Taiwan New Cinema (also known as New Taiwanese Cinema or the Taiwan New Wave) was a film reform movement initiated by young Taiwanese filmmakers and directors which took place from 1982 to 1987. Taiwan New Cinema films primarily showcase a realistic style with their depictions of subject matter close to the social reality, offering a retrospective look into the lives of the common people. Taiwan New Cinema brought about a new chapter for the cinema of Taiwan with its innovative form and unique style.Lin, Mucai. Taiwan New Cinema Revisited I. Film Appreciation Journal, issue 191, 2022.陳儒修. 「30年前的台灣新電影，意味著什麼？」 Film in Our Time: Taiwan New Cinema on the Road《光陰之旅：台灣新電影在路上》edited by 王耿瑜, 2015. p. 276-279.Tweedie, James. The Age of New Waves : Art Cinema and the Staging of Globalization. Oxford University Press, 2013.Yeh, Emilie Yueh-yu, et al. 32 New Takes on Taiwan Cinema. Edited by Emilie Yueh-yu Yeh et al., University of Michigan Press, 2022, .
History
Before Taiwan New Cinema
Political propaganda (1945–1960) On August 15, 1945, Taiwan was liberated from Japanese rule after Japan unconditionally surrendered. The Republic of China's Nationalist government took over Taiwan and abolished the Japanization implemented by the Japanese rule, including the Japanization of spoken languages in Taiwan. The Nationalist government started the promotion of Mandarin. In 1949, the Chinese Civil War between the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ended with the CCP taking control of mainland China, while the Nationalist Kuomintang Party retreated to Taiwan.Wicks, James. Transnational Representations : The State of Taiwan Film in the 1960s And 70s. 1st ed., Hong Kong University Press, 2014.李道明，【臺灣與電影的兩種第一次接觸】，《看得見的記憶：二十二部電影裡的百年臺灣電影史》， 春山出版， 2020。
In the 1950s, to comply with the government's political agenda, the three major state-owned film studios (Taiwan Film Culture Co., the China Motion Picture Studio, and the Agricultural Education Film Studio) underwent structural reform. Subsequently, through the restrictions imposed by censorship and ideological regulation, the government fully managed and controlled the film industry.Zhen Wanxiang 鄭玩香. 2001. “Zhanhou Taiwan dianying guanli tixi zhi yanjiu, 1950–1970” 戰後臺灣電影管理體系之研究, 1950–1970 (Studies on the postwar Taiwanese motion picture regulatory system, 1950–1970). Master thesis, Guoli Zhongyang Daxue Lishi Yanjiusuo 國立中央大學歷史研究所 (Graduate Institute of History, National Central University). pp. 21-29. During this period, Taiwanese films largely aligned with the anti-communist and anti-Soviet political ideology and became tools for political propaganda, resulting in mediocre content.葉龍彥，《圖解台灣電影史》，晨星，2017。 Under the special circumstances of the Chinese Civil War and the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, Taiwanese audiences, amidst a gloomy situation, found resonance in local film culture, leading to the rise of Taiyupian (Taiwanese-language cinema).小野. 「那時候大家都只想做我們自己的東西」" Film in Our Time: Taiwan New Cinema on the Road《光陰之旅：台灣新電影在路上》edited by 王耿瑜, 2015. p. 206-213.陳儒修. 「30年前的台灣新電影，意味著什麼？」 Film in Our Time: Taiwan New Cinema on the Road《光陰之旅：台灣新電影在路上》edited by 王耿瑜, 2015. p. 276-279.Su, Chih-heng. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Taiwan. Spring Hill, 2020.
Innovative productions (1960–1978) In the 1960s, the situation across the Taiwan Strait gradually stabilized, and the overall social atmosphere became slightly more relaxed. With the U.S. military presence in Taiwan, Taiwan began to experience stable development. In March 1963, Kung Hong, the newly appointed president at the Central Motion Picture Corporation, proposed a film production style called healthy realism that, while adopting the filmmaking style of realistic films in Europe and the United States, avoided exposing the dark side of society.Wicks, James. Transnational Representations : The State of Taiwan Film in the 1960s And 70s. 1st ed., Hong Kong University Press, 2014.葉龍彥，《圖解台灣電影史》，晨星，2017。 Surprisingly, the approach of concealing the bad while promoting the good and of advocating humanitarianism were well-received in the Taiwanese market.楊元鈴，【蔡揚名，《錯誤的第一步》，一九七九】，《看得見的記憶：二十二部電影裡的百年臺灣電影史》，春山出版， 2020。 This innovation not only elevated the production standards of Taiwanese films but also opened up the overseas Chinese market for films.王建業. 「他們很尊重攝影機前細微、有張力的世界」 Film in Our Time: Taiwan New Cinema on the Road《光陰之旅：台灣新電影在路上》edited by 王耿瑜, 2015. p. 232-237.Tweedie, James. The Age of New Waves : Art Cinema and the Staging of Globalization. Oxford University Press, 2013.
In addition, many films adapted from the novels of Taiwanese writer Chiung Yao introduced extensively emerging thematic elements of romance and melancholy, and hence expanded the horizons of Taiwanese cinema. During this period, Mandarin-language films flourished, overshadowing and gradually leading to the decline of the Taiyupian market.Su, Chih-heng. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Taiwan. Spring Hill, 2020.葉龍彥，《圖解台灣電影史》，晨星，2017。
In the 1970s, under the leadership of Chiang Ching-kuo, who was serving as the Premier of the Executive Yuan at the time, Taiwan embarked on the Ten Major Construction Projects to accelerate economic development. As a result, Taiwanese society transitioned from an agrarian society to an industrial one, and the majority of Taiwanese people became more affluent. Films at the time started responding to societal demands with the production of patriotic films, romance films, martial arts films, kung fu films, and comedy films, all of which became the mainstream media providing entertainment for the public.王建業. 「他們很尊重攝影機前細微、有張力的世界」 Film in Our Time: Taiwan New Cinema on the Road《光陰之旅：台灣新電影在路上》edited by 王耿瑜, 2015. p. 232-237.陳儒修. 「30年前的台灣新電影，意味著什麼？」 Film in Our Time: Taiwan New Cinema on the Road《光陰之旅：台灣新電影在路上》edited by 王耿瑜, 2015. p. 276-279.
However, these films eventually faced rejection from audiences due to their repetitive nature and adherence to established conventions. The influx of American and Hong Kong films into the Taiwanese market further exacerbated the decline of Taiwanese cinema.王建業. 「他們很尊重攝影機前細微、有張力的世界」 Film in Our Time: Taiwan New Cinema on the Road《光陰之旅：台灣新電影在路上》edited by 王耿瑜, 2015. p. 232-237.
Cinematic reform (1978–1982) In June 1978, Ming Ji, the president of Central Motion Picture Corporation, revisited film production trends and guidelines and set goals to "strengthen policy propaganda and promote cooperation with both domestic and overseas filmmakers."Lim, Song Hwee. Taiwan Cinema as Soft Power: Authorship, Transnationality, Historiography. Oxford University Press, 2021, . In 1980, the Government Information Office of the Executive Yuan put in efforts to enhance the artistic and international dimensions of Taiwanese films. The Central Motion Picture Corporation was tasked with initiating a series of reforms, such as personnel reorganization. Hsiao Yeh was appointed as the Deputy Manager of the Production Planning Department and the Head of the Planning Team, and Wu Nien-jen, an emerging writer at the time, was hired for screenwriting.小野. 「那時候大家都只想做我們自己的東西」" Film in Our Time: Taiwan New Cinema on the Road《光陰之旅：台灣新電影在路上》edited by 王耿瑜, 2015. p. 206-213.吳念真. 「過去那種革命情感，是我最懷念的」 Film in Our Time: Taiwan New Cinema on the Road《光陰之旅：台灣新電影在路上》edited by 王耿瑜, 2015. p. 246-249.
Since then, Taiwanese cinema broke free from its previous creative style, with plots that are more closely related to the realities of society. Establishing new forms of cinematic style and language, it also began to cast non-celebrity or non-professional actors and to adopt a more natural and realistic filmmaking approach.小野。「我們的八十年代」， Film in Our Time: Taiwan New Cinema on the Road《光陰之旅：台灣新電影在路上》edited by 王耿瑜, 2015. p. 20.陳儒修. 「30年前的台灣新電影，意味著什麼？」 Film in Our Time: Taiwan New Cinema on the Road《光陰之旅：台灣新電影在路上》edited by 王耿瑜, 2015. p. 276-279.陳逸達，【每個時代都需要重寫自己的記憶】，《看得見的記憶：二十二部電影裡的百年臺灣電影史》， 春山出版， 2020。
Taiwan New Cinema (1982–1987) In 1982, three new-generation directors—Edward Yang, Ko I-chen, and Chang Yi—joined the Central Motion Picture Corporation and proposed a collaborative project of low-budget films.Ko, I-chen. 「一開始，只覺得如果能拍一部電影，就是很過癮的事情了」。 Film in Our Time: Taiwan New Cinema on the Road《光陰之旅：台灣新電影在路上》edited by 王耿瑜, 2015. p. 200-201. Through the efforts of Ming Ji and Hsiao Yeh, they produced the four-segment anthology film, In Our Time. This film marked the beginning of analyzing real social phenomena and caring about the realities of everyday life as well as the restoration of collective memory.吳念真. 「過去那種革命情感，是我最懷念的」 Film in Our Time: Taiwan New Cinema on the Road《光陰之旅：台灣新電影在路上》edited by 王耿瑜, 2015. p. 246-249.張, 靚蓓 (2011). 凝望.時代 : 穿越悲情城市二十年. 田園城市文化. 20119789866204258 For this reason, In Our Time has been widely regarded as the first work of the Taiwan New Cinema movement. All the filmmakers involved in this film became important members of the movement. The naturalistic and literary style of In Our Time symbolized the difference between New Cinema and Old Cinema.Lu Fei-I, Taiwan Film: Politics, Economy, Aesthetics, 1949—1994, 1998.
Subsequently, emerging Taiwanese directors, such as Chen Kun-hou, Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Wan Jen, and Wang Toon, began producing realistic works that resonated with the cinematic movement, sparking a trend of realistic filmmaking.Wang, Toon. 「有良知的影片，不必要讚美」 Film in Our Time: Taiwan New Cinema on the Road《光陰之旅：台灣新電影在路上》edited by 王耿瑜, 2015. p. 202-205. At the time, art films that emphasized the seriousness and scholarly significance of cinema had also gradually made their way into Taiwan, even though the ideas that came with these art films might not necessarily coincide with the notion of audience-oriented film promoted by the Film Critics China.Chang Shih-Lun, "Discursive Formation of the 'Taiwanese New Cinema': A Historical Analysis (1965-2000)," 2001.
In 1983, the three-segment anthology film The Sandwich Man, directed by the new-generation directors, sparked a wave of criticism due to an attempt to censor depictions of poverty, known as the "Apple-Paring Incident", that happened prior to the film's release.詹宏志. 「不過每一個他們試圖要幫助侯孝賢的方法，我聽起來都是消滅侯孝賢的方法」 Film in Our Time: Taiwan New Cinema on the Road《光陰之旅：台灣新電影在路上》edited by 王耿瑜, 2015. p. 238-245. This event was widely seen as an ideological struggle between the New Cinema and the Old Cinema, as well as between the new-generation directors and the Film Critics China. The former brought the controversy into the public sphere to seek arbitration, while the latter used anonymous letters to make accusations and express doubts. Ultimately, as the film managed to escape censorship and kept its creative concept intact, The Sandwich Man established the theme and direction for the Taiwan New Cinema.Wan, Jen. 「所謂運動跟潮流絕對不是一個人的」" Film in Our Time: Taiwan New Cinema on the Road《光陰之旅：台灣新電影在路上》edited by 王耿瑜, 2015. p. 196-199.陳儒修. 「30年前的台灣新電影，意味著什麼？」 Film in Our Time: Taiwan New Cinema on the Road《光陰之旅：台灣新電影在路上》edited by 王耿瑜, 2015. p. 276-279.