Bang Bang Formosa (寶島大爆走)

Luo, who wrote and directed the film and appears in a cameo near the film's end, has a knack for extracting absurd, potent moments from the cultural bedlam of contemporary Taiwan.

“Bang Bang Formosa” has brisk pacing, a dry sense of humor, and a keen eye for satire. As if aware of its own artificiality, the film leads us to believe one situation after another, and wastes no time to deconstruct each as soon as we “get it.” Luo also uses occidental idioms with finesse, as in the opening spoof on the Hollywood thriller and the break-in scene scored with “Mr. Sandman.”

The result is richly layered, offering crowd-pleasing gags, sentimental cadences, and keen social observation. The discrepancy between idealistic slogans and muddy reality, for instance, is played up through the character of Little Ying (小應) Pon's young supervisor.

Shifting capriciously among emotional registers and spinning out an unpredictable plot, the film keeps viewers engaged. It knows that it is over-the-top, and it works most of the time. One jarring failure, though, is the mawkish scene where Ma-hao justifies his motivation for going after the bounty. If the scene is meant as satire, it isn't clear. The final plot twist also feels like one too many.

Cross-strait Tourism

The premise of a Shanghainese girl traveling to Taiwan gives mainland viewers more to relate to; it also licenses “Bang Bang Formosa” to parade many Taiwanese dioramas and items. A song listing Taiwanese delicacies — stinky tofu (臭豆腐), soft tofu dessert (豆花), oyster omelet (蚵仔煎) and fried chicken breast (炸雞排) to name a few — is featured several times. These gestures seem rather obligatory, as if being encouraged by the Tourism Bureau. The Chinese title for the mainland released is also tweaked (寶島奇遇記). Who, I wonder, are these gestures meant to delight? ■

► Directed by Andy Luo An-de / With Pon Chia Chia, Renee Yuan Xin-yu, Tammy Chen Yi-rong and Zhao Li-xin / Comedy / Taiwan / 2012 / 100 min. / Chinese with English subtitles / ★★★★☆ / To be released on Jan. 27 /

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