Mahjong

Edward Yang’s often-maligned penultimate film exchanges its quiet realism for a comedic melodrama: arguments escalate, women cry, cars crash, weapons are brandished, and eventually shots are fired. Halfway through MAHJONG, during an argument with his father, Red Fish (Tsung Sheng Tang) asks if the old man thinks he is an actor in a soap opera, a question that could also be asked of all the bewildered foreigners and local residents who live in Yang’s Taipei. Everyone wants something, but no one knows exactly what, and so the residents move through nightclubs, busy streets, and empty apartments, always looking for profit or recognition.

The film follows four young men who swindle other con artists while evading enemies who are after Red Fish’s father, a debt-ridden entrepreneur and owner of private kindergartens. Red Fish’s group consists of the gentle gigolo Hong Kong (Chang Chen); the superstitious feng shui advisor Little Buddha (Chi-tsan Wang); and the thoughtful Luen Luen (Lawrence Ko), who develops a romance with French newcomer Marthe (Virginie Ledoyen). Although a chase and family conflicts form the beginning, the focus is on the kaleidoscopic network of characters that shows their daily survival and social manoeuvres.

Yang’s familiar themes remain present: the confrontation between East and West, alienation in urban spaces, and the tension between public and private spheres. Symbols such as American flags and commercial icons emphasise the cultural and economic transitions in Taipei, while the sharing of relationships, guilt, and spoils reveals the interconnectedness in this capitalist context. MAHJONG joins Yang’s Taipei trilogy, along with A CONFUCIAN CONFUSION (1994) and YI YI (2000), by sketching a portrait of a city in which personal and social dynamics constantly clash and overlap.

Prior to this screening, the Belgian Mahjong Association (BMA) will organise an introduction to Mahjong, the immensely popular Chinese tile-based board game. Come (learn and) play with us from 16:00 to 19:30 in De Studio’s Rotonde.

This film is part of Lucky Chance (27 Feb-1 Mar): a three-day film festival about humankind’s desire for gambling.