Abridged Taiwan epic to hit mainland cinemas

Taiwanese director Wei Te-sheng's wartime blockbuster "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale," originally a two-part series lasting four-and-a-half hours, will begin screening in the mainland in May in a condensed, 150-minute version.

The much-anticipated film, produced by John Woo, tells the story of a battle waged by the island's aboriginal Seediq people against the Japanese forces that ruled Taiwan from 1895 to 1945.

Wei came to fame in 2008 when his low-budget film "Cape No. 7" became a sleeper hit.

"As for the deleted parts, some were cut out of concerns for differing historical knowledge between the Taiwan and mainland audiences. Other scenes were cut in order to hasten the pace as well as to make the film fit for all audiences as the mainland doesn't have a rating system," Wei said Wednesday at a media screening.

According to Wei, "Bale" means true in Seediq language, and the film title suggests the bravery and strength of true Seediq men during the war.

After 12 years of preparations and an investment of 700 million New Taiwan Dollars (23.64 million U.S. dollars), "Seediq Bale" is the first Taiwanese film to tell the story of how the island's ethnic minorities resisted the Japanese invasion.

While breaking the island's box office record for Chinese-language films with ticket sales of 800 million New Taiwan Dollars, the film was selected into the main competition at the 68th Venice International Film Festival and also made its way onto the nine-film semi-final list for the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.

The film will be introduced into the mainland cinema under the mainland's import policy for Taiwanese films, a product of the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), which was signed in June 2010 to promote economic cooperation between the two sides.

According to the ECFA, Taiwanese films that pass mainland authorities' censorship requirements can be released in the mainland without being counted under the mainland's film import quota for overseas films, essentially meaning that there is no limitation for the number of imported Taiwanese films.

"Both the mainland and Taiwan have a history of resisting Japanese invaders. Although the film was based on the island's aboriginal culture, I believe its depiction of a war to survive will also overwhelm the mainland audience," Wei said.