Guest
Just back from New York, where he was a guest at a retrospective of his films at the Lincoln Center, Tsai Ming-liang (蔡明亮) threw himself into work on a project of an entirely new nature -- a children’s TV show. Over the loud, repetitive children’s songs during production, Tsai looked at his small monitor pondering the next scene. “The camera movement and the lighting in children’s TV shows are usually stiff, so this time I want to try some variations,“ he said. It’s been more than 10 years since Tsai shifted his creation from writing and directing TV dramas to feature films, and now the critically acclaimed director has chosen a children’s musical to stage his TV comeback. “I find it intriguing to make a children’s program. Only children’s shows can leave behind the constraints of TV production and the burden of ratings, giving me more freedom,“ Tsai said. The show, titled The Moon is Gone (月亮不見了), is a Mid-Autumn Festival special program for Public TV (公共電視台) and is an extension of the TV station’s already popular children’s drama Fruit Ice Cream (水果冰淇淋). In the story, there are 365 moons in the sky, with one falling every day to meet with the world. However, on the Mid-Autumn Festival, the moon begins to feel it is not appreciated by the people of the world. Feeling deserted and sad, it then gets eaten by a dog. According to Tsai, the story is an odd, imaginary adventure tale. Playing the dog-man which eats the moon is Lee Kang-sheng (李康生). There will also be a transvestite grandmother, an astronaut and, of course, dozens of kids. Together they all fly to the moon, play hide-and-seek and have a party with a giant mooncake. For those familiar with Tsai’s film-making style -- the grim depiction of human solitude, the urban anonymity of Taipei, the repressed emotions -- it’s not easy to associate Tsai with a joyous, lively children’s musical. But then the story is intended as an imaginary leap, according to Tsai.
