- Monga (film)
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Monga 
Directed by Doze Niu Produced by Dennis Yu
Chan Ya-wen
Yao Cheng-chung
Chang Hsueh-shun
Alan Tong
Lee Lieh
Doze NiuWritten by Tseng Li-ting
Doze NiuStarring Ethan Ruan
Mark ChaoMusic by Sandee Chan Cinematography Jake Pollock Release date(s) January 29, 2010 (Berlinale)
February 5, 2010 (Taiwan)Running time 141 minutes Country Taiwan Language Taiwanese
MandarinMonga (Chinese: 艋舺; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Báng-kah) is a 2010 Taiwanese gangster film set in 1980s Taipei. The film stars Ethan Ruan from TV series Fated To Love You and Mark Chao, also features Ma Ju-Lung from Cape No.7 and Rhydian Vaughan from Winds of September. The film was directed and co-written by Doze Niu, who also appears in the film.[1][2]
Contents
Plot
Monga is the name of an old quarter of Taipei now known as Wanhua District. Mosquito (Mark Chao) and his friends have no illusions about the unwritten laws that prevail in this part of town: if you want to survive here you’ve got to be stronger than your enemies.
Mosquito (Mark Chao), Monk (Ethan Ruan), Dragon (Rhydian Vaughan), Monkey and A-po are all members of the "Gang of Princes". Mosquito is invited to join the gang after his chicken drumstick was stolen by a rival gang member on his first day at school in Monga. Mosquito and his friends soon begin to enjoy their gangster lifestyle and are planning to take over as top gangsters on the streets of Monga. But little do they know that there are others who are deeply jealous of their success.
Geta (Ma Ju-Lung), one of Monga’s old triad leaders, sees it as his duty to teach these cheeky young upstarts the true laws of gangsterdom. And so Geta tells the youngsters about the legacy handed down by the city’s founders and the strict laws of a brotherhood which should always fight not just for territorial reasons but also to protect their honour.
But even Geta has no inkling of the storm that is about to hit Monga – a storm that will destroy the town’s traditional values and the vestiges of its glory. A new gang, bristling with an arsenal of handguns, is about to change forever the little world in which Geta and the "Gang of Princes" have made themselves at home.[3]
Cast
- Mark Chao as Mosquito
- Ethan Ruan as Monk
- Rhydian Vaughan as Dragon Lee
- Teng-Hui Huang as A-po
- Chang-Hsien Tsai as Monkey
- Ma Ju-Lung as Boss Geta
- Doze Niu as Grey Wolf
- Jason Wang as Wim-kian
- Chia-yen Ko as Ning
- Han Dian Chen as Dog boy
Production
Filming
Monga is set in mid-1980s in Taipei's Wanhua District (in Taiwanese Hokkien, Báng-kah) for which it is named. [2] The movie was filmed on location and landmarks such as Longshan Temple, Snake Alley, Bopiliao and Ximending appear in the film.
Music
The majority of the film's original score was composed by Sandee Chan, a Taiwanese singer-songwriter. The theme song of the film is "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" by Nicky Lee (李玖哲). It was originally performed by Air Supply.
Release
Monga selected and premiered at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival on January 29, 2010, in the Panorama section.
The film opened in Taiwan on 5 February 2010 and grossed NT$8.31 million (US$260,000) in the first day and NT$59.32 million (US$1.85 million) in its first weekend of release, higher than the worldwide hit Avatar that week.[1][4]
China Daily placed the film on their list of the best ten Chinese films of 2010.[5]
English film poster
Awards and nominations
- 2010 Taipei Film Festival
Won: Best Art Direction
Nominated: Best actor (Ethan Ruan and Mark Chao)
Nominated: The Grand Prize
Won: Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema Award
Nominated: Best Asian-Middle Eastern Film Award
- 2010 Stockholms International Film Festival
Won: Telia Film Award
- 2010 Golden Horse Awards
Won: Best Leading Actor (Ethan Ruan)
Won: The Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year (Lee Lieh)
Won: Best Sound Effects
Nominated: Best Original Film Score (Sandee Chan)
Nominated: Best Art Direction
Nominated: The Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year (Doze Niu)
The film was selected as the Taiwanese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards[6] but it didn't make the final shortlist.[7]
See also
- List of submissions to the 83rd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Taiwanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
- ^ a b Derek Elley. Monga review at the Variety website. 13 February 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
- ^ a b James Topley. Monga 艋舺 review at the China Post website. 5 February 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
- ^ Film File: Monga at Berlin International Film Festival website.
- ^ "'Monga' beats 'Avatar' on first-day gross." Central News Agency article at Focus Taiwan News Channel website. 8 February 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
- ^ Zhou, Raymond (December 30, 2010). "Top 10 movies of 2010 in China". China Daily. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2010-12/28/content_11762716.htm. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
- ^ "Taiwan film "Monga" to compete for Oscar". Channelnewsasia. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainment/view/1077419/1/.html. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ "9 Foreign Language Films Continue to Oscar Race". oscars.org. http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2011/20110119.html. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
External links
Categories:- 2010 films
- Taiwanese films
- Films set in the 1980s
- Films set in Taiwan
- Taiwanese-language films
- Mandarin-language films
- Taiwanese film stubs
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