is about fifty days away from the end of 2020, but after watching "Dear Tenant", I am very sure that it will occupy the best Taiwanese film of the year until the end of the year. Not only do I hope that the box office will become more and more intense after it is released, but I also wish it to win all six Golden Horse Awards, because each of the shortlisted items is well deserved, and even Bai Runyin, who was not shortlisted, performed very well. Last time I watched a Taiwanese movie, I strongly hoped that it could accumulate more voice and be seen by more audiences. I believed that its existence is a very important milestone for the entire Taiwan. It is " Can't Be Without You " by , and the last time it is " Cape No. 7 " by .
The beauty of Taiwan’s mountains
"Dear Tenant" begins with a beautiful mountain view shot. The piano music played by Frand's lead singer Fran slowly leaks. Next, the camera changes into a cramped and forced indoors. The protagonist Lin Jianyi (played by Mo Ziyi), who has not yet been pulled away from the vast mountain view in his mind, heard his name in a trance, and was taken to the prosecutor for questioning. Zheng Youjie From the short film "Private Face", "Summer in Shiding" to the feature films "The First of the Year", "Yangyang" and "The Sun's Children" (the film is co-directed with Lega Shumi), plus the miniseries "They Explode the Day Before Graduation 1&2", it clearly expresses his interest in the various ethnic groups, blood ties and young generations in this land of Taiwan.
Still remembers the best scene in "The Sun's Children" that the heroine Xiuling performed without writing when attending a very important report, and started with her accent without an indigenous accent. She told everyone that her name is actually not Xiuling, but Panay, which means rice ears. Find your name and find yourself. Lin Jianyi is the mysterious tenant in "Dear Tenant". The Wang family and the audience know that his name is Lin Jianyi, but with the death of the landlord Zhou Xiuyu (played by Chen Shufang), he was found to be problematic, and his motivation for adopting his grandson Wang Youyu (played by Bai Runyin) was considered not simple. This tenant who teaches piano to make a living, likes to climb mountaineer, and rents out the top floor of the Wang family. In addition to being the friend of Wang Youyu's dead father Wang Liwei (played by Yao Chunyao ), what kind of person is he?
Zheng Youjie not only photographed the beauty of Taiwan’s mountains, but more importantly, made Hehuan Mountain a shared memory of Lin Jianyi and Wang Liwei, Lin Jianyi and Wang Youyu, creating a magical feeling of Hehuan Mountain being sealed by memory.
The main scene of "Dear Tenant" is in Keelung. The old apartment with a sense of humidity in the air, a suffocating prison cell, a neat and restrained piano room, and a cold and ruthless court. There are many closed images, compared with the top floor with a little breathing space, the harbor dock full of leisure, and then the mist Hehuan Mountain - that is the most magical place in the whole movie, connecting every photo of Wang Liwei in Lin Jianyi's residence, and then directly into Lin Jianyi's mind and heart.
Harbor is reality, and the mountains are magical. The reality is that Lin Jianyi was treated as a murder suspect for interrogation. He reported to the prosecutor one by one the details of his life as a tenant. Magic is that every time Lin Jianyi sees Wang Liwei's photos, it is like taking a time machine and going back to the years he and Wang Liwei have jointly owned. Wang Liwei's photo appears in the apartment. Wang Liwei's aura seems to condense in Lin Jianyi's room, waiting for him to fall asleep every night. I was worried that the plot about Hehuan Mountain in the film would be too similar to "Brokeback Mountain". Fortunately, my doubts were completely redundant. Zheng Youjie not only captured the beauty of Taiwan's mountains, but more importantly, hehuan Mountain became the shared memory of Lin Jianyi and Wang Liwei, Lin Jianyi and Wang Youyu, creating a magical feeling of Hehuan Mountain being sealed by memory. Hehuan Mountain is romantic and beautiful. It once witnessed the love between Lin Jianyi and Wang Liwei. After they met again, they rekindled the love fire by climbing, but their breakup also happened on the mountain, so Hehuan Mountain is also cruel and dangerous.Later, due to Zhou Xiuyu's incident, Lin Jian saw that he might have lost Wang Youyu, so he took Wang Youyu to Hehuan Mountain for camping, because there are the most unforgettable and painful memories of his and Youyu's father. This place made him fall in love and reunion with Wang Liwei, and they also completely lost each other here. So he planned to let Wang Youyu know everything here. Although the letter in his backpack was taken away by the police before he could take it out...
The real core under the issue: Crime and Punishment
Zheng Youjie's works have always been critical and always faced with social issues. He once used the public video mini-show "They exploded the day before graduation." The young generation of 1&2 protested bitterly to the pathetic and despicable adult world and the real society that hides dirty things. As for the four-part "Insider. Outsider" produced by Li Gang, he was asked to film "Wild Lotus Flavor" to speak out for the Vietnamese bride. He even took the lead in 2012 to shoot an anti-nuclear short film "(No longer) Ordinary Happiness" uploaded to YouTube to share ideas. From a confused literary youth to an angry father, Zheng Youjie's creative context over the years, the situation of returning to the truth is quite obvious. He cares about gradually turning from the pursuit of his inner self to the relationship between people and the land and the environment. The only thing that remains unchanged is that the protagonist under his camera is still running (for example, the scene where Lin Jian ran eagerly to find Wang Youyu several times), and he had to run desperately even if he couldn't see the end and didn't know the end.
"Dear Tenant" involves issues such as same-sex couples, long-term care, non-blood relatives adoption, drug possession, etc. In today's Taiwan, same-sex marriage was legalized on May 24, 2019, let's take a look at the story set in 2011. At that time, there were not many people discussing same-sex marriage and diversified family development. The relevant laws on secondary drug control and designated adoption are different from now on. The world has changed and things have changed. Between change and unchanging, you should be able to get a lot of inspiration.
Zheng Youjie has repeatedly mentioned that it was Koreyama's "The Taste of the Hokage of the Yokoyama Family" on himself. He himself is also the translator of the traditional Chinese version of the film novel (the author is also Koreyama). If we just look at the emotional blackmail plot of Zhou Xiuyu played by Chen Shufang towards the tenant Lin Jianichi, it is indeed a bit similar to the attitude of Yokoyama Shuko played by Kukiki Shilin in "The Taste of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Hokage of the Ho However, although "Dear Tenant" covers many social issues, those elements are all designed to direct the main role to the true core, namely crime and punishment. Is Lin Jianyi (or others in the movie) guilty? How will he atone for his sins? If he is really guilty, can the law impose his punishment to comfort the victim and his family? Whether he commits a sin directly or indirectly, if it is an unintentional mistake or based on good intentions, how should such sin be punished?
Climbing Zheng Youjie's creative context over the years, the trend of returning to nature is quite obvious. He cares about gradually shifting from the pursuit of his inner self to the relationship between people and the land and the environment. The only thing that remains unchanged is that the master under his camera is still running
Taiwan’s good wife?
This should be Zheng Youjie's warmest movie. I feel his full love for the protagonist and his great respect for other secondary characters. Even the prosecutors who denounce Lin Jianyi will avoid demonizing them. For example, when facing the stereotypes that they unconsciously reveal in their eyes and tone of the same-sex couple, this is what Zheng Youjie attempted to guide the audience to think from the perspective of others. If Lin Jianyi is a woman today and married Wang Liwei, will many subsequent disputes be easier to resolve? Do we have similar blind spots?
Many viewers joked that "Dear Tenant" is a touching story of a "good daughter-in-law in Taiwan", presenting the difficulties faced by an unidentified good daughter-in-law taking care of her mother-in-law and step-son alone after her husband's death. This angle is very interesting. You might as well expand the topic a little more and expand the mission of a wife to the dilemma of managing the family.From "Yangyang", "Wild Lotus Fragrance", "The Sun's Child" to "Dear Tenant", Zheng Youjie has been thinking about the composition of the family. In addition to blood, ethnicity, and gender, what are necessary and which are not necessary? So does the so-called family have standard shapes and are there standardized composition SOPs?
"Dear Tenant" is Yang Yazhe, whose first two movies "Girlfriend". Boyfriend and "Blood Guanyin" are also exploring the definition of family. The former is thinking about the possibility of getting married in a diverse way, while the latter is questioning how a loveless future can be a home. Yang Yazhe is sharper and weirder than Zheng Youjie. If Zheng Youjie is a "white swan", then Yang Yazhe is a "black swan". Yang Yazhe's joining inspires the dark side under Zheng Youjie's sunshine, making the warmth of "Dear Tenant" powerful, but not in a single direction. Each character has his own dark area in his heart, even children are no exception. From this point of view, the crimes and punishments that Zhou Xiuyu, Lin Jianyi and Wang Youyu, the three generations of old, middle-aged and young people, are indeed intertwined with "Blood Guanyin". However, if "Blood Guanyin" gives us a heavy and desperate loveless future, then "Dear Tenant" happens to be on its opposite side. Zheng Youjie tells us that even if we cannot live together forever, as long as we have love for each other and sincere care for each other, there will be a future and home will exist forever.
