Toi bak man 9 chiu 5 (2002)

Director:

Leon Dai

Writers:

India Chen (writer)
Chao-Bin Su (story)

Release Date:

7 November 2002 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Romance | Drama

Plot:

In the Taiwanese capital of Taipei, the taboo of sex is racing through everyone's minds: a kindergarten teacher is a party animal at night...

Plot Keywords:

Lesbian | Mobile Telephones | Club DJ | Drug Abuse | House Warming

Cast

Stanley Huang	...	Xiao Ma
Chin Hua Yang	...	Eva
Yu Jung Huang	...	Ben
Jill Yu	...	Cindy
George Chang	...	Cola
Vivi Wang	...	Vivi
Rebecca Chiang	...	Iden
Chun Hsiang	...	Hitomi
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jack Kao	...	Brother Jack
Lap Hang Wong
Yuk Wing Wong

Also Known As:

Tai bei zhao 9 wan 5 (Taiwan)
Twenty Something Taipei (Hong Kong: English title)

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

Hong Kong | Taiwan

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hong Kong:III | Singapore:R(A) (cut)

Filming Locations:

Taipei City, Taiwan

Company:

Jin Chuan Pictures

Everyone wants to love somebody and be loved by someone.

Someone compared this film to "Kids". In my opinion, except for lots of sex scenes, there is nothing in common between them. Characters here are better drawn, better described and better acted out. But don't misunderstand me - I loved "Kids", and I still think it is best motion picture about teens, *by teens*. "20-somethin Taipei" is not about teenage kids, and its cast are not teens either. Apples and oranges. Except for plethora of sex there is nothing in common. Ditto.

The subject is so universal, that although it happens in 2002 Taipei - it could happened anywhere in the world (well, in the western world, to be exact). The premises are about average or slightly better off than average young urban adults seeking love, or Love actually. Unsurpsrisingly, as most of people nowadays, they mistake sex for love very often. I'm not going to analyze the story nor characters. I think my one-liner title-summary said it all. But it is well-told story, directed and acted in a very nice way, without any typical Hollywood style extremities usually thrown-in to 'spice up' the pace, and - whats more important - without typical (for modern Hollywood) politically-correct bulls*it point of views. Its a film that could have been shot only in a single-race country (like Taiwan still mostly is) without being called racist. Its a film that could have been shot only in a country where feminism is just a subject of some spicy jokes (like Taiwan still is) and where both men and women are compelled to look good daily, where ghetto-style clothes or way of talking still belong to ghettos, not to the general society.

7/10

Some of my American friends were surprised about i.e. the bright, clean look of the streets and basically cleanliness and beauty of everything shown in this movie. Well, perhaps thats what is missing in modern America - that old, 1960's American Lifestyle, when women were beautiful and men were Gentlemen?(or at least they all tried to). But thats totally different subject...