Highly-rated Taiwanese Feature Film The Gangster’s Daughter Officially Lands on iTunes in North America
The Gangster’s Daughter, a highly-rated Taiwanese feature film directed by world renowned Taiwanese documentarian Mei-Juin Chen and starring what critics call one of the new generation’s star, Ally Chiu, officially lands on iTunes in North America. Director Mei-Juin Chen starts her press tour, which includes in-person interviews and Q&As with Los Angeles media.
Official Promotional Poster in North America
The Gangster’s Daughter follows the kinship between Xinwu Chen, a middle school girl (played by Ally Chiu), and her gangster father Xi Ge (starring Jack Kao). What lies behind his gangster style is a focus on shared emotions between a daughter and her long-separated father. The Hollywood Reporter, one of the biggest film industry publications in America, praised it as “an unconventional take on a well-worn genre”. Xianghui Wu, a well-known and reputable Taiwanese writer, went so far to call it “the most beloved Taiwanese film in the last fifty years.”
Jack Kao, the film’s male protagonist, previous starred as the gang boss in Dust of Angels, a film produced by Hou Hsiao-hsien. Due to his realistic and moving performance, Jack was praised by the film’s fans as “Taiwan’s Al Pacino”. Hong Kong acting, directing and producing legend Eric Tsang said that Kao “was more gangster-like than a real gangster.” Although Jack Kao portrays a gangster in The Gangster’s Daughter, his performance aims to represent a father with a fierce appearance yet soft and delicate emotions.
Twenty-year-old Ally Chiu, a member of the new generation of Taiwanese actors, has been fond of acting since childhood. Having started acting at the age of eight, Chiu has been in numerous films, TV series and commercials, making her one of the few experienced young actors in Taiwan. As the female protagonist, Chiu not only needed to portray her miserable life experience, but also her inner toughness and rebelliousness. More importantly, she had to reflect the delicate emotional changes after seeing her long-separated father. According to Mei-Juin Chen, the crew selected a large number of young actresses and non-actors between the age of 13 and 20 years old. The moment Chen saw Ally Chiu, she knew she had found the perfect candidate for the role.
Directress Mei-Juin Chen is a reputable documentary director from Taiwan. Chen has been making documentaries since 1994 and many of her works have been played on major film festivals and exhibitions and aired on over 100 TV stations worldwide. Chen was a Los Angeles Art Show jury member and on the prestigious American Film Institute (AFI) selection. The Gangster’s Daughter was the first feature film she directed, which premiered in Taiwan cinemas last year. Chen incorporated her expert observation of social reality into both picturesque Kinmen and the chilling metropolis landscape of Taipei. From her delicate perspective, Chen aimed to have a dialogue about the love and hatred between fathers, daughters and gangsters. Chen also guided her cast towards a singular exquisite and touching narrative in the sincerest way.
This film had a powerful behind-the-scenes team, including Bowen Chen, a cutting and editing master who participated in hit films A Brighter Summer Day, sound mix master Tu Duun Chih who participated in In the Mood for Love and photographer Chun-Ming Wang, who worked on Gatao. Impresario Lim Giong was a highlight of the crew, having already won best original music for film scores at home and abroad, recalling memories and sounds in Taiwan. The Gangster’s Daughter combined traditional music instruments of Southern Fujian, including the three-stringed fiddle and the moon lute, electronic music and Nakasi, wine-house music filled with both joy and sadness, to create a distinctive Taiwanese gangster film with a sense of modernity. This film was nominated by the American Film Institute (AFI), an opening film for Chicago’s Asian Pop Up Film Exhibition, an opening film for the Los Angeles International Biennial and for the world famous Hawaiian International Film Festival. Today, The Gangster’s Daughter officially lands on iTunes, released by China Lion Film Distribution, allowing all audience in North America to buy or rent the film for home enjoyment.
iTunes link:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/the-gangsters-daughter/id1404119305?mt=6&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
