documentary
Argentina, Taiwan 2021, 100min
directed by Juan Martin Hsu
executive producer: Mariana Luconi
cinematography: J. M. Hsu, T. Schöningh
film editor: Ana Remon
sound design: Nicolás Torchinsky
colorist: Juan Martin Hsu
production company: Proton, Zebra
Haunted by the violent death of his father, Martin Hsu, a young Argentinian filmmaker of Taiwanese origin, returns to Taipei with his brother Marcelo to join their mother. The reunion reveals the portrait of a woman whose tragic fate is marked by the years of the White Terror in Taiwan, then by the difficulties integrating during her exile in Argentina. Faced with linguistic and cultural differences, Martin and his brother set up their camera in the cramped family apartment, hardly an invitation to speak freely. Not unlike a hall of mirrors, the mise en scène plunges us into the heart of a perpetual drama. The director’s moments of frustration are eloquent, and speak of the difficulty of a double quest : one of identity and one of filmmaking, full of obstacles, which Martin Hsu skillfully circumvents through the interaction of fiction and documentary. The director’s contradictory feelings resonate throughout the film like music that has now become essential, imbuing this moving diary of uprooting with sad notes and unexpected melodies.
awards & nominations
visions du reel
official selection 2021