All language subtitles for The Puppetmaster (Xi meng ren sheng) (1993) 2h 22m .23.976fps.ENG

The treaty of Shimonoseki...

signed by the Manchu government
in 1895...

ceded Taiwan and the Pescadores
toJapan.

Subsequently,
Japan controlled Taiwan for 50 years...

until the end of World War II.

Ahui, how many tables will you set
for your grandson's birthday?

Just a few.

For close friends and family...

why be so extravagant?

If you are generous to others,
they will be generous to you.

That's how it should be done.

No, no.

Just close friends and relatives...

so that the boy will have people
to look after him when he grows up.

That's not the way to do it.
You should throw an extravagant party.

That's right.

That's how it should be done.

Mangdang,
now that you're a father...

you're going to be very busy.

Here comes the baby.

How cute.

What a nice big head
and round face.

Come!

Tienlu, let grandpa hold you.

To speak of man's fortunes...

My father was married...

into my mother's home,
losing his own family name.

When I was born...

my maternal grandparents...

who went by
the ancient traditions...

had my fortune read
by a fortune-teller...

who said that...

my fortune was a tough one.

To change things, I had to change
the way I called my parents...

so I should call
my father "uncle"...

and my mother "aunt."

This is how we did things
in the old days...

all through the advice
of fortune-tellers.

In the days
of theJapanese occupation...

births had to be registered
within one month.

My father,
whose name was Ko...

went and registered me
as Ko Tienlu.

But right after that...

my maternal grandfather went
and registered me as Li Tienlu.

The police said,
"You can't do that.

His father's last name is Ko,
so his last name should also be Ko.

If you call him Li...

it's like writing a composition
with the wrong title."

That made my grandfather
real mad.

But, he thought,
if he were to insist...

that would really create a feud.

The man who witnessed...

the original agreement...

that gave my father in marriage
to my mother's family, came to help.

His name was Li Yinhok.

A real just man.

He advised my father...

not to make a big issue
out of it.

He said, "Don't forget, it's you who's
given up your family name in marriage.

At the time, your father-in-law
made it very clear...

that your firstborn...

be it boy or girl,
be given his family's name, Li.

After the first, no matter
how many children you have...

you can name them Ko
or anything you want."

So when I was born,
they called me Li...

all because of the conditions
of my father's marriage.

So that's how I was born.

"Moon sets, crows caw,
the frosty sky...

Dim boat, lanterns through river mist,
where melancholies lie...

Beyond Goso City walls
from cold mountain temple...

To the traveler's boat,
midnight bells sigh."

I thought
you were a smart boy.

Why weren't you thinking
when you did this?

You deserve to be beaten
to death!

You have disgraced
my good name.

- What happened?
- What happened?

He stole some
calligraphy manuals...

from Granduncle Songling's house.

Stole?

Yes.

They punished him right before me.

But he's usually a good boy.

I tell you, Granduncle Tikim's wife
is responsible for this.

She told him to go to Songling's
to get the books.

She told him
to take over 100 of them.

How was he to know?

Would you kill yourself
if someone told you to?

Sooner or later you'll get
your fingers chopped off.

Did we raise you to be a thief?

Come here.

Come here.

Ahui.

Officer!

What a rare visit.
Please have lunch with us!

- No, thank you.
- Have a seat.

What's on your mind, Officer?
What's up?

We're here to take a count of...

how many of you
still wear pigtails.

We're here to tell you
to cut them.

Cut our pigtails?

And then come to see the opera,
as our guests.

I see.

Would you please ask everybody inside
to come out?

Dang!

Liu!

Coming.

Gimto!

Mangdang!

Come over here.

- They'll be right here.
- Fine.

What's up?

The officer wants us
to cut off our pigtails.

You are...

Dang.

- Lien Pikdung?
- Yes.

- Li Teallui?
- That's me.

- Li Setsuan?
- That's my brother.

What about Ho Gimto?

I don't think he's here.

And what about Ko Mangdang?

Mangdang!

What are you doing?
Where is Li Tienlu?

That's him eating here.

These are tickets for the opera.

Are they enough?

Sure.

The officer is treating us to
an opera in front of the temple.

Here is Ko Mandang.

Mandang.

What?

Get your pigtail cut off.

Where are you going?

I'll do it myself.
Forget about the opera.

Piya is back from the hospital.

This time you were away so long.

- Yes. How are you?
- You're back.

Tienlu, take this upstairs.

- Are you feeling better?
- Much better.

Go upstairs and rest.

Do you want to lie down?

Come down later to eat.

I'll see you later.

To speak of living...

the hardest things
are separation and death.

I was eight years old at the time.

My grandmother was gravely ill.

Her whole belly was swollen up.

My mother was very devoted
to my grandmother.

She set up a special altar...

to pray to the heavens.

She asked the Gods to take her life
in exchange for her mother's.

If you call it superstition,
it's superstition.

But if you believe in it...

it will prove itself very swiftly.

After only one month...

my grandmother recovered...

but my mother fell ill.

She was taken
to a Japanese doctor.

The diagnosis was bad news.

She had tuberculosis.

The doctor insisted that...

she had to stay in the hospital.

So, against her will,
that's what she did.

She stayed for another two months,
and was released...

on the 13th day of the 7th moon,
two days before the Ghost Festival.

She was recovering slowly,
and was hungry.

She discussed with my father,
and they decided...

that since the Ghost Festival
was coming, they would buy a duck.

This duck could be used
as an altar offering.

Maybe this would help her appetite.

And so...

my father took me to the market
to buy a duck.

We ate it on the evening
of the Festival.

The next day,
my mother had a serious relapse.

Through the night
of the 16th...

until almost the break of dawn
on the 17th...

that was when my mother died.

Come sit here.

- You must call her Auntie.
- Auntie.

From now on, you must be
good to Auntie.

Auntie will be good to you.

Come on, put on your new belt.

Tienlu, come on.

Take off your old belt.
Put on the new.

- Say thank you to Auntie.
- Thank you, Auntie.

Now it's Big Eyes' turn.

Big Eyes, take off your old belt
and put on the new.

It is Chingming Festival,
when we remember the dead.

The rain falls on the families
who have come to clean the graves.

My name is...

Ko Hsien,
also known as Hanmun.

My parents brought only my sister and I
into the world, and unfortunately...

they died early.

Through sister's kindness,
I now run a medicine shop.

Today is the Chingming Festival.

Having swept my ancestral graves...

I shall visit the famed
West Lake on my way home.

Alas!

Dark clouds gather.
A storm approaches.

Let me look for shelter.

I'd better hurry.

Hurry

Faster

Faster, faster, faster

Faster I must go

Faster must I go

No delays

No delays, no delays, no delays

On the road

Ladies, hurry here to take
shelter from the rain.

My mistress and I express thanks
to this gentleman.

This is a chance meeting in the rain.
No need to be so polite.

May I ask the name
of this gentleman?

As Hanmun.

And may I ask your name, miss?

This is our master's daughter,
Miss White. Her name is Sochin.

I am Miss Green. We live in
the White Manor by theJitong River.

A pleasure, Miss White!

The clouds open.
The rain has stopped.

I also live in Jitong County.

Today I plan to hire a boat
to tour the lake.

Would the two of you
like to join me?

After touring the lake, the boat car
can take us down the river...

and I can escort
Miss White back home.

Thank you for your generosity.

Follow me.

Old man, please come here.

May I help you?

I'd like to hire a boat
to tour the lake.

Let me put down the gangplank.

Please ascend.

All aboard!

"It's the first lunar month, people
Welcome all the new husbands

While the single girl
sits in her empty room

Chewing betel nut
with powder on her face

Coral in her hand
Waiting for a husband

In the second lunar month
comes the Spring Equinox

Ajinxed life have I
Fated to row the ferry

I eat on top of the boat
and sleep below

If the water spirits drag me down
then woe is me."

Chun.

Mr. Li.

What a rare visitor.

What brings you here?

Please have a seat.

Okay.

How are things in Amoy?

Fine.

So, what brings you here?

Chun says she wants
Big Eyes taken home.

What?

What are you saying?

You want to take Big Eyes back?

This is how it is.

An old neighbor here
wrote to us in Amoy.

About what?

Look.

They said Big Eyes is being
abused by her stepmother here.

They heard she even once
threatened her with a knife.

How could she do that
to a little girl?

Consider my point of view.

I don't understand how things could
have gotten so out of hand.

So today I've come
to take Big Eyes home.

This way...

it'll be easier for you
to keep your integrity.

After she grows up in Amoy...

I'll bring her here
to visit often.

After she's grown up...

I'll bring her here...

then you can decide whether
you still want her or not.

It'll all be up to you.

Chun...

We raised Big Eyes
every step of the way...

ever since she was a baby.

I had planned to marry her
to Tienlu.

I know.

When my departed God sister
Piya was still alive...

things were so right.

That's why she was wholeheartedly
willing to have Big Eyes here.

Who was to know that the family
would come to this?

I am saddened
when I think about it.

Mr. Li, I think you should take
a wider view toward this.

Take it as part of your fortune.

Even if you have no regard
for my opinion...

you should have respect
for the departed Piya.

It is I who must
answer to her memory.

I will take good care of her
after I take her back.

As I said,
after Big Eyes grows up...

I promise
to bring her back to you...

and you can decide
what to do with her.

What do you think?

You decide, Mr. Li.

I decide?

How could things
have turned out this way?

Where is Big Eyes?

Big Eyes.

Grandfather wants to talk to you.

Grandfather.

Big Eyes...

your mother wants to bring you
back to Amoy.

Will you remember
Grandfather's face?

I will.

Grandfather.

Don't cry.

Here is a dollar for your trip.

Mr. Li, here is five dollars
for you.

For what?
I can't accept money from you.

This is something from my heart,
to express my gratitude.

Tienlu, come here.

This dollar is for you,
to buy sweets.

You must behave yourself.

Big Eyes.

Grandmother.

Uncle, I'm home.

Who did you get in a fight with?

Who?

Damn it, who did you
get in a fight with?

What happened?

Get my hat.

What are you doing,
standing there?

Come down and eat.

Don't you ever come back!

One day away from home
feels like a hundred.

Like a solitary wild duck,
I am lost in the forest.

Though the scenery here
is lovely...

nostalgic thoughts of home...

tug at my heart.

To speak of life after
my grandfather's death...

it was a very pitiable
childhood for me.

The neighbors that knew,
sympathized with me...

for I was abused badly
by my stepmother.

Fortunately,
Mr. Li from Jiuding...

somehow learned that
I had theatrical talent.

At the time his puppet troupe
was short one puppeteer...

so he came to our house
to talk to my father.

My father said, "Sure, he can go,
but what's the deal?"

Fifteen dollars a year
to my father...

with extra for each performance.

My father figured it was okay...

so he took the $ 15...

and I was off to the hills.

I performed for Mr. Li
for one year.

At the time there were
two troupes inJiuding...

Mr. Li's...

and Master Onglai's.

Onglai came to watch me perform
and thought I was all right.

Before my year's contract was up...

he went to Taipei
to meet with my father.

He said he would give my father
$30 a year.

My father was happy
that the price was doubled.

So what could I say?
He was a strict man.

So against my will,
I went over to Onglai's troupe.

How strange it was. Their troupe
didn't even have a name!

Since the troupe performed...

in the mountains every day...

we named it Mountain Panorama.

After eating every day, we would just
sit there gazing at the mountains.

Someone's coming straight at us.

I shall spit the poisonous mist
to subdue him!

He is subdued!
Now we take him...

to the cave, to feast on him.

To speak of man's fortunes...

my grandmother
had a terrible life.

At home, she couldn't get along
with my stepmother.

Her first husband had a son.

She went to the brick kilns at Hatavu
to live with him.

Who was to know that...

right after he gave
a birthday celebration for me...

he developed a hernia.

They took him to the hospital
in Taipei for an operation.

They brought him in standing,
but carried him out lying down...

dead!

After the funeral, she went to live
with her husband's grandson.

And you know...

within a week,
the grandson was dead!

After he died, my grandmother
still could see things straight.

So she went to live
with her daughter.

Her daughter had
an adopted daughter...

who was strong
as a cement bucket.

But within three days
after my grandmother arrived...

even the cement bucket
fell apart.

My aunt was so scared...

that she escorted my grandmother
back to my father's.

Two days after she got home,
my stepmother fell ill!

My father was so scared...

that he immediately wrote me
in the hills.

I rushed home and asked
what the big deal was.

He said, "From now on, the money
you earn is yours own to spend."

"What's going on?
Why has he suddenly changed?"

Because normally all the money
I earned was given to him.

So I asked him, "Why?"

He said,
"From now on, keep your own money.

All you have to do is
take your grandmother into the hills...

and take care of her."

I thought, "Not a bad deal."

With the money I was making...

it wouldn't be hard
to support my grandmother.

So I said fine and took
grandmother into the hills.

So what do you think happened?

Nothing. She was fine.
I was healthy.

No one got sick.

After about a year...

one morning while she was in the
courtyard washing her hair, she said...

"Tienlu, go buy me peanut candy."

I said, "You would really
be a laughingstock...

if people saw such an old woman
eating peanut candy."

I said, "I'm not going to do it.

Anything else,
but not peanut candy."

She said angrily,
"You won't do it?"

So we left it at that.

Suddenly, while combing...

she fell off her stool.

I rushed over to lift her up,
but the neighbors told me not to.

They said when an old person falls,
they should get up themselves.

She got up real quick.

She finished combing her hair,
then said to me...

"Tienlu, take me to the bed."

I wondered, "What's going on?"

She was okay just then,
but she wanted to lie down.

So I took her to her bed.

She laid down and stayed down.

She just slept there all day...

for a total of ten days.

We called a Western doctor...

who said nothing
was wrong with her.

He told us to buy her
whatever she wanted to eat.

I didn't believe she wasn't sick,
so we called another doctor...

and he said the same thing.

So I went and bought pork kidneys
and cooked some shredded ginger soup.

She wouldn't eat a single shred.

One day an old man
from the valley came.

He had always been nice to me.

He took a look at grandmother then
took a look at me and said...

"Tienlu!"

He said, "We could just sit here...

staring at her
until this time next year...

but she would still be the same."

I said, "How come?"

He said, "If you wait out the year,
then she will immediately die."

Shit! What a thing to say.

He said, " Lucky for you, you
were born under the Kwai Star.

If you weren't...

your grandmother
would have caused your death."

It so happened on...

October 31 of that year...

on the day that theJapanese call
the Emperor's Day...

theJapanese police chief
asked us to perform...

at the precinct
in honor of the Emperor's birthday.

I traveled to the precinct...

to find the chief waiting there
for me.

He said, " Li...

do you have a grandmother?"

I said, "Yes."

"She died."

You figure it out.

"I stay home, she doesn't die."

I go to Chinkei,
she dies immediately.

I told the chief,
"My grandmother has died...

so I have to go home
to take care of things."

He said, "What? If you go home,
who performs?"

I said, "But who will take care
of my grandmother?"

He said, "Go. Get Ko Onglai.

Go get Ko Onglai
to take care of things."

So I asked Onglai to go back
to take care of things.

By the time I got home,
after the performance...

her body was stiff.

It was well after midnight when
I started cooking rice for offerings.

Then, slowly, I straightened out
her stiff body, still lying on the bed.

I thought, "It's so late...

let's wait till dawn
to worry about the funeral."

The next day I asked someone
to go tell my father the news.

He said my stepmother
was seriously ill...

so he couldn't come.

He told me to just do...

whatever's done in the hills...

so we just buried her.

That's how I took care...

of my grandmother's funeral.

The mountains are green
The waters clear

How beautiful the sights

To walk slowly
through the green...

To walk slowly through the green
and let thoughts wander

The high mountains
and dramatic peaks

How majestic is the sight

It makes one grieve to leave

It makes one grieve to leave
as thoughts wander

The high mountains
and dramatic peaks

How majestic is the sight

It makes one grieve to leave

It makes one grieve to leave
as thoughts wander

Uncle.

Mr. Ko.

Have a seat.

I have good news.

Good news?
What kind of good news?

Have they invented
diapers for dogs?

No, no.

You know that Tienlu is now
our premier puppeteer.

Our boss, Onglai...

gets along with him very well.

He has a daughter called De...

who is about Tienlu's age.

Everyone says
they make a good match...

and so...

Onglai has sent me
to propose that...

it would be a good idea
ifTienlu...

were to give up his name
and marry into De's family.

Fuck you! Marry into her family?

Marry into her fucking family?

So what's the deal? Does he have to
marry into her family?

As if my marriage
into my wife's family wasn't enough!

You're asking too much!

Do you consider yourself
the matchmaker?

No. I'm just...

Everyone asked me to come
and discuss this matter.

Are you suggesting that I should
marry her into our family?

Forget it!
Who has money for a dowry?

So what are you
complaining about?

Listen, if we wanted to marry
Tienlu into another family...

we would marry him into the Ling family
that owns the medicine shop.

They've inquired several times.

I've got eyes of my own.

You think so?
You've got eyes?

It doesn't look like that to me.

You've got quite a temper.

None of your business.

Don't try to complicate things.

I have my own eyes.

That's what you think!

If you let yourself marry
into their family...

I'll break your legs.

The kid is a worthless bum.

There's no use giving him advice.

Onglai!

Here comes the bridegroom.

Have a seat.

Sir.

Please have a seat.

Have some tea.

It's lunchtime.
Why are you eating eggs?

If you can't finish your lunch,
I'll skin you alive.

Why are you sitting here?

Can't you go up
and look after your sister?

Hurry up!

Those have to be taken
to be repainted.

They haven't been used
in a long time.

These puppets aren't bad.

Take these 15 dollars.

I'll give you more later.

What's the name
of your new troupe?

I asked the storyteller Fu
to give us a name.

He chose the name,
"Also Like Life."

He explained...

puppets in performance
are like people...

so puppet plays
are "also like life."

So that's how
we got our name.

Storyteller Fu
is a real smart guy.

He passed the Imperial Examination
back in the Ching Dynasty.

In the past, you refused
to sell your puppets at any price.

Now you give them away. Why?

Shut up. What do you know?

If you were really capable,
you'd make them yourself...

and not have to come
scrounging all the time.

What the fuck are you doing?

Even if I was a beggar...

I wouldn't come to
your house to beg!

No need for you here.

Uncle...

We don't need you here.

Uncle...

When he was sick, you dropped by
for a moment, then left.

So no use coming now.
Go home!

We don't need you here.

Uncle...

Uncle, forgive my not fulfilling
my filial duties.

It's Auntie who's chasing me out.

I'm leaving.

Then go!

Go home.

The five-colored butterfly...

knows the scent of flowers.

Have you ever seen a wild cat...

that doesn't eat fish?

Drink, gambling and women.

We rob in broad daylight
or the darkness of night for money.

We rob in broad daylight
or in the darkness of night...

for money!

- My name is...
- My name is...

- Ong Ming.
- Li Biu.

Big brother,
what nice weather today.

Tell me why we have no business.

Look, little brother.
Here comes a man and two women.

They look like a cinch.

How nice!

Brother, row the boat to the shore.

Let's go.

May I ask if this boat goes
toJitong, near Hangzhou?

What a coincidence!

We were going there
to pick up some noodles!

You are welcome to come along
if you wish.

Ladies, aboard, please.

Watch your step over the gangplank.

Off we go!

To speak of theater...

after I established the puppet
troupe "Also Like Life"...

Japan invaded China
in the Marco Polo Bridge Incident.

WhenJapan appointed
Nagatanigawa...

as governor of Taiwan...

it was the third year
after that incident...

that had started the war.

In that year,
all outdoor plays were prohibited.

In Taiwan's theatrical world...

there were thousands of puppet
performers and their families...

who suddenly lost
their means of living.

Later, a good friend of mine
named "Attack Dog"Lao...

organized a Taiwanese opera troupe
called RedJade.

I joined them
and went south to Taichung.

We performed indoors,
at the Happy Stage Theater.

I was in charge of all
rehearsals in those days.

In the daytime...

we performed
"The Birth ofTripitaka."

At night, we played...

"Five Swordsmen Destroy
Dragon Lake Temple."

That was more of an action play,
with lots of swordfighting.

As for "Tripitaka"...

it was a tragic play.

At the time we were
performing in Taichung...

something strange happened.

Two women came to see
the opera.

At first,
nobody knew who they were.

They came together.

One bought the tickets,
the other stood at the entrance.

In those days...

I doubled up front
as usher before the performance.

Later we found out
that the standing one was called Leitzu.

In those days there was an expensive
type of cigarette called Silasagi.

It had white storks on the package.

You could only buy them in Taipei.

There was no place
you could buy them in Taichung.

She had gone expressly to Taipei
to buy several cartons of Silasagi.

She stood there at the entrance,
pulled out a pack and lit up.

In those days,
there already were lighters.

Of course, they weren't called lighters
like they are now.

She looked grand,
standing there and smoking.

I remarked,
"Look at these bird cigarettes.

I wonder where you can get
those bird cigarettes."

Leitzu looked at me.

I looked at her.

She said...

"Do you want to try one?"

I said, "Sure."

Leitzu was a real generous woman.

She threw the whole box...

onto the little table
at the entrance.

The other women had just finished
purchasing the tickets...

and they went in together.

I tore the tickets.

She took another look at me
as she went in, and I looked at her.

They went in.

I said to my colleague...

"I wonder
where those two came from."

He said...

we should get the stagehands
to follow them after the opera.

Not a bad idea.

So a few minutes later,
we began performing our opera.

From backstage,
I peeked at the audience...

to see what price tickets
they had bought.

I told the stagehands...

"Let's make a deal.

After the opera is over,
follow those two.

See if they're from
number 24 or 25.

When you get back,
I'll treat you to a snack."

Would you like a cigarette?

How nice.

Not bad.

She's laughing.

You like him, eh?

How beautiful.

So beautiful
just lighting a match.

Miss...

do you know that
he fancies you?

Even more beautiful now.

Look at how
they're stuck together.

The lips didn't even touch.

It's not lit yet.

Not yet.

Try again.

He said try again.

I didn't say it.

This is total submission.

Closer, closer.

Still not yet lit.

- Not yet lit?
- No.

What's wrong with your eyes?

Cataracts.

I have cataracts.

Try again.

Still puffing?
You haven't even lit it.

Light one yourself.

Mine hasn't come yet.

Miss? Miss?

When will she come?

Not bad, eh?

Tell me how it feels.

You keep nodding.

It's not as if you're
inexperienced yourself. Why ask?

I don't know what
this brothel feels like.

- Just try it and you'll find out.
- Miss, why hasn't she come yet?

No one heeds me.

Let me check.

Thank you.

Hurry up and tell us.

I think she's very much
in love with you.

Look this way. Smile.
Don't move.

Well? Any that you like?

Why are you tearing them up?

I don't like them.

What's this you're wearing?

Come on.

This one isn't bad.

Right?

Where's Gui?

Tell her to come and eat with us.

What's the occasion? Why are we
having pork knuckle noodles?

Because I like them.

Are the pork knuckles good?

What's the occasion?

Don't smoke, okay?

Why don't you say something?

I do what I like.

Is the meat tender?

Gui is crying.

- What happened?
- I don't know.

Didn't Leitzu say she was
going into business with you?

Business? You think it's easy
to go into business?

Leitzu has some money.

Right?

She'd be good to go into business with.
How about opening another brothel?

Right.
Open my own Cherry Garden...

with you as the manager.

Run it for your own use!

Tienlu, there's someone
looking for you.

Gui.

Leitzu asked me to come over
and tell you...

her grandmother's sick,
so she had to go up north today.

Come over
if you are free later tonight.

Come here.
I want to talk to you.

Me?

Saving the master's child

Is the servant's responsibility

To die for the child

Is death with glory

The scoundrel is back.

Who is it?

Tienlu.

- Who is it?
- It's Gimying.

What do you want?

Open the door and I'll tell you.

What do you want?

Open the door, let me in,
and I'll tell you.

Tell me what you want.

Tienlu, open the door.

What do you want?

Nothing. I just thought that
since Leitzu went to Taipei today...

I'm just worried that
you'll be lonely tonight.

No.

Tienlu, open the door
and let me keep you company.

I said no.

I just don't want to see you
sleeping alone.

It's no big deal
if we sleep together.

No. I have rehearsals tomorrow.

Tienlu, open the door.

I said no, so go away!

Why are you so troublesome?

Go home to bed.

What's wrong with you?

Go home to bed.

Stop fussing.

Open up.

It's me, Leitzu.

How come you're back so early?

- How come you're back so early?
- That's right.

How's your grandmother?

She died a long time ago.

So, you were testing me.

Didn't your heart itch
at least a bit with temptation?

No?

Do you have your seal with you?

Yes. What for?

Nothing. Last month you sent
40 dollars home.

How about this month?

I sent it already.

Do you have enough money?

Yes, as long as Black Dog
doesn't pay me late.

By the way...

the troupe is going to perform
in Boli day after tomorrow.

Black Dog says he's short
on cash to hire a truck.

He wants to ask you
to lend him 200.

Day after tomorrow?

Don't come with us.

Do you hear me?

Why can't I go with you?

What'll happen to business
here if you come?

It wouldn't be good for the boss.

Understood.

I heard you.

Don't follow us!

- Didn't you itch at all?
- How dare you test me.

Sister.

Gui.

It's a good thing you didn't
open the door for Gimying.

If you did, our brooms
were aimed right at you.

You would have been beaten
like a dog and crawled away.

Not bad. You have proved your
faithfulness to our big sister.

This is a worthwhile acquaintance.

- Come have some congee.
- So you tried to fool me.

I'm glad you didn't fall for it.

That proves that you're faithful.

To speak of wandering,
that is the life of an opera troupe.

After the RedJade Opera Troupe
finished its run in Taichung...

I had come to know...

Leitzu of the Cherry Garden
very well.

We left the Happy Stage Theater
and moved the show to Boli.

Before we left, I told Leitzu...

that I would be back in ten days.

I told her not to come to Boli.

The second day after we got
to Boli, she showed up.

I was real angry at the time.

I asked if she was afraid
I would run off with her 200 dollars.

She said that wasn't the point.

She said she'd never been to Boli,
and came for the trip.

I said,
"What about the business?"

She said she'd only
be away a few days.

After we performed for a week, I tried
to chase her away. She wouldn't go.

We finished after the tenth day.

We traveled back to Taichung
that same night.

The gossip in Taichung was very rude.
The word was...

a traveling actor had eloped
with Leitzu of the Cherry Garden.

Leitzu was very upset
at all the talk.

She told me to dress up and follow her.
I said, "Where to?"

She took me all over the Cherry Garden
with a cigarette plate...

and formally apologized to everyone,
saying I hadn't abducted her.

It was she who went
to Boli to visit.

I had no choice but to go with her
to every brothel in town.

She could afford it.

After we finished the rounds,
my name was cleared.

But about two weeks later,
Leitzu developed a sore on her lip.

In those days of war...

the doctors couldn't do anything.

I remembered...

a neighbor of mine in Taipei
had the same sore and died.

Afterwards, a barefoot doctor said
no medical doctor...

can cure that kind of lip sore.

The only cure is to go
into the fields and catch some frogs...

slit one open at the belly
and place the opening on the sore.

A minute later,
the frog should dry up.

Leitzu was lucky
I remembered this.

It was after midnight. I got
the stagehands to go with flashlights...

to the canal behind
the Happy Stage Theater...

to catch a bucketful of frogs.

Her friends came after the show
to tell me.

I rushed over.

The stagehands got the frogs.

I cared for her all night.

One after another,
we slit open the frogs.

They really did dry up
after a minute over the sore.

Her face was so swollen...

it looked like a pig's head.

I kept on applying
the frogs to her lip...

until 4 O'clock in the morning.

I touched her forehead.

The fever had gone down...

and color had returned
to her face.

I continued applying the frogs
until daybreak...

and touched her forehead again.

No more fever.

After that, I asked her friends
to take care of her.

I told them to let her sleep.

I was exhausted
and went back to the theater to sleep.

I slept until noon.

She woke up and saw...

all the dead, dried-up frogs
under her bed.

It was then
that her friends told her...

if it hadn't been for Tienlu...

she would be dead.

They told her...

the sore had swollen so much
her eyes had disappeared.

Because of this...

our feelings for each other
grew tighter and tighter.

I had told her before
that I was married with children.

But what about us?
We are travelers that meet on a path.

I saw her future...

as getting married to someone.

But if I ever told her these thoughts,
she would label me insincere.

The remains of Shimazaki...

radio operator
for theJapanese Army...

come gloriously back to his
aboriginal Taiwanese village.

With his precious and limited life...

he fought for the prosperity...

of the Imperial Empire
and world peace.

His death is like the falling
of cherry blossoms in the morning sun.

A valued citizen
of theJapanese Empire...

in death he is a Japanese spirit.

The name of Shimazaki lives with
the glory of theJapanese Empire...

forever and ever.

Shimazaki...

we have received orders to cut
the American communication lines...

on the New Guinean mountaintop.

This is a very dangerous mission.

Shimazaki, are you afraid?

How could I be afraid
of such a glorious mission?

Taiwan is now a part ofJapan.

We are citizens of
the greatJapanese Empire.

To ensure victory
for the Imperial forces...

even if I sacrifice,
I die as a Japanese spirit.

It is such a joy,
how could I be afraid?

Let's go, while the fog
is on the mountain.

Yes, sir!

I've found it. Over there...

the communication lines
at the top of the hill.

Please wait here
while I go cut them.

- Be careful.
- Yes, sir.

Look over there!

TheJaps are cutting our lines.

Shoot them!

Yes.

Good job!

Bastards!

Shimazaki.

Shimazaki, hang on!

I have fulfilled my mission...

to die for the glory
of the emperor.

Now I am truly
a Japanese spirit.

Long live the emperor!

Long live the emperor!

Attention!

Long live the emperor!

During those difficult times...

people from all walks of life
in Taiwan...

had a rough time.

All commodities were rationed.

There was no black market.

Anyone caught doing black market
business would be punished.

Since all outdoor performances
were banned...

I wandered from one
theatrical group to another.

Leitzu, my lover in Taichung...

was very much in love with me.

I had a wife and children in Taipei.

They say a man can't carry one chicken
and expect two to crow...

so I left Taichung
and went home to Taipei.

At the time, I ran into Tan Tsuichin.

He had organized what was called
a "reformed puppet troupe"...

that did propaganda
for theJapanization movement.

He knew that I was back
and wanted me to join the troupe.

And so I became a member of the New
Nationalist Reformed Puppet Troupe.

We performedJapanese plays
exclusively.

One day, when we were performing
in Hsindiem...

the opening afternoon performance...

the police chief of the country...

came to watch me perform.

He asked me
how much I was making...

with the New Nationalist Troupe.

I told him that whether
I performed or not...

I got 100 dollars a month.

He asked me if I had heard the news...

that Hsindiem was also
organizing a propaganda troupe.

I told him that
I had just heard the news...

from the locals in Hsindiem.

He said, "I want you to leave
the New Nationalist Troupe...

to join our new propaganda troupe
to defeat America and England."

I said, "What are the conditions?"

He asked,
"Where does your family live?"

I said they were in Taipei.

He said, "How many?"

I told him I had a father-in-law...

a wife, a son and a daughter...

One hundred dollars a month.

"If you agree...

to join the propaganda troupe...

as lead performer...

we will house your whole family
in theJinmi police dormitory.

That's near...

where the whole troupe lives.

If you agree, according to the rules
of theJapanization campaign...

your whole family will be given
Japanese privileges...

and given rations accordingly.

Of course, your whole family's
security will be insured.

As for your son...

I can get him a job
in the police station as a 'kisu.'

That means 'messenger boy."'

He added, "I'll pay you more, too.

110 a month."

I thought it over.
Not bad.

"But what about the New
Nationalism Troupe?" I asked.

He told me
not to worry about them.

He would have the minister
of police speak to them.

I said, "If that's the case,
fine with me."

So I agreed,
and everybody was happy.

The minister went to talk
to Tan Tsuichin.

Tan's face turned a melancholy shade.

He was asked a favor
that he could not refuse.

And so he agreed.

Lunch is ready.
Tell them to come.

Taro...

ask them to come and eat.

Aiko, wash your hands
and come eat.

Uncle, time to eat.

Let's eat.

Didn't I tell you not to
let him drink anymore?

He said he's depressed.

He said his sister died last year, and
he couldn't go home for the funeral.

He said he had no face
to go back toJapan now.

Don't listen to him.

He's always depressed.

He carries his bottle
everywhere he goes.

He's always drunk.

SpeakJapanese!

Don't speak in barbaric tongues.

He was saying...

he'd been in Taiwan
for over ten years.

He was with the military.

All those who came with him...

are now on the front lines
in the South Pacific.

He's the only one
who wasn't transferred.

So he's depressed all day.

He's depressed because
he's a lazy bum.

What are you saying about me?

Don't worry. It's nothing bad.

I am a captain.

Where's your sense of protocol?

Why is his salary higher
than that of a Japanese?

So you can perform puppet plays.
What's so great about that?

You can never escape the fact
that you are a colonized islander...

a third-class citizen!

What do you have against me?

Shit! How filthy!

Can't you look where you are
before you piss?

What?

What are you doing
to your superior?

What are you doing?

Mr. Li, it's finished.

- Did you bring your seal?
- Yes.

Please apply your seal
underneath your name.

Mr. Kaimoto.

Chief, this is Li Tienlu's
resignation...

and here is mine.

Li.

Did you really hit Kubota?

Yes, I did.

You acted first?

Yes.

Why?

Mr. Kubota...

has filthy bathroom habits.

He pissed on the road.

He just pulled out his pecker
and pissed.

There were some women
coming straight at him...

who were shocked at the sight.

He goes out and gets drunk
every day.

These are times of emergency.

Liquor is strictly rationed.

And yet he gets drunk every day.

Once he gets drunk,
he starts talking...

about how a colonized islander
like me gets paid more than him.

I am a puppeteer,
a performing artist.

But what is he?

Kubota...

what do you have to say?

Just look at yourself!

You're still wearing
yesterday's clothes!

Sorry.

How filthy!

Did you ever consider
the feelings of Mr. Kaimoto...

who introduced you to your job
at the propaganda troupe?

Go home and think hard.

Go.

Yes, he is Li Tienlu's son.

What happened?

Sir.

Li Tienlu's son was caught trying
to sell Ayu fish at the market.

What happened?

Hong...

- It's really Ayu fish.
- That's right.

This is Li Tienlu's son.

After I delivered some documents
to my house...

he went fishing in the river and,
by accident, caught some Ayu fish.

He was caught trying to sell them
at the market.

Is Ayu fishing banned?

There's a ban on small Ayu
under six months old.

Hong, is this where
you were fishing?

Yes.

Mr. Kurokawa,
give that fishing pole to me.

Yes, sir.

Hong, dinnertime.

Hong...

dinnertime!

Your great-grandfather
is calling you. Hurry.

What are you sitting there for?

Can't you come over here?

If it weren't for the chief...

you'd be thrown in jail
and stung to death by mosquitoes!

The chief was nice to our master.

In what way?

He defended Hong.

Otherwise, Hong would be in for it.

The fine for each Ayu fish
is 100 dollars.

He'd caught a whole lunch box full!

The chief is really good to Tienlu.

He even took Hong to the riverside...

and used the same worms as bait.

The Ayu actually ate the bait...

and so theJapanese believed that
he hadn't caught the Ayu on purpose.

I see.

To be honest, I see it...

as an omen of things to come.

In what way?

Ayu never eat worms.

Why such course bait as worms...

can catch such noble fish
as Ayu...

it looks to me like
theJapanese are going home soon.

Enough, enough!

Eat as much as you can,
but keep your mouth under control.

I say that because
we're under our own roof.

But theJapanese say,
"The walls have ears."

If someone is eavesdropping,
you get sent to the firing squad.

Air raid!

Lunch is ready.
Please eat.

I'm sorry we have
nothing more to offer...

just simple food and drink.

Please take care of yourself.

Taiwan is my second homeland.

To meet you here is part
of my fortune.

Please eat more.

Grandfather.

Father.

What happened?

Nothing. It was so hot
I slept in this coffin.

Now that I'm up, I have the shivers.

You're not properly dressed.

Would you like breakfast now?

Why is your nose bleeding?

My nose is bleeding?
Go get some water.

Feeling better?

Much better.

I keep feeling cold.

Water! Water!

The ancients said, "Good luck never
comes in pairs. Bad luck always does."

To this age I still ponder
on how true these words are.

We were evacuated
to a small village...

that was near Aoli.

Who was to know that on
the day of the evacuation...

the seventh day
of the seventh lunar month...

a policeman asked us,
"What are you doing here?"

I told him we've come as part
of the evacuation of Taipei.

- He said, "Didn't you hear the sirens?"
- I said, "What sirens? More air raids?"

He said, "No, theJapanese
have surrendered."

Japan had surrendered?

So he told us we went there
for no reason.

But there we were...

at a time when
transportation was impossible.

So we went to the house
originally assigned to us.

Who knows why, but it happened
to be a coffin shop.

My wife thought...

"It's the seventh day
of the seventh month."

So she cooked some oily rice as
offering to the goddess of children.

My father-in-law's eyes always lit up
when he saw a bottle.

If there was drink,
he had to drink it.

So he got drunk
and fell asleep in a coffin.

In the middle of the night...

he woke up shivering.

I asked him what was wrong.

First he was cold, then hot.

The locals said
he had contracted malaria...

compounded by
acclimatization problems.

He was the first.
Then it was my turn.

The third was my wife.

Fortunately, my elder son and
daughter didn't get the disease...

but my younger son did.

He wasn't even two years old.

The fever was hidden...

in his belly.

My father-in-law was
in the worst shape.

My situation was less serious.

Every time I had attacks,
they lasted an hour or so...

and I would shiver
until my nose bled.

Slowly the fever subsided.

I kept trying to get
train tickets back to Taipei...

but it was impossible.

Too many people
had been evacuated.

I kept trying, but it wasn't until
the 12th day of the eighth month...

that I finally got the tickets.

So then what happened?

All my money was spent on doctors
in that little village.

We buried my father-in-law there.

When we got back to Taipei,
I only had 50 cents in my pocket.

What could I do
with just 50 cents?

I hired a rickshaw...

to take my wife, daughter
and younger son back home.

My elder son Hong
and I then walked...

all the way to Dualungbong...

resting 13 times on the way.

After we got home...

I ran into my first apprentice...

whose name was Diu.

Ever since the day
of theJapanese surrender...

he had been performing straight,
without rest...

on Bingang Street.

He heard I was back
and came to see me on the 13th.

He said, "Master, your old fans
on Bingang Street...

really want to see you perform.

Please go to perform for them."

I asked how I could perform...

with fits of trembling...

from malaria that lasted an hour.

He said, "Don't worry.

I'll take you there tomorrow...

and we'll set up a bed
behind the stage.

If you start trembling...

we'll get you blankets...

and you just sleep on the bed."

He promised to take over my puppets
if I had to lie down.

Diu, take my puppets!

- He's trembling!
- Get him onto the bed.

And so I say that man's fortunes...

are unchangeable.

Just because we were evacuated
on the last day of the war...

my father-in-law died near Aoli.

Even my younger boy Mori...

contracted the disease
through his mother's milk.

I performed on Bingang Street
well into the night.

When I got home,
I found my wife crying.

I asked her
what she was crying about.

She told me Mori died at sunset.

I said, "That's his fate.

He didn't want to continue
eating with us...

so he's gone.
What can you do about it?"

So I bought some boards...

and nailed a coffin together.

We asked a Taoist priest
to bury him...

so that he could have
a quick rebirth.

I kept performing
at Bingang Street.

People from Duadiudia and Manga
came to see me perform.

But I couldn't leave
Bingang Street.

One day, on my way to perform...

I saw dense black smoke
coming from the airport nearby.

The whole neighborhood
was talking about it.

I went to take a look.

Some people were beating
Japanese soldiers.

TheJapanese were spitting blood.
I asked why they were getting beaten.

They told me how heartless
the beatings were.

They had hoarded hundreds
of sacks of rice.

If they had distributed the rice...

they would have been heroes
in the neighborhood.

But they didn't. Instead...

they gathered all the rice up
and set fire to it.

I went and asked theJapanese soldiers
why they had done this.

They explained...

the rice had been
in storage a long time.

It had turned black.

It wasn't edible.

It had to be burned.

It was only after I explained
this to the people...

that they stopped beating them.

Then I continued
my performance.

Another day I saw trucks
heading toward the airport.

Soon after, there was a clamor
coming from the airfield...

the sound of hammers clashing.

I went to take a look.

The plane engines had been
previously sabotaged by acid.

They were worthless pieces of junk.

They put the sabotaged planes
in one hangar...

apart from the good ones.

All the people
from the Bingang Street area...

towed the sabotaged ones out
and started to dismantle them.

They called in these junk collectors...

to appraise the junk aluminum...

from inside and outside the planes.

Aluminum was separated from steel
and weighed separately.

Everyone was having a good time.

I asked them...

"Why are you dismantling
those planes?"

They said, "Where do you think we're
getting the money to pay you?

The money for
your performances...

comes from this scrap metal.

You know,
our gods answer our prayers.

That's why we've asked you
to perform for them."

And that was the reason why...

Taiwan was finally
liberated from Japan.