HIFF "Somewhere Over the Dreamland" is a story of social displacement.

A quirky look at
Taiwan’s aborigines

"Somewhere Over the Dreamland" Hawai'i International Film Festival Golden Maile Award nominee screening at 6 p.m. today at Dole Cannery 7

Review by Shawn "Speedy" Lopes
slopes@starbulletin.com

In highlighting the plight of the Atayal aborigines of Taiwan, "Somewhere Over the Dreamland" director Cheng Wen-tang prefers not to swat audiences over the head with rousing, inflammatory sequences or dramatic indictments against the status quo. Instead, Cheng invites viewers to live in the shoes of three individuals, whose social displacement can be viewed as metaphor for Atayal in modern Taipei and Taiwanese living abroad.

There is Watan, a heavy-hearted Atayal man, whose partial disability does not dampen his resolve to journey to the big city to find his lost love. Though he lives a simple life in the mountains, song and drink keep his dreams afloat. "Cripple as I may be, how can I stop dancing?" he asks a fellow patron of a mountainside inn.

Even before Watan finds resolution, "Somewhere Over the Dreamland" cuts to the story of Xiao Mo, a young man who trudges through his existence in Tokyo, where he has chosen to work as an apprentice chef. His isolation from the outside world is emphasized by the few odd relationships he has cultivated over the telephone from his living quarters, a lonely cubicle which he rents.

Presumably through a telephone club, he encounters Xuen Xuen, a sullen merry-go-round attendant with whom he can share dreams of returning to the same millet fields of which Watan speaks so reverently.

Though snail-paced and melancholy, "Somewhere Over the Dreamland" succeeds in holding its audience's attention for much of the film through the quirkiness of its primary subjects and their situations. If nothing else, through this film Cheng will further his mission of introducing the world to the unique character of the Taiwanese people.

Hawai'i International Film Festival When: Through Sunday on Oahu Schedules: Pick up copies at Dole Signature Theatres and at Starbucks and Blockbuster locations; Theaters: Signature Dole Cannery, the Doris Duke at the Academy, Consolidated's Waikiki Twins 2 theater and Blaisdell Center Tickets: Per film, $7 general; $6 (children, military, students and 62 and older); $1 discount for matinees Call: 528-4433 Neighbor islands When: Friday through Nov. 10 Locations: Kauai Community College Performing Arts Center (808-823-8444); Maui Arts & Cultural Center's Castle Theatre, Maui Community College Ka Lama No. 103 and Ritz-Carlton Kapalua (808-573-4242); Kaunakakai School on Molokai (808-553-3455); and University of Hawaii at Hilo Campus Center, Palace Theatre and Keauhou Cinema on the Big Island (808-969-9412 in East Hawaii and 808-322-2323 in West Hawaii) HIFF Web site

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