Taiwan Docs

This is a story of city vs. nature. Exactly what is it that people want in life?

A-niu Village is founded by A-niu (Chinese word for cow). Together, A-niu and friends with common beliefs left the city and settled down in Taitung. At a place with the mountain at their backs and ocean in front of their eyes, they built houses that are more environmental friendly. “I never thought I would spend the latter half of my life by the ocean,” A-niu said, “After spending some time here, I’m more certain than ever that I’m a daughter of mother nature. This is where I belong.”

I’m envious of A-niu’s life. She had asked me once, “Why is the film called Almost in Life.” I said “This is my state of mind. For some reason, I’ve always felt that I’m not really living. There’s something missing.” I want to feel closer to this land. I want to be a part of this land.

My friend, Yan-ling said that she is moving to the seaside from the city. I admire that she’s able to live her life with simplicity. Wake up at 6 in the morning, in bed by 10 at night, and a life without convenient stores in Hualien.

I ran into a young man while I was shooting in A-niu Village. He was looking for the colors of the sunset. What are the colors of sunset?

They are simply the artificial lights and shadows of the city.

A-niu was very pleased when the filming was finished. Yan-ling as usual, continued her writing by the sea. The young man finished his painting of the sunset. I came from the mountains, where I left when I was 7 years old. My favorite thing to do was walking from downstream to upstream with my elder brother. We would pay our respects to the Earth God, a Chinese deity. Then we would walk down the hill passing by the gardenia, morning glory, and little white daisy flowers on the side of the road. It wasn’t until many years later that I realized that both mentally and physically, I can never go back to the world that it was.

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