Awards and festivals

Film description

Hsiao Wei and Ah Chieh are cousins who stick together even though their characters are opposites. They grew up together in a multilingual (Hakka, Hoklo, Mandarin) military dependents’ village in Taipei's northern district near Guandu Wharf. Family situation is difficult, Hsiao Wei's his twin sister suffers from leukemia and Ah Chieh's father, an army veteran from the mainland, is embittered with his life, drinks and gambles all day. A-Chieh is hot-tempered and impulsive, helps out at the local Taoist shrine and he is interested in folk rituals, but has problems with finding a job. Hsiao-Wei on the other hand is sullen and quiet, his role model is Bruce Lee, he often practices with his nunchucks but during the night his part-time job is far cry from Lee's strict ethics as he works at the entrance of the karaoke club run by mafia. Hsiao Wei introduces Ah Chieh to his boss, hoping to get them both better work. They are given a gun and an ungrateful job of a debt collectors. It cannot end well.

Chang Tso-chi auteur style is instantly recognizable, in his films he focuses on the lower and working class, young gangsters, relations with local mafia, the rough realist elements are completed with a fantastical narrative. From the perspective of time, "The Best of Times" is Chang Tso-chi's most representational work. The outstanding visual style and recurring motives give the film a definite shape, magical realism truly grasps the early 2000s feeling, becoming a chronicle of its times and an important part of Taiwan film history. 

Maja Korbecka