By Michael Colford
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Tsai Ming-liang
Starring: Chang-Bin Jen | Chao-jung Chen | Kang-sheng Lee | Tien Miao | Yi-ching Lu | Yu-Wen Wang
Original language title: Qing shao nian nuo zha
Country: taiwan
Year: 1992
Running time: 106
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103935/reference
Michael says: “When Chris mentioned recently that he caught Tsai Ming-liang’s debut feature, REBELS OF THE NEON GOD, I realized that I too had never gone back to watch this film from one of my favorite directors. What I perhaps find most extraordinary about REBELS is how much a Tsai Ming-liang film it already is. Often the filmmaker’s early films show the beginnings of what will ultimately evolve into a signature auteurist style, but it’s as if Tsai’s ideas and themes sprang fully formed from his forehead in his first attempt, and all subsequent efforts simply allowed him to explore them more and more fully, or in deeper and deeper ways. To be expected, REBELS OF THE NEON GOD was also the feature debut of Tsai’s muse and consistent collaborator, actor Lee Kang-sheng. Sometimes looking about 14-years-old, but playing Hsiao Kang, presumably, someone in their late teens, possibly early 20’s, the surprisingly impish Lee vacillates from dour, seriousness, to manic gleefulness. Proclaimed by his Mother’s temple as the reincarnation of Nezha, a powerful, impulsive, and disobedient child god in Chinese classical mythology. When a pair of petty thieves run afoul of Hsiao Kang’s father, a cab driver who is giving his son a ride, Hsiao Kang begins to follow the pair around, as they spend time with Ah Kuei, a young lady who works at the local roller-skating rink, and commit more robberies. Whether seeking vengeance on an act of minor vandalism Ah Tze, one of the thieves, commits again his father’s cab, or more of admiration of the cool façade the older thief radiates, Hsiao Kang does indeed seem to manifest the mischievous Nezha in his ultimate actions.
“Enfolding all of these antics is the brightly lit city of Taipei, captured in a moment in time with its video arcades, back alleys, hotels, and nightlife. It’s amazing how much activity occurs in Tsai’s early films compared to the gorgeously glacial paces of his later films. It’s also incredibly fun to see how Lee Kang-shen has matured as both an actor, and as the heart of all of Tsai’s films. Hsiao Kang’s parents, played by Yu Li-ching and Miao Tien also returned for several of Tsai’s films after this appearance. 4 cats“