in a very long time and wanted to share it with others I thought might enjoy it as much as I did. Best Regards, Charles Saunders