A Drifting Life (1996) User Reviews

Simple Country Life in Taiwan

[aesalmin · 6/10 · 8 November 2006]

This movie tells about a family living in rural Taiwan. The living conditions are hard, but people try their best to survive and live on despite the obstacles life throws in front of them.

The style is almost documentary-like, we follow through many years the growing of two children, their father who is away most of the time because of work, and the grandparents who run the household.

It's a well made movie, and is recommended to those who enjoy to watch films about "ordinary life" with characters who seem real. Nothing much is explained, but gradually you grow to like the characters and understand them better. A quiet and sympathetic film.

The Simple Life

[crossbow0106 · 7/10 · 16 February 2008]

I've always admired Lee Kang-Sheng, both as an actor and filmmaker. As an actor in Tsai Ming-Liang's films, he rarely speaks but is able to carry his emotions across. The best films he's done with him are "The Hole", "The River" and "What Time Is It There?". As a filmmaker and also lead actor in "Help Me Eros", he is deeply affecting, and the film is somewhat depressing but also highly recommended. In this earlier work, he plays a farmhand, loaned out to various farms. He lives with his parents in rural Taiwan with his wife and daughter. When the wife dies during childbirth, giving birth to a son, he at first falls apart. His mother chastises him for this, effectively stating he is not a man. The film spreads out over years, with the daughter growing up, but not saying much. Also, Keng-Sheng's character finds a lover. This is a slice of life from a place people never see and would not otherwise ever witness. If I have one complaint, its this: The film is too long. It travels at a slow pace, with not very much happening sometimes. However, life is like that too, and I would suppose that was the point. Difficult at times, but worthwhile.