Taiwan Docs

Over the course of one and a half years of filming seven old men in a disordered wooden room, I underwent some life-changing experiences that will stay in my heart forever.

Those seven old men had been caught up in the Japanese invasion of China during World War II and the Chinese civil war after it, and had come from the mainland to Taiwan. By getting close to their everyday life I was able to hear the voice of their innermost heart. I felt deeply their experiences of being forced to leave their home towns in the middle of the chaos of war, unable even to exchange farewells with their dearest friends, and unable through over 40 years of suffering and hope, to make contact. I hope that we are able to feel the cruelty of war when the old men in this documentary talk of their love for their extended families, their friends, and their lovers from days gone by, recalled with a mixture of nostalgia and resignation.

I think that to people like me, members of a generation with no experience of the war, these life experiences are both hard to endure and yet extremely valuable. I hope that many people are able to see this film and come to understand the old men's experiences.

Source: YIDFF
http://www.yidff.jp/97/cat051/97c085-e.html