Critics reviews

Wang Tung may not have the exacting formality of Edward Yang and Hou Hsiao-hsien, but Strawman’s pragmatic perspective on Taiwanese life near the end of Japanese rule has its own streaks of radicalism. The film subjugates concerns of national identity to the need for food and shelter, yet its multiple voiceovers hint at the same questions of representation that would characterize Hou’s lauded historical trilogy.