Art of Andrew C.C. Huang

Master of Beauty and Desires --A Retrospective of Hong Kong master Yonfan and his new movie “Colour Blossoms” By Andrew C.C. Huang (This article originally appeared in Taiwan News on August 12, 2005) Everyone knows about the desire for beauty and the disappointment in the loss of it. Invariably, filmmakers all over the world all make their careers out of exploring their desires and disappointments – for what else matters the most in this world besides love? If Hong Kong master Wong Kar Wai is torn between the intrigues of romance and unrequited love while Taiwan auteur Tsai Ming-liang is irrevocably fixated with the allures of human bodies and sexuality, then Hong Kong director Yonfan willingly and gleefully swims in the river of beauty and its enchantment. This week, Yonfan’s highly controversial and extremely erotic movie “Colour Blossoms” will make its Taiwan premier at Taipei’s Spot Cinema under the festival entitled “Music in Taiwan and Mandarin Films: A Companionship.” The fes...

The Pleasure of Fear --- A New Wave of Asian Horror Films Tells Us How to be Scared Ecstatically By Andrew C.C. Huang (This article originally appeared in Taiwan News on September 23, 2005) When in fear and uncertainty, one wants to scream one’s anxieties out as exemplified in the famed Edvard Munch painting “Scream.” What better way in this world to let out one’s fear and angst by experiencing vicariously the fictional horrors on the silver screen and scream out one’s own anxieties out loud in the darkness of movie theaters --- the only place where screaming is considered legal in modern civilization other than the psychiatric ward in the hospital. This month, Taiwan’s film industy challenges the audience’s capacity for facing fear again with the wonderfully executed horror film “The Heirloom.” Already breaking box office record and on its way to become the highest-grossing domestic film this year, the movie is about a young couple moving into their family old mansion. The couple soo...

Merging the Tradition with the Modern - The 30th Anniversary of Cloud Gate Dance Troupe - By Andrew C.C. Huang Contributing Writer (This article originally appeared in Taiwan News) For people who feel intimidated by the opaqueness of modern dance or doubt the validity of Asian dancers performing this decidedly western art form, Taiwan’s Cloud Gate Dance troupe has proved that modern dance can be very “Chinese” and could be enjoyable by all. Cloud Gate Dance Troupe, the premier and the first ever dance troupe in Taiwan, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The troupe celebrated by staging the world premier of “Cursive II” in Taipei on August 30 and a revival of its classic work “Legacy” for three months ending August 26. After the world premier in Taipei, “Cursive II” will move to have its international premier at the opening of Melbourne International Arts Festival on October 9. “I feel incredibly fortunately to being celebrating our 30th anniversary. It has been almost m...

Touches of Zen and Kungfu By Andrew C.C. Huang Contributing Writer (This article originally appeared in Taiwan News) What happens when you pour in the Zen-oriented drumming of Taiwan’s celebrated U Theatre, mix it with essence of the real-life Shaolin kungfu, and then drop in the olive of drama? The result is a dazzling glass of Zen-plus-kungfu Martini – the stage version of the now all-the rage kungfu movie genre. “A Touch of Zen,” the new work by Taiwan’s highly acclaimed U Theatre, will make its world premier at Taipei’s National Theater on June 2. The show will run from June 2 to 4 for four performances. This dramatic musical will run for approximately two hours and contains 12 acts with an intermission in the middle. The performers include 12 of U Theatre’s drummer/actor and 22 of Shaolin Temple’s kungfu practitioners. “A Touch of Zen” is the first part of the planned “Journey to Shaolin” trilogy which will unveil over the next five years. “A Touch of Zen” marks the first colla...

Life as a Chain of Dreams By Andrew C.C. Huang Contributing Writer (This article originally appeared in Taiwan News) If a life is composed of a long series of events and dreams, then a story is comprised of a roaster of characters with their life stories interweaving and influencing each other. In the tradition of the life as dream metaphor of China’s all-time most acclaimed novel “The Dream of the Red Chamber” and western master playwright August Strindberg’s “A Dream Play,” internationally acclaimed director Stanley Lai of the movie “Peach Blossom Dream” fame will bring his outlandishly ambitious theater piece “A Dream Like a Dream” to the audience for the next two weeks. This Sunday, “A Dream like a Dream” will come to life on stage for the second time at Taipei’s National Theater in celebration of the 20th anniversary for master Lai’s Performance Workshop. An astoundingly ambitious, epic, romantic, poetic, extravagant, mysterious, religious, metaphysical and emotionally powerful ...

A dream that became 'Legend' -- Twenty Years of the Contemporary Legend Theatre' By Andrew C.C. Huang Taiwan News, Contributing Writer 2006-10-14 It all started with a dream. Twenty years ago, a group of stage actors had an idea to merge eastern and western styles. As they planned their first production, little did they know that the dream will gradually evolve into the bona fide success it is today. The internationally acclaimed Contemporary Legend Theatre, founded in 1986 by Wu Hsing-kuo with his wife Lin Hsiu-wei, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with three of its classic shows - "The Kingdom of Desires," "King Lear" and "The Tempest" - at the Metropolitan Hall. As Wu, the artistic director of the troupe, recounts, "We were just very young actors back then with some dreams. We wanted to try something new out." Wu studied traditional Peking Opera for eight years at Fu-Hsing Chinese Opear School and then joined the famed Cloud Ga...

"The River of Musing" Painting and poem by Andrew C.C. Huang (Originally published in China Times) 冥思的河流 冥思中 想著逝去的愛及未來的夢想 煙環及思想的河流交織 淹沒陳舊的地板 把自己載到 另一個悲歡交織的地方

Tim Yip offers visual feast in designs for 'The Banquet' By Andrew C.C. Huang Taiwan News, Contributing Writer Page 1 2006-09-01 02:30 AM To emphasize the innocence of Zhou Xun's character Qing Nu, Tim Yip designed simple dresses composed of block colors without too many ornaments, such as this white top dress wrapped by a long burgundy skirt. Tim Yip Productions Tim Yip says his creations for "The Banquet" has a "Tang dynasty meets ancient Europe" feel. For most moviegoers, the name Tim Yip is associated with the ravishingly beautiful and elaborately designed costumes of the landmark epic "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Yip received double nominations at the Oscars for both costume design and art direction and won in the costume category, forever linking his name to the grandeur of the dynastic and classical China in the audience's minds. However, there's more than one trick up Yip's sleeves. Since "Crouching Tig...

"Lonesome Night at Cafe Triste" Photography by Andrew C.C. Huang

Master of His Generation -- China master Zhang Yimou discusses his latest movie “House of Flying Daggers” and the crafts of filmmaking -- By Andrew Huang (This article originally appeared in Taiwan News on December 15, 2004) When I saw Zhang Yimou, he was sitting in a beech chair situated right next to the swimming pool of the Martinez Hotel in Cannes. The brilliant sunlight of the summer French Riviera was brilliant and all-penetrating. The cascade of light poured onto the swimming pool surface and bounced back onto the poolside. In the middle of his long press junket, director Zhang was sitting in his chair, his entire body enveloped by the celestial brilliance of sunglow. The effect is what you would call a cinematic moment --- a cinematic master sitting right in front of you literally radiating light. Zhang is wearing his trademark working-class style outfit – blue shirt over grey T-shirt with olive pants. It seems that despite his decade plus world-class fame, Zhang remains clos...