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Rebels of the Neon God

October 28, 2023

Rebels of the Neon God (Chinese: 青少年哪吒; pinyin: Qīngshàonián Nuózhà (or Nézhā); lit. 'Teenage Nezha') is a 1992 Taiwanese drama film written and directed by Tsai Ming-liang in his feature film directorial debut. It stars Lee Kang-sheng, Chen Chao-jung, and Jen Chang-bin.

Rebels of the Neon God
English-language DVD cover
Chinese青少年哪吒
Literal meaningteenage Nezha
Hanyu Pinyinqīngshàonián Nuózhà
Directed byTsai Ming-liang
Written byTsai Ming-liang
Produced byHsu Li-kong
StarringLee Kang-sheng
Chen Chao-jung
Jen Chang-bin
CinematographyLiao Pen-jung
Edited byWang Chi-yang
Music byHuang Shu-jun
Release date
1992
Running time
106 minutes
127 minutes (Canada)
CountryTaiwan
LanguagesMandarin
Taiwanese

Plot edit

A young man, Hsiao-Kang, attends a cram school and lives with his parents. In a parallel storyline, Tze and Ping are petty thieves. After a night out, Tze returns to his flooded apartment. The next morning, he meets Kuei, a young woman who had just had a one-night stand in the neighboring room with Ah-Tze's brother, a car salesman. Kuei does not know where she is, and Tze gives her a ride on his motorcycle. Meanwhile, Hsiao-Kang's motorcycle is impounded. His father, a taxi driver, spots him and gives him a ride to school. During an altercation in traffic, Tze intentionally breaks the side mirror on Hsiao-Kang's father's taxi.

Tze, Ping, and Kuei hang out together at night and get drunk. Kuei passes out, and the two men leave her in a hotel room. In the morning, Kuei calls Tze and asks to see him again. Meanwhile, Hsiao-Kang drops out of school and gets a refund. Rather than going home, he stays out, runs into Tze, and stalks him for a while. Hsiao-Kang watches Tze and Ping rob an arcade by taking motherboards out of the machines.

Tze meets Kuei, who is angry that he stood her up. The two get a hotel room and have sex. Meanwhile, Hsiao-Kang finds Tze's motorcycle and vandalizes it. He then tries to return home after being away for a few days, but his parents, who have discovered that he dropped out of school, refuse to let him in. He ends up staying in the same hotel where Tze and Kuei spent the night and watches gleefully as Tze discovers his trashed bike.

Later, Tze and Ping try to sell the motherboards to an arcade owner, but the men they stole from confront them, chase them into the street, and beat Ping up. That night, Tze brings Ping back to his apartment, by chance in Hsiao-Kang's father's taxi. Kuei also shows up there. She tells Tze that she wants to go away with him, and the two embrace. Hsiao-Kang's father drives back home, and he leaves the apartment door ajar. Hsiao-Kang visits a phone dating service but does not answer any calls. After a few minutes, he leaves.

Cast edit

Production edit

Rebels of the Neon God was Tsai's first feature film. He had taken a liking to Lee Kang-sheng when the two worked together on a television film. At the time, Lee was studying for college entrance exams. Tsai later said, "It was by spending time with Hsiao-Kang as he went through the whole experience that I decided that I wanted to make a simple film about a kid trying to get into college, which became Rebels of the Neon God. I wanted to explore what a kid would do if he couldn't get in. Where would he go? What would he do?"[1]

Title edit

The Taiwanese title refers to Nezha, a powerful child god in Chinese classical mythology who was born into a human family. Nezha is impulsive and disobedient. He tries to kill his father, but is brought under control when a Taoist immortal (Nezha's spiritual mentor) gives the father a miniature pagoda that enables him to control his rebellious son. This resonates in the film a number of ways: Hsiao-Kang's mother believes that he is Nezha reincarnated, and Tze and Ping try to pawn off some stolen goods to an arcade proprietor named Nezha. Before the pawning of the stolen goods, Hsiao-Kang vandalizes Tze's motorcycle and writes "Nezha was here" on the adjacent sidewalk.

Reception edit

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 32 reviews, with a weighted average of 8.55/10. The site's consensus reads: "Rebels of the Neon God announces writer-director Ming-liang Tsai as a fully formed talent—and remains one of the more accomplished debuts of the decade".[2] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 82 out of 100 based on 10 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[3]

In a retrospective review for The New York Times, A. O. Scott compared the film with Tsai's later work and wrote: "The camera movements are minimal and precise, turning what might seem like ordinary shots into sly jokes. There is water everywhere—torrential downpours sweeping the streets and a mysterious flood in a main character’s apartment. ... Above all, there are performers who would become fixtures of this director’s imaginative universe. Chief among them is Lee Kang-sheng, a slender, nearly silent man with a Keatonesque deadpan who has appeared in all 10 of Mr. Tsai’s features so far."[4]

Awards edit

The film won a Golden Horse Award for Best Original Score, a Prize of the City of Torino for Best Film at the Torino International Festival of Young Cinema, and the Bronze Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Berry, Michael (2005). Speaking in Images: Interviews with Contemporary Chinese Filmmakers. Columbia University Press. pp. 375–377. ISBN 9780231133319.
  2. ^ "Rebels of the Neon God (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  3. ^ "Rebels of the Neon God". Metacritic. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  4. ^ Scott, A. O. (2015-04-09). "Review: 'Rebels of the Neon God' Gets a New York Screening". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-07-13.

External links edit

  • Rebels of the Neon God at IMDb
  • Rebels of the Neon God at Metacritic  
  • Rebels of the Neon God at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Interview: Rebels of the Neon God 青少年哪吒

October 28, 2023
rebels, neon, chinese, 青少年哪吒, pinyin, qīngshàonián, nuózhà, nézhā, teenage, nezha, 1992, taiwanese, drama, film, written, directed, tsai, ming, liang, feature, film, directorial, debut, stars, kang, sheng, chen, chao, jung, chang, english, language, coverchine. Rebels of the Neon God Chinese 青少年哪吒 pinyin Qingshaonian Nuozha or Nezha lit Teenage Nezha is a 1992 Taiwanese drama film written and directed by Tsai Ming liang in his feature film directorial debut It stars Lee Kang sheng Chen Chao jung and Jen Chang bin Rebels of the Neon GodEnglish language DVD coverChinese青少年哪吒Literal meaningteenage NezhaHanyu Pinyinqingshaonian NuozhaDirected byTsai Ming liangWritten byTsai Ming liangProduced byHsu Li kongStarringLee Kang shengChen Chao jungJen Chang binCinematographyLiao Pen jungEdited byWang Chi yangMusic byHuang Shu junRelease date1992Running time106 minutes127 minutes Canada CountryTaiwanLanguagesMandarinTaiwanese Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3 1 Title 4 Reception 4 1 Awards 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksPlot editA young man Hsiao Kang attends a cram school and lives with his parents In a parallel storyline Tze and Ping are petty thieves After a night out Tze returns to his flooded apartment The next morning he meets Kuei a young woman who had just had a one night stand in the neighboring room with Ah Tze s brother a car salesman Kuei does not know where she is and Tze gives her a ride on his motorcycle Meanwhile Hsiao Kang s motorcycle is impounded His father a taxi driver spots him and gives him a ride to school During an altercation in traffic Tze intentionally breaks the side mirror on Hsiao Kang s father s taxi Tze Ping and Kuei hang out together at night and get drunk Kuei passes out and the two men leave her in a hotel room In the morning Kuei calls Tze and asks to see him again Meanwhile Hsiao Kang drops out of school and gets a refund Rather than going home he stays out runs into Tze and stalks him for a while Hsiao Kang watches Tze and Ping rob an arcade by taking motherboards out of the machines Tze meets Kuei who is angry that he stood her up The two get a hotel room and have sex Meanwhile Hsiao Kang finds Tze s motorcycle and vandalizes it He then tries to return home after being away for a few days but his parents who have discovered that he dropped out of school refuse to let him in He ends up staying in the same hotel where Tze and Kuei spent the night and watches gleefully as Tze discovers his trashed bike Later Tze and Ping try to sell the motherboards to an arcade owner but the men they stole from confront them chase them into the street and beat Ping up That night Tze brings Ping back to his apartment by chance in Hsiao Kang s father s taxi Kuei also shows up there She tells Tze that she wants to go away with him and the two embrace Hsiao Kang s father drives back home and he leaves the apartment door ajar Hsiao Kang visits a phone dating service but does not answer any calls After a few minutes he leaves Cast editLee Kang sheng as Hsiao Kang Chen Chao jung as Ah Tze Jen Chang bin as Ah Ping Wang Yu wen as Ah Kuei Lu Yi ching as Hsiao Kang s mother Miao Tien as Hsiao Kang s fatherProduction editRebels of the Neon God was Tsai s first feature film He had taken a liking to Lee Kang sheng when the two worked together on a television film At the time Lee was studying for college entrance exams Tsai later said It was by spending time with Hsiao Kang as he went through the whole experience that I decided that I wanted to make a simple film about a kid trying to get into college which became Rebels of the Neon God I wanted to explore what a kid would do if he couldn t get in Where would he go What would he do 1 Title edit The Taiwanese title refers to Nezha a powerful child god in Chinese classical mythology who was born into a human family Nezha is impulsive and disobedient He tries to kill his father but is brought under control when a Taoist immortal Nezha s spiritual mentor gives the father a miniature pagoda that enables him to control his rebellious son This resonates in the film a number of ways Hsiao Kang s mother believes that he is Nezha reincarnated and Tze and Ping try to pawn off some stolen goods to an arcade proprietor named Nezha Before the pawning of the stolen goods Hsiao Kang vandalizes Tze s motorcycle and writes Nezha was here on the adjacent sidewalk Reception editOn review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 100 based on 32 reviews with a weighted average of 8 55 10 The site s consensus reads Rebels of the Neon God announces writer director Ming liang Tsai as a fully formed talent and remains one of the more accomplished debuts of the decade 2 On Metacritic the film has a score of 82 out of 100 based on 10 reviews indicating universal acclaim 3 In a retrospective review for The New York Times A O Scott compared the film with Tsai s later work and wrote The camera movements are minimal and precise turning what might seem like ordinary shots into sly jokes There is water everywhere torrential downpours sweeping the streets and a mysterious flood in a main character s apartment Above all there are performers who would become fixtures of this director s imaginative universe Chief among them is Lee Kang sheng a slender nearly silent man with a Keatonesque deadpan who has appeared in all 10 of Mr Tsai s features so far 4 Awards edit The film won a Golden Horse Award for Best Original Score a Prize of the City of Torino for Best Film at the Torino International Festival of Young Cinema and the Bronze Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival See also editList of films with a 100 rating on Rotten TomatoesReferences edit Berry Michael 2005 Speaking in Images Interviews with Contemporary Chinese Filmmakers Columbia University Press pp 375 377 ISBN 9780231133319 Rebels of the Neon God 2015 Rotten Tomatoes Fandango Media Retrieved 29 July 2019 Rebels of the Neon God Metacritic Retrieved 16 July 2015 Scott A O 2015 04 09 Review Rebels of the Neon God Gets a New York Screening The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 2023 07 13 External links editRebels of the Neon God at IMDb Rebels of the Neon God at Metacritic nbsp Rebels of the Neon God at Rotten Tomatoes Interview Rebels of the Neon God 青少年哪吒 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rebels of the Neon God amp oldid 1165440098, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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