The Moon Also Rises is a movie that depicts the social ideology a female has to obey in the era of the 1950’s, hindering the life of many beautiful souls. What’s unique about this film is the combination of film and tourism in the east coast. The film has been awarded Best Leading Actress and Best Screenplay Adaptation in the 41st Golden Horse Film Festival, also The Best Screenplay and The Special Jury Prize in the 50th Asia Pacific Film Festival.
The movie chose its main scenes at Du-Lan Mountain and Moonlight Tavern in Taitung County and tells the story of a reclusive woman, Bao-Chai, who went through a difficult divorce. Hoping to withdraw and isolate herself from the society, she travels to Taitung along with her daughter. She thought that she could seal her tattered heart along with the mountains eternally, but after secretly reading the love letters from her daughter’s boyfriend, the long buried desire and romance of this mid-aged woman was rediscovered and revived. Many stories have been lost with the slip of time, those are the forbidden secrets, that could only be told to the pale moonlight.
In the music video of the movie theme song, “Shadows of the Moon” sung by Yang Kuei-Mei, the images not only express the lonesome and closed inner world of Bao-Chai, but also features the beautiful sceneries along the east coast of Taiwan, which compliments the whole film. The director, Lin Cheng-Sheng regards that the beauty of the Taitung coastal lines could be appreciated by simply sitting serenely beside the sea, to watch and listen to the rise and fall of the ocean, drink a cup of coffee, and enjoy the greatest pleasure of life. He hopes to introduce the beautiful landscapes of Taitung through the camera lenses and repay the kind intentions and assistance of the folks in Taitung. Lin Cheng-Sheng also wishes that the movie and its promotion could vibrate tourism in the east coast.