A/B side VIBES. Greatest Hits from ‘80s & ‘90s
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
Teenage Fugitive
小逃犯 (Hsiao Tao Fan)
Taiwan, 1984, 94’, Chinese
Restored 2022
Directed by: Chang Pei-cheng
Screenplay: Chang Pei-cheng, Tsai Ming-liang
Photography (color): Chang Hui-kung
Editing: Wang Chi-yang
Production Design: Chang Pei-cheng
Sound Recording: Tu Duu-chih, Hu Ting-yi
Producer: Wang Pin-hu
Cast: Yang Hui-shan, Cheng Hsiu-ying, Li Tien-chu, Chang Hsiang, Wang Chun-po
A young fugitive sneaks into an apartment in Taipei, hiding in the storage room which serves as the secret haven for the little boy Hung. Hung shares a bedroom with his elder brother, a rebellious teenager who often hangs out with friends. Opposite is another bedroom whose walls are pasted with photos of Japanese pop idols that belong to his elder sister who longs for romance. His mother often plays mahjong with their neighbors at home after work. Tonight, as the father is away again, the mother, her three children and one fugitive will spend an unforgettable night together.
In the early 1980s, the phenomenon of distant relationships between family gradually emerged in Taipei. Tsai Ming-liang, back then a Malaysian student who came to Taiwan for his studies, just started working as a scriptwriter in film. He vividly depicted the sense of alienation permeating in the family of five and together with director Chang Pei-cheng’s expert camera work and mise-en-scène, the film conveys the difficulties a nuclear family faced in the city. Set in a time when Taiwan’s economy rapidly develops and social incidents frequently occur, the film focuses on the pressure women and children suffer; it is a family tragedy of a career woman squeezed by work and family and a lonely teenager who lacks company and people’s understanding of him.
Following the tradition of Taiwan New Wave, Teenage Fugitive adopts a realistic approach. As Taiwan was becoming a liberal society, social issues such as fugitive, firearm, killing and bank robbery were tackled in the film and evolved into another form of social realism. The sound experiment that the sound designer Tu Duu-chih did for the film laid the foundation of location sound recording in the Taiwanese film industry. In order to look realistic, Yang Hui-shan, the lead actress and executive producer, appeared without makeup and played a mother for the first time.
Chang Pei-cheng
Born in 1941, Chang Pei-cheng joined Grand Motion Pictures Co., Ltd. as production designer in 1964. Three years later, he moved into directing. The Little Flowers in Tears (1969), Chang’s second film as director, enjoyed enormous popularity. In 1976, The Venturer made him a much sought-after director at that time. Later Chang established his own company, Middle Kingdom Motion Picture Co., Ltd. and made films such as The Orientation and Teenage Fugitive, both shot with a low budget. Although these films did not attract much attention from the public, they did well at Golden Horse Awards and Asia-Pacific Film Festival.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
1969 – The Little Flowers in Tears
1976 – The Venturer
1977 – My Sweet Memory
1980 – The Orientation
1981 – A Man of Immortality
1984 – Teenage Fugitive
1986 – Second Hand Goods