Island Etude (2006) User Reviews

A different view of Taiwan

[Onderhond · 8/10 · 17 October 2008]

When Huai-en Chen, famed for the cinematography of several Hsiao-hsien Hou films, made his movie the world of film took notice. Island Etude got the attention it craved until Ang Lee's "Lust, Caution" claimed the spotlights. Island Etude turned out to be Oscar nominee for Taiwan but by then the film had seemingly lost its momentum and is destined to fade into obscurity.

Huai-en Chen worked as a cinematographer on Hou's "Good Men, Good Women" and "Goodbye South, Goodbye". And even though I didn't know this when I started watching Island Etude, by the time I had finished the film somehow reminded me of older Hou films. Though in the end it is mostly the differences that struck me as interesting.

Island Etude is an extremely laid back film, avoiding dramatic events and any form of clear climax. The basic premise is simple, with a young student making a round trip of Taiwan by bike in seven days. His character is given as little background as necessary, his motivations for making the trip remain sketchy throughout. This never becomes an issue as the main characters is nothing more than a straw man for showing us something about modern day Taiwan.

More important are the places he visits and the people he meets. In that sense, this film is a typical road movie. The film is structured in 7 segments, each segment representing one day in the boy's travels. Apart from the beginning (which cuts in halfway the first day) and the ending (starting the first day) the film is also pretty classical in structure, so no surprises there.

Chen grants us a look into the world that is modern day Taiwan, which is were his film mostly differs from Hou's earlier work. There is time for tradition and history in Island Etude, but the film is also filled with modern technological and cultural references. The people met on the trip are diverse and all have something different and unique to bring to the picture. In between, Chen also has plenty of time to show off the better side of Taiwan with some very nice nature photography.

Visually, the film is excellent, which is to be expected. Chen knows how to frame his shots and makes sure to transfer the laid back feeling to his images without slowing the film down too much. The editor is a tad too eager at times but besides that the rhythm of the film is almost perfect. Sadly, the choice of music is not too daring but apart from one rather loud and obnoxious song fits the film well. I guess Chen could've done more in this department, as the music falls short in enforcing the same laid back feeling oozing from other elements within the film.

Island Etude walks the fragile edge of fake-doc, road movie and promo video but the balance never tilts to the wrong side. The people met on the journey are strangely realistic (and are often non-professional actors) and even though there's little drama and the back alley of Taiwan is nicely avoided the film never comes off as too pretentious or too pushy to actually be bothered by it.

Island Etude is a nice little film bearing little to no weak points, but never really excelling either. It does calm you down while watching and is able to keep the laid back feeling throughout the movie without ever becoming boring. A nice drama and fun to see a less historical view of Taiwan for a change. 4.0*/5.0*

A movie that makes you want to experience life

[rooprect · 12 April 2015]

"Island Etude" isn't a movie with a traditional plot/conflict/resolution like we've come to expect from cinema. The setup is that a young man is riding his bike around the island of Taiwan, and that's where it leaves off. What follows is a series of wonderfully shot vignettes of his 7 days and 6 nights en route, meeting interesting characters, immersing himself in overlooked culture, and the real payoff: soaking in the majestic sights of land and sea as only one can experience alone. So while this film won't exactly give you a dramatic firestorm of "Amadeus" proportions, it'll certainly deliver some quiet, poetic moments that may just change your life.

Our cyclist Ming-Hsang is a young loner, alienated from society by his hearing & speech disability, who embarks on this 1200km (800mi) journey, roughly the distance from New York City to Chicago on bike. The people he meets are always welcoming, hospitable and friendly, without any malice or heavy drama. But, much like with real life travel, we can still enjoy the ride meeting odd characters, even if there aren't any chainsaw-wielding madmen or bank robberies to spice up the pot.

The people he meets include: an aspiring surrealist filmmaker, a fellow cyclist with humorous family gripes, a mysterious European supermodel, a married couple playfully bickering about ex-girlfriends, a somber grade school teacher being forced to retire, and a bizarre busload of jolly old ladies protesting economic hardships, and maybe a juvenile delinquent or two. The cross section gives us a good slice of Taiwanese culture and political issues without beating any particular agenda over our heads. Ming-Hsang remains politically and emotionally neutral, like a stranger in his own country, with the exception being one powerful moment of emotion which I won't ruin for you.

That's where my review ends because there are really no words for this unique experience. All I can say is, as my title suggests, this is the sort of film that makes you want to experience life, whether it's on a bike, in some exotic location or maybe just in your own hometown appreciating the things you've never had the presence of mind to appreciate.

There aren't many films like this, but when they do come along they are very memorable. Along with "Island Etude" I recommend "In the City of Sylvia" (about a young man who returns to a sleepy European city in search of a stranger he met six years earlier), "A Scene at the Sea" (Japanese master Takeshi Kitano's excellent, almost-silent directing debut about a deaf surfer) and my favorite traveller film, "Lisbon Story" (Wim Wenders whimsical and hauntingly musical story of a man trying to track down a lost friend in Lisbon). These films will never be Hollywood crowd pleasers, but for those times when nothing else satisfies your wanderlust, they're just what the doctor ordered.

Find out what you wanna do and do it.

[user-28221 · 10/10 · 30 November 2009]

There are movies that when you see you will tend to think about evaluating them giving them scores sticking critiques to them or any other stuff like those, but movies like Island Etude, on the other hand, is of another type. When you watch Island Etude, probably from the first few minutes on, the only thing on your mind is simply keeping enjoying it.

Especially ever since the guitar starts sounding...

Haven't seen a scene like this in a movie for a long time: a young man riding his bike along the seaside, so enjoyingly with smile on face, long nice hair drawing wind's direction, huge guitar bag on back, and of course as mentioned just now, the background guitaring... Actually at this moment the guitar music is called "riding side by side", as you can hear the playing of two guitars simultaneously. At this point would you want to say anything about how movies and scenes like this should be shot and how this movie and scene could be improved? I bet you don't, cuz I guess you are like me, immersed in pure joy.

Don't wanna talk about the movie technically, technically good is just not what it's meant to be, instead, it's what it can leave you with.

Our hero of Island Etude is not the talkative type, actually he doesn't talk much at all, but there is one simple line from him that is really touching, simple as it might sound, "some things if you don't do now, you won't never do." Once in a while we doubt about the meaning of our lives, doubt if we can do what people around us can do if we can have a life as good as theirs, we just tend to wanna copy others' dreams and lives, what about ourselves'? The meaning of your life is if you have the guts to do stuff you wanna do. You may not be able to do it quickly cuz we all have to do things we need to do before things we want to do, but sooner or later you gotta do it if you don't want your life to be your regret.

Forget things everybody says you should do to fulfill your life, do things you feel you need to do to fulfill your life. It's a short life we got buddy, gotta make it worthwhile.

unexpected pleasure

[whatweatherman · 9/10 · 1 May 2018]

A very pleasant, unpretentious film with heart. Soft and subtle and very human docudrama of touring the lovely island of Taiwan. Quirky? Yes it does seem a little off the beaten path, but overall a lovely story with memorable characters. I enjoyed viewing a film with generally very natural characters.

Gorgeous heart touching road movie

[ritu_ruch · 10/10 · 24 August 2015]

Island etude is one of the most beautifully shot and charming film I have seen.there are so many heartwarming,nice scenes in the film and after A while mings journey becomes your own journey.you start enjoying being a part of his life n enjoy meeting the people he is meeting.his interaction with those people is so natural that it makes your heart melt.mings expression n acting is excellent.director huAn en Chan did a great job in making a perfect road film.since I am not from this part of the world I loved seeing how beautiful Taiwan is and am most eager to visit it.wish this film was selected in top five best films for Oscar,it is that close to perfect imo.hats off,this is what cinema is,not your routine stuff but still spellbinding.

A beautiful bore

[gergelyh-15596 · 4/10 · 22 September 2016]

I may have missed something (as the other reviewers seem so be pretty enthusiastic) but I definitely feel my 108 minutes wasted. And I watch cycle touring video-journals quite often as this is one of my hobbies...

This is a film made by an excellent cameraman who thought he does not need a director, professional actors or a decent script. (Reminds me to the airplane mechanic from "Murphy's War" who thought he knows so much about planes, he surely will be able to fly one at the first try.) There is enough raw material there for a good National Geographic article ("Student Cycles the Beautiful Coast of Taiwan Alone") with lots of stunning views of nature and a glimpse of a hard-working island -- but not enough for a feature film. And the professional cinematography made me constantly waiting for something more dramatic, I was not able to view this the way I view ordinary cycle touring videos. The lack of handlebar-mounted camera view, so frequent in that genre, makes this feel even less like a cycling documentary. (This is shot in third-person view most of the time.)

As for a real road movie, this must be the most boring one ever made. The young hero's character does not ever change (well, it is only seven days) and it was not too interesting to begin with: always easy-going, content with everything. He meets totally uninteresting people, with the possible exception of the old amateur sculptor (but he appears only in the last minutes). The historical events recalled are mildly interesting at best. And do not let the presence of a guitar make you expect a strong musical score!