Formosa Betrayed Ending in Seattle; Shows in Taiwan in August

Got a press release from the Formosa Betrayed Facebook group a few days ago. Great news for those in Taiwan, it's headed your way in early August! They are also planning a DVD release for this summer (sort of odd that they might release a DVD before showing in Taiwan, but in the end I doubt it will impact the numbers in Taiwan that much).

Here's an excerpt from the Facebook "press release," on the Taiwan release:

TAIWAN DISTRIBUTION FOR FORMOSA BETRAYED

Formosa Films and Screen Media Ventures are proud to announce an agreement with IPA Asia Pacific and Sky Digi Entertainment Co for theatrical distribution of Formosa Betrayed in TAIWAN!!!! Since before the film was completed, thousands of fans have been wondering when the film will be released in Taiwan. Now, we are excited to announce that the film is scheduled to be in Taiwanese theaters beginning the weekend of August 6, 2010.

Actor/writer/producer Will Tiao, director Adam Kane, and several of the actors from the film have been invited to promote the film in Taiwan prior to its release. Please find attached the official press release in Mandarin Chinese and English that has been released to media outlets in Taiwan, the United States, and worldwide. Any press inquiries regarding the Taiwan release of Formosa Betrayed should be directed in the United States to Michael Dwyer at Screen Media Ventures at (212) 308-1790 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (212) 308-1790 end_of_the_skype_highlighting and in Taiwan to Tiffany Wang at Sky Digi Entertainment at 886-2-2231-1010.

Here's the rest of the press release, including information on how you can request to see Formosa Betrayed at a theater near you (if your city wasn't on the original release schedule).

Also, this is the last week for Formosa Betrayed in Seattle (showing only at the AMC Loews Uptown 3).

For those who have or have not seen it and would like a preview (minor spoilers, but not really) on what I thought of it, here's my review of Formosa Betrayed.

'Formosa Betrayed' Leaves You Unsatisfied - In A Good Way

... and rightfully so - here's why.

** May contain spoilers **

I showed up with some family and friends at the 10:00PM showing of 'Formosa Betrayed' at one of only three theaters in Washington state. April 9th was the opening weekend for 'Formosa Betrayed' in Seattle, and this was the second night. But much like the empty theater that we sat in (more or less 15 people total), the movie left me empty inside as well. It was as if there was no ending and something else needed to wrap things up. After each scene faded to black and the next scene emerged, I kept hoping that the next fade-away would be followed by another scene.

So why do I think it was a good movie? It is because of this feeling of the lack of fulfillment that makes this film worth watching. For most other films, this may be a bad thing. After all, why would a story that leaves you hanging give the viewer satisfaction? But in this case we are left unsatisfied because of the fact that this story is yet unfinished.

This point is highlighted in the ending seconds of the movie where the screen goes to black with text appearing, highlighting the current situation of Taiwan: There are currently 23 countries that recognize the country of Taiwan, "The United States is not one of them."

The injustice to Taiwanese of the past, continue to occur to this day. Whether it be on the international scale or domestically in Taiwan, the internal struggle of Taiwanese is still there. While there may be no blatant executions of political dissidents and torture of Taiwanese intellectuals, instead what we have is fear and bullying tactics by the same secret police state that existed before. Stories such as this: Police in Taiwan asking for registration details of political activists that use Plurk. Things don't need to happen on the surface for it to be real; often times it's what happens underneath that is even scarier.

Anyways, as far as the actual acting and etc...

3 out of 5 stars. Entertainment value-wise, it was average. The acting was okay, but at times I just grimaced at the use of non-native Chinese speakers (sorry Will Tiao). The saving grace for Will Tiao was the fact that his lines were mostly in English and Taiwanese, otherwise I may never have gotten past that issue. The use of simultaneous time-lines was at first confusing, but after a couple flash forward and backs I realized what was going on. The action scenes were pretty underwhelming, but I found it quite appropriate for the setting (set in the 1980s).

But, the thing that bothered me the most after leaving (other than that unfulfillment) was that I felt I had already seen the movie. The most powerful scenes in the movie were basically the same scenes used in the theatrical trailers, which is quite genius if you think about it. But, it leaves you with just fillers for the actual movie, in between those powerful scenes.

Nevertheless, it's a story that needed to get out, and I applaud Will Tiao and the rest of his crew for being able to generate the investment needed to put out this film. All that, despite the likelihood that they knew they wouldn't have a spectacular box office run. When you have a film about Taiwan, and yet Taiwanese as a group have a hard time getting out to watch it, you know you are in for trouble.

All in all, 'Formosa Betrayed' was a film that needed to be done. And as a film that needed to be done, it's a film worth being seen. If you are in the Seattle area, get out to watch it ASAP! If you did not know (as I did not know originally), it's having a limited release in both location as well as time-wise. I believe it's only showing here in the Seattle area until this coming Thursday, April 15th.

Edit: While I was unable to make it to the Q&A session with producer and actor, Will Tiao, of Formosa Betrayed at the Seattle Taiwan Center on April 8th, someone (ryl0911) was able to record it on video and put it up on YouTube (Thanks!). There's 13 parts in total, so check it out. A lot of interesting information about him and the movie, with answers to "FAQs" that most of you probably have thought of (When is it showing in Taiwan?, Why is it shot in Thailand?, etc.)
You can view the rest of the 12 of 13 parts by going to this playlist, and you can set it to auto-play through the rest (top right-hand side).