Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale [Blu-ray] [2011] [US Import]

This is an extraordinary offering. Some understanding of the background is helpful for those not familiar with the complex history of Taiwan: The original inhabitants of this island were not Chinese at all but a race akin to many of the tribes in the Philippines and DNA work suggests that most Polynesians can trace their origins back to movements south out of Taiwan. Some 500 years ago Chinese immigration from Fu Jian and later other provinces increased rapidly and these original clans were pushed into the hills where they can still be found in small numbers today. The story begins in 1895 when the aggressive Japanese Empire was ceded Taiwan by the decaying Qing Dynasty and the Japanese sent in their powerful military and civil forces to develop the resources for an expanding economy.

The coastal Han (Chinese) were pretty quickly brought to heel and indeed the Chinese in Taiwan have enjoyed a good relationship with Japan ever since. Most elderly Taiwanese speak Japanese, having learned it at school and the island has many customs and practices that are Japanese rather than those of the mainland Chinese. This did not prove to be the case with the clans in the mountains where considerable resistence and resentment built up as their natural resources were taken from them by the Japanese. This led to a great uprising in the south in the 30s that was eventually crushed with overwhelming force. This long film is the story of this tragic event.

Conceiving and bringing such a story to the screen was no easy task. Language and racial type are huge issues. The mountain clan languages are not at all related to Chinese and are no longer widely spoken. Many have intermarried and Taiwanese today are an interesting mixture of many racial types. Although the country folk in Taiwan are a hardy lot, finding enough cast to run at great speed through Taiwan's beautiful high mountain lands BAREFOOT must have been a challenging task indeed. The story is fast moving and not easy to follow even with some background. The clans were not united and fought amongst themselves over hunting rights as much as they squabbled with the Han and then the Japanese. In the beginning things go badly for them and many learn Japanese and take up roles as local policemen etc but their status rankles and the Japanese were never up to bringing non-Japanese into the fold - even today! The subtitles in English are good but you need to read pretty fast. Chinese visually scan their text and assume we do the same so English subtitles on a Chinese film don't hang about on the screen. This a film to see at least twice.

The sound is outstanding and the camera work remarkable when one considers the astonishing speed of the action. Bodies are all over the place but none of it very explicit. No sex and no real roles for women although the kids do rather well. This is a great set and strongly recommended. The extras are very interesting but in Mandarin and not subtitled.

Wow just Wow is all I can say about the film. I was surprised to see the movie even had reviews below 4 stars I'm not quite sure what that's about. I watched this movie on 2 occasions. The first time I wasn't sure I was in the mood for it and I didn't like the first portion of it so much but on a better day I watched the movie from the beginning again and it's fantastic. There's so much emotion and pride hidden behind the movie. Warriors of the Rainbow is about a tribe of people known as the Seediq Bale that live in harmony with the forests they call home. One day they find themselves being invaded by Japanese soldiers. They try to fight back but are conquered and become ruled under the Japanese that end up forcing them to become a servant class amongst their social group. Using them to do heavy manual labor for cheap, introducing wine to keep them drink, raping their women and basically destroying their culture. One of the tribes men said something interesting in the film about being ruled by the Japanese just so they can feel impoverished by their schools and stores. It was an interesting statement and I'm not sure if other people took as much from it as I did watching the film. Both European and certain Asian cultures viewed people that were tribal as savages for not living the "civilized" lives that they did. Mostly once these tribes were conquered they tried to adopt them into the "civilized" life that they were accustomed too but, yet at the same time treating them inhumanely and as uncivilized as possible.

In this case the Seediq bale were already rich. They're wealth was the forests and it's hunting grounds. Teaching their children about their ancestors so they could pass their ways on to future generations was what they valued the most. That was what they considered wealth and also why they Seediq Bales were never happy with their new life after the Japanese invaded despite being forced to do cheap labor for them. They criticized their culture and that was their pride and wealth. The first half of the movie is mostly about this as you watch the Tribal Chief over looking his people as they slowly deteriorate. He realizes that their culture is being slowly destroyed just as their hunting grounds are being chopped down for resources by the Japanese. The new generation of Seediq Bales do not even bare the tattoo's of men and Warriors. There was no reason for them too in the "civilized" world of the Japanese. Eventually the Chief can't stand to see his people or his ancestry,pride,and home be trampled over by and insulted by invaders. He decides to unite with warring tribes and put a stand to the Japanese to uphold their pride as Seediq Bale warriors.

Watching Warriors of The Rainbow really shows a lot of just how societies end and begin. It's an action packed movie but it has deep messages hidden within it. whether you watch and just view it as another action movie or get a deeper message from it is up to you. All I can say is that this movie was fantastic.

There are two versions of "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale" coming to DVD and Blu-ray; the four and a half hour original version and the cut two and a half hour US version. This is a review of the two and a half hour version, which certainly seems as though it received the wrong end of the stick. It feels like much of the story was dumped for the massive amount of action sequences.

The historical drama is absolutely gorgeous on Blu-ray. The never ending supply of lush forests and trees just always adds a splash of color to whatever is transpiring. The nonstop bloodshed never ceases to add a little red to the fray, as well. Nature, sunsets, waterfalls, and wildlife; the Taiwan scenery is just stunning. Unfortunately, it's usually sacrificed for cluttered CGI and awkward camera movements.

The CGI is used for a rock slide, some of the more difficult to film wildlife shots, animals, mist, steam, and even explosions. If there was a middle class for special effects, these would fall under that category. The shadowing of the CGI seems to clash with the lighting of the surrounding forests as well and makes the effects stand out even more than they probably should. Then there are times when the camera probably should have just stayed still instead of roaming the countryside to capture what would have been a great shot.

The Taiwanese epic has been compared to the likes of "Braveheart" and "The Last of the Mohicans," but there are some similarities to "300" in there as well. The film is edited really awkwardly at times. Some battle sequences are noticeably sped up while other somewhat random scenes seem to be done in slow motion. The argument could be made that the slow-motion was added to give that specific scene more significance, but it just doesn't seem necessary when it's seemingly done just to see Mona Rudao's hair blow in the wind or to watch water splash around in slow motion just because it looks cool as somebody runs through it.

Mona Rudao (Lin Ching-Tai) also assembles 300 men from the 12 Seediq Bale tribes to battle the 3000 Japanese police. You've got unnecessary slow motion, you've got 300 warriors, and you have those warriors going up against impossible odds. The comparisons to "300" are kind of a no-brainer.

Calmer moments to appreciate in this version of "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale" are slim to none, but the one or two that stay with you after it's over are pretty incredible. Mona Rudao's conversation with Ichiro Hanaoka aka Dakis Nomin (Yi-Fan Hsu) by the waterfall may be the scene that has the biggest impact in the entire film. It just feels like the most fleshed out sequence in the film and Mona Rudao singing with his deceased father afterward only adds a bit more weight to it. Most of General Kamada's (Sabu Kawahara) scenes are pretty intriguing, as well. Mostly because he's so enraged with how Mona Rudao keeps getting the best of so many men with so little of his own.

Just reading the Wikipedia entry on the story of the uncut film gives you a completely different impression than what the two and a half hour version leaves you with. One minute, Mona Rudao is giving his word that he won't start a war and the next he's leading an uprising. The battle sequences are spectacular, especially the final one. There are so many beheadings, hangings, and deaths of children that you lose count. "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale" doesn't shy away from anything even though the message is pretty hopeless. But all of the film's depth seems to have been stripped away. The film throws you into two battles right at the start and you don't really know or care why they're going on.

If you're interested in seeing "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale," tackle the four and a half hour version. While it may seem extremely tiresome, at least you'll be getting the entire story. The two and a half hour version only gives you a glimpse of that rainbow bridge the Seediq Bale always talk about meeting their ancestors on, but it's so brief that you don't actually get to see it. Hopefully the original version lets you see that bridge in a better light.

Extras include a Making of, Behind the Scenes, and Make-up and Visual Effects featurettes that total nearly thirty minutes in special features. Also included are the theatrical and international trailers.

"Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale" is now available on DVD and Blu-ray and available as two different versions: US and international. The Blu-ray of the US version is presented with a 16:9 widescreen presentation with 5.1 HD Surround Sound (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital Stereo), is Multilingual, and available with English and Chinese subtitles. The film is not rated by the MPAA and is 150 minutes in length (international version is 276 minutes).

... This amazing film richly deserves more stars. John Woo produced; very aspect,superb. Seems he put more into this film than all his other box office sensations. Actors are right-on, cinematography stunning, all emotions hit viewers hearts and minds. It's the most authentic film I've EVER seen. (M'wife and I collect and study film; so far, over 4,000!).

Writing is perfect, though there're few words (subtitles, all else in original languages) to tell this huge story (the adage 'Less is More' pertains) I've seen Warriors of the Rainbow five times and each time I find more to see, study and feel. I'm sure I will see it again and again.

This reviews the short DVD version is fine. But BluRay is the best way to see it. There are 5-6 versions - go for the longest time you can find, about 4.5 hours. No padded extensions, legitimate details on characterizations, motivations and plot concepts.

Acting is inspired and intense. Actors seem real indigenous natives or Japanese soldiers.
Please see this movie. You'll finish WARRIORS OF THE RAINBOW raving its praises too.

Simply said (finally) it's the greatest movie I've ever seen.

Back in 1996, filmmaker Wei Te-Sheng was inspired after he watched a news story of an aboriginal group from Hualien protesting in Taipei and wanting to see their land returned back to them.

After visiting a bookstore and doing his own research on the subject, he became interested in what is known as the "Wushe Incident" of 1930 in which the Seediq, a Taiwanese aboriginal group felt the colonial Japanese were invasive to their land.

As far back in 1897, the Japanese were building roads in Taiwan and this led to many uprisings by the aboriginal tribes. In 1901, the Seediq killed over 670 Japanese soldiers and thus, the Japanese isolated the village of Wushe.

In 1914, the Japanese set out to eradicate the aboriginal groups in areas that were schedule for logging. And the bad treatment towards the customs and beliefs of the Seediq aborigine would lead to the tragic 1930 incident.

In October 1930, hundreds of Japanese attended an athletics meet at the Taiwan-Chinese Musyaji Elementary School and before dawn, Chief Mona Rudao led over 300 Seediq warriors to attack the Japanese people. A total of 134 Japanese including women and children were killed.

This would lead to two thousand troops from Japan to be sent to Wushe to use military action against the Seediq.

As many people are not familiar with Taiwan's aboriginal groups, the research by Wei Te-Sheng would lead to the creation of a movie. In 2003, a short was created in the hopes of raising money for the film and would lead to a grassroot effort for donations towards the making of the film.

Eventually Wei Te-Sheng would make films such as "Cape No. 7″ to earn money for the film and by 2009, production had begun and post-production would end in 2011.

The film would be 4 1/2 hours long, over 400 technicians from Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong were brought in for the film and 1,500 non-professionals were hired to be actors.

For the film to be screened internationally, a shortened version combining the two parts of the film were reduced to two and a half hours and was screened at various film festivals and would open in theaters in America in Spring 2012.

It is important to note that Wei Te-Sheng's "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale" is loosely based when it comes to the real Mona Rudao, nor were many of the characters seen in the film were modeled after real people.

For the Blu-ray and DVD release of "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale", both the longer and shorter versions will be released separately in the U.S.

VIDEO:

"Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale" is presented in 1080p High Definition (16:9 widescreen). Picture quality for the film is fantastic! From the lush green environment to the amount of detail seen in the closeups, from skin pores to the grime on the faces of people. Although a violent film that utilizes a lot of people being beheaded, fortunately the film doesn't lean to the gore. We see heads being cut off, heads being held, but it was done in the way that the film doesn't look too gory or bloody.

While the film does have its fair share of flickering, the most problematic is the visual effects for certain scenes. We know there is going to be no real mass bombing or fires in the forest area, so to capture the Japanese attacks via grenade or bombs, there are CG effects of explosions in the forest. Explosions plopped up into the film to make the viewer think the forest is being destroyed. Unfortunately, these scenes look too fake and for a film that looks absolutely great on Blu-ray, these are a few scenes that really didn't look all that good. Fortunately, these scenes are short but that is probably my only feeling of weakness when it came to the overall picture quality. Colors were good, black levels were nice and deep but some of the visual effects look too cheesy to be part of this epic yet violent film.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

"Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale" is presented in multilingual DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Multilingual Dolby Digital Stereo. It's important to note that the language spoken during the film is in Japanese and the original Seediq dialect. Music is beautiful and special effects are well-utilized through the surround channels. There are some scenes that are immersive, and with the film primarily being action-driven, from grenades being blown up, rifles being shot to the decapitation of soldiers heads. But overall, dialogue is crystal clear, music is also clear and the film sounds great via lossless!

Subtitles are in English and Chinese.

SPECIAL FEATURES

"Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale" comes with the following special features:

Making Of Featurette - (28:50) Featuring the making of Featurette with interviews with director Wei Te-Sheng, producer John Woo plus behind-the-scenes footage, make-up and visual effects and more!
Theatrical Trailer (2:03)
International Trailer (2:05)

EXTRAS:

"Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale" comes with a slipcover case.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale" is a violent film. It's a film that more beheadings than one would expect to see in a film but within the context of the violence and beheadings, this is a film that relies on it because of the people that inspired the making of this film.

Wei Te-Sheng is a ambitious Taiwanese film that not only is expensive to make but it's also an important film to show the history of Taiwan and what took place in the country, that many are not familiar with.

When we think of Taiwan, we often think about the problems that exist between Taiwan and China. And when we think of imperial (or colonial) Japan and its military, we think of World War II or the atrocities that took place in both China and Korea.

But "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale" was a film that opened my eyes to the Seediq people. Similar to what the Native Americans experienced during the colonization of Caucasians in America, the Mexican-American War or whenever land was taken away from aborigine, the Negritos of Asia or the Ainu's of Japan, history has shown that the quest of land, the conquering of land and its people has always been a bloody and violent confrontation. Not limited to a race, not limited to region, over centuries, this has gone on for a long time.

But what happened to the Seediq people, this was a historical and factual story that I have never heard about. I never knew about Taiwan's aboriginal people nor was I aware of the resistance they fought against the Japanese government/military in order to keep their traditions and culture alive and not to be extinct.

I found it quite fascinating that the Japanese thought they could come into Taiwan, take control of the aboriginal tribes by force and try to civilize them through education and introducing them to Japanese culture. The problem was that through education and trying to make these people work and learn the Japanese way of doing things, they were not treated on an equal footing. There was police misconduct, forced labor ala slavery and the Japanese had no intention of honoring the Seediq's beliefs or customs. They thought of them as savages and felt the need to look at them as only as savages with no equal footing.

There is no doubt that many can compare this film to "The Last of the Mohicans", some have also compared the film to "Avatar" and "300″, but whenever a tribe or a group who's land is taken away, their culture is eliminated, there is just no doubt that these people who are forced to change, are going to fight back.

Filmmaker Wei Te-Sheng did a wonderful job in showing the Seediq as a tribe that practices violence. Honor is about killing, beheading your enemy. It's part of their custom!

And for a film that is 2.5 hours long (for the International version which I'm viewing, and I have no idea how the storyline pacing would be in the 4.5 hour version), Wei Te-Sheng then shows us how the Seediq were literally stripped away from their culture. The Japanese did not care for them, as many of the men were treated like slaves. Forced to build the town with not enough money, making them feel inferior and police having their way by beating the men. The Seediq Bale had no rights and so, we get to see how bad the Seediq were treated.

And this is important because when the Seediq fight back, unfortunately their anger is against Japan. Men, women and children that represented Japanese culture, were going to be eliminated. As a viewer, the next hour and a half are action-based. Seeing how 300 Seediq will go on the attack against thousands of Japanese soldiers.

The story may seem too simple reading it, but it's the execution of how the Seediq fought the Japanese soldiers. How the older children were integrated into the force to fight against the Japanese but also seeing the mass suicide by the women/wives/mothers of the men going off into battle and also seeing how they killed their own children, as a way to avoid dishonor.

There is also another story that relates to the Seediq who were integrated into Japanese culture, had jobs but were torn because they are for being civilized but know the Japanese still look at them as inferior and their own Seediq people thinking they are traitors. The person that is showcased is the character of Dakis Nomin (a.k.a. Hanaoka Ichiro, as portrayed by Hsu Yi-fan). He and his brother have accepted their Japanese civility and Hanaoka works as a policeman.

For Hanaoka, he feels there is a pride that a Seediq has become civilized and can work with the Japanese, to make them better into society. But of course, Mona Rudao is quick to show that despite the fact that he has become a policeman for the Japanese and that he and his Seediq wife Obing Nawi (a.k.a. Kawano Hanako) have assimilated, he is still seen as inferior. The Japanese will not see him as one of them and now, the Seediq do not see him as one of them. Will he die by Seediq tradition or die as an inferior person to the Japanese?

While the film does not explain what happened afterward between the Seediq and Japanese (aside an explanation of relocation), these confrontations between the Seediq and Japanese did lead to a change of policy in which the Seediq were given equal footing with other ethnic groups in Taiwan. And this would eventually lead to a generation of people in Taiwan who were educated by the Japanese and thus creating Taiwan civility among the aboriginal people but also increasing the relationship between both Taiwan and Japan which exists today.

While I did watch the International Version of "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale", I know that this film trimmed down to 2.5 hour, is accessible to viewers all over the world. But filmmaker Wei Te-Sheng does recommend people to watch the 4.5 hour version. This version goes into more detail about the troubled relations between Seediq and the Japanese, introductions of characters now shown in the 2.5 hour version but also a more extended ending with more detail on what happened to Mona Rudao and other characters in the film.

So, there is a lot of storyline that is lost in the 2.5 hour version. The 2.5 hour version primarily focuses on the Seediq and the Japanese and the battle between both sides, but for Asian cinema fans, the 4.5 hour version goes further into details about characters such as Kojima Genji (as portrayed by Masanobu Endo), Mahung Mona (as portrayed by Landy Wen), Takayama Hatsuko (as potrayed by Vivian Hsu) and Kawano Hanako (as portrayed by Irene Luo). But obviously, for those familiar with Asian pop culture, these stars are well-known in Japan and Taiwan.

And last, this is not a factual representation of the real Mona Rudao or are the characters based on real people or their actions. While the Wushe incident is real, the battle between the Sidiq led by Mona Rudao against the Japanese is real, there is much more to this story between the Seediq and Japanese that are featured in more detail in other books about Taiwan's history or even websites, such as this.

As for the Blu-ray release, "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale" does look and sound great on Blu-ray while the special features are about a half hour long. And there are two versions, a longer 4.5 hour version and this 2.5 hour version which was shown internationally in theaters. My preference would be to the longer version if you want the full story but otherwise, the 2.5 hour version would is more accessible as it gets rid of any storylines involving non-important characters, short in duration and focuses primarily on the relations and battle between the Seediq vs. the Japanese. But with that being said, you do feel that you are missing quite a bit of storyline when it comes to these other characters and will make those who enjoyed the 2.5 hour version of the film, seeking out the 4.5 hour version, knowing that the longer version is probably the definitive version to own.

Overall, "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale" is a violent but eye-opening film about Taiwan's history and its aboriginal people and what happened during Japanese occupation. While the storyline is much simplified in the 2.5 hour version, compared to its 4.5 hour counterpart, "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale" is an epic film featuring great cinematography, an intriguing and surprising storyline that I definitely recommend!