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

Sajen · 22nd October 2012, 04:12 AM

Thank you Charles for the hint.
Here is a link where you can watch a short trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53QsTkZMV1A

Regards,

Detlef

KuKulzA28 · 22nd October 2012, 07:19 AM

AH, Glad to see Taiwan come up!

I'm pretty sure I linked to this film 3 years ago (in this thread), but I think it was simply overlooked.

It's a good movie, and from the standpoint of authentic costume, architecture, and weaponry --- VERY VERY GOOD. All the laraw there look correct, and the Japanese troops look authentic of the time period. In the beginning there's even very period-correct Han weaponry.

I believe the suicidal tendencies you mention has more to do with the inevitability of defeat rather than a cultural norm. Keep in mind that Taiwan has been invaded by the Dutch, Koxinga, Qing Dynasty, French, Americans, Japanese and the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomingtang). Each invader has been met with fierce resistance, but aside from some smaller-scale fights, the islanders, no matter their ethnicity, has almost always been forced to fight much more powerful forces backed by economically, politically, technologically and numerically superior countries. Not to mention, this was the "wild wild East"... on top of all these invasions, settlers fought natives, different tribal groups launch raids against one another and the settlers, and the Fujianese and Hakka descendants on Taiwan fought with one another often. During the Qing Dynasty, there were rebellions and uprisings every few years. The Fujianese and Hakka settlers, the Plains tribes, the Bunun, the Paiwan, the Rukai... they all underwent similar struggles, no matter how small scale... the Seediq story at Wushe, however, has become an epic and kinda well-known part of Taiwanese history.

This is a good website for more history about the stuff that happened in Wushe
(which is what Seediq Bale or Warriors of the Rainbow Bridge is about)
http://www.takaoclub.com/monaludao/wusheincident.htm

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

22nd October 2012, 04:12 AM	#2
Sajen Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Germany, Dortmund Posts: 8,786	Thank you Charles for the hint. Here is a link where you can watch a short trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53QsTkZMV1A Regards, Detlef

22nd October 2012, 07:19 AM	#3
KuKulzA28 Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: between work and sleep Posts: 731	AH, Glad to see Taiwan come up! I'm pretty sure I linked to this film 3 years ago (in this thread), but I think it was simply overlooked. It's a good movie, and from the standpoint of authentic costume, architecture, and weaponry --- VERY VERY GOOD. All the laraw there look correct, and the Japanese troops look authentic of the time period. In the beginning there's even very period-correct Han weaponry. I believe the suicidal tendencies you mention has more to do with the inevitability of defeat rather than a cultural norm. Keep in mind that Taiwan has been invaded by the Dutch, Koxinga, Qing Dynasty, French, Americans, Japanese and the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomingtang). Each invader has been met with fierce resistance, but aside from some smaller-scale fights, the islanders, no matter their ethnicity, has almost always been forced to fight much more powerful forces backed by economically, politically, technologically and numerically superior countries. Not to mention, this was the "wild wild East"... on top of all these invasions, settlers fought natives, different tribal groups launch raids against one another and the settlers, and the Fujianese and Hakka descendants on Taiwan fought with one another often. During the Qing Dynasty, there were rebellions and uprisings every few years. The Fujianese and Hakka settlers, the Plains tribes, the Bunun, the Paiwan, the Rukai... they all underwent similar struggles, no matter how small scale... the Seediq story at Wushe, however, has become an epic and kinda well-known part of Taiwanese history. This is a good website for more history about the stuff that happened in Wushe (which is what Seediq Bale or Warriors of the Rainbow Bridge is about) http://www.takaoclub.com/monaludao/wusheincident.htm