Prince of Tears

Throughout the fifties, Taiwan was subject to a sweeping anti-communist campaign known as the White Terror. During this period, political dissidents and suspected sympathizers who spoke out against the Chinese Kuomintang government were imprisoned or executed. A collective paranoia thrived on the island as many simply disappeared without a trace. Prince of Tears returns to that dangerous time with a gorgeously shot, thought-provoking look at how fear and power can corrupt good people and destroy a country from within.

Han-sun is a dashing fighter pilot. Having served in the civil war against the communists in mainland China during the late forties, he finally moves to Taiwan with his devoted wife, Ping, and his lovely daughters, Li and Zhou. Though they seem to walk through life without a care, a happy ending is not in store. The family’s dreams of a serene future are irreparably shattered one bright autumn afternoon when the girls return from school to find their home ransacked by the military police and their parents thrown in jail as suspected communist spies. Now at the mercy of Uncle Ding, a low-level government bureaucrat with a terrifying scarred face, the sisters quickly discover that reality is not what it appears to be.

Largely based on Yonfan’s childhood memories, Prince of Tears is akin to a sumptuous fairy tale. Alternately magnified through the eyes of innocent children and darkened by the disturbed dreams of frightened, guilty adults, the realities of a little-known era are explored through Yonfan’s powerful vision. As in the best of fables, here too we have a handsome prince and a beautiful princess, a charming fairy and a mean ogre.

Elegantly shot, the film weaves the characters and their stories together in a mysterious and lyrical fashion. Yonfan’s pristine touch as production designer seamlessly matches the vibrant light and colour of Chin Ting-chang’s cinematography. As a result, the film’s stunning look provides a stark contrast to the terror within the environment. As both an exquisite rhapsody of emotions and an intriguing historical account, Yonfan’s work is utterly unique. It charms, evokes and informs, perfectly capturing the confusion of adolescence, when the world is full of beauty one moment and immersed in darkness the next. —TIFF