Actors take on dual identities in gripping new film on White Terror era

Taipei, Nov. 19 (CNA) Multiple Golden Horse Award-winning director Chung Mong-hong (鍾孟宏) is back with his seventh feature film "The Embers" (餘燼), which explores the themes of justice and revenge as a victim and a perpetrator in a Chinese espionage case from Taiwan's authoritarian past trade places 50 years later.

Among the film's star-studded cast are Golden Horse Best Leading Actor Award winner Mo Tzu-yi (莫子儀) and National Award for Arts winner Chin Shih-chieh (金士傑), known affectionately by his fans as "Teacher Chin," whose unforgettable performances were pivotal in propelling the plot.

CNA recently had the opportunity to catch up with the award-winning actors and discuss the movie, which has received five nominations for the 61st edition of the Golden Horse Awards (GHA), including for Best Leading Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Art Direction, Best Makeup and Costume Design and Best Original Film Song.

The plot revolves around two men whose fathers were executed in a Chinese espionage case dating back to 1956. Fifty years after the incident, they learn the truth from a survivor, leading them to kidnap a former secret agent and hunt down the informant in an attempt to exact revenge.

Reminiscing when Chung first approached him for his role as Hsu Shih-chieh (許士節), the former secret agent who, in the director's own words, "did a lot of dirty work," Chin said unlike previous discussions about story ideas during which the two would banter back and forth, Chung was very straightforward this time.

"It's about a political event set in the White Terror era. I want there to be a tear in this story," Chin quoted the director as saying.

Several months later when he finally got to read the screenplay, he found it to be an "impactful" story characterized by an "unusual vigilantism" -- a quality that reminded him of "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas, Chin said.

As impactful as the plot is, Chin said, the director managed to infuse it with a "very generous amount of compassion."

"It would be hard for the average folk to approach it [White Terror] with that much compassion," added the 72-year-old descendant of waishengren or "mainlander" -- a term denoting those who emigrated from China to Taiwan after 1945.

Mo Tzu-yi, who portrays Mo Tzu-fan (莫子凡), Hsu's vengeful kidnapper and son of a 228 victim, discussed the film's broader significance.

He praised the growing number of works in Taiwan that address the White Terror era, noting how these films are reaching audiences through diverse formats.

"I think it's a good thing there are more approaches and angles to tell these stories and recount this period of history," Mo said.

For example, in "The Embers," the director used the suspense of investigating a murder case to tell his story, Mo noted, while "The Black Kite," (黑風箏) another film he starred in, was told from the perspective of an innocent little girl whose father suffered from political persecution.

There is also the psychological horror film "Detention" (返校), which was adapted from a horror video game of the same name, Mo said.

"We have all these different ways of discussing this period of history. It's a good thing... so that audiences will not feel stressed or impatient whenever they think of 228 or the White Terror," he said.

As Mo saw it, using different media "links history to the audience" and builds bridges between the past and the present.

Hopefully, this will spark reflection and inspire compassion, offering people an alternative path forward, the 43-year-old actor said.

The White Terror era, ushered in by the 228 Incident in 1947, refers to a decades-long authoritarian period in Taiwan that ended in 1992 with the abolition of Article 100 of the Criminal Code that allowed the government to stifle freedom of speech by giving people jail terms.

Asked about the vibe on the set when dialogue unfolded between Chin's character -- once the perpetrator, now the victim -- and Mo's character -- the new perpetrator -- the younger star said getting to work with Chin was his "badge of honor" but that he had to keep his admiration for Chin tightly reined in due to the intense sequence they engaged in.

"I have immense respect for Teacher Chin, but while we were working, it was my character against his. I had to leave my emotions out of the acting, or I would have been unprofessional," Mo said. "We trusted each other completely, and I thank Teacher Chin for recognizing my work as an actor."

Chin, meanwhile, referred to a sequence where he was required to slam his hands on a glass window and bellow in anguish.

Chin said that particular sequence, shot in many takes, made him feel his age was catching up with him because he could feel his diaphragm hurting for hours after the shoot.

"If I had been healthier, I would have asked the director to let me do a few more takes to 'stoke the fire' a bit more," Chin said.

As he saw it, every dedicated actor should be prepared to push himself to his physical limits when necessary.

"You fall when you're told to fall, and jump off a building when you're told to jump. And if you're underprepared, you have to grit your teeth and make it through," Chin said.

The seasoned actor also shared his secret to delivering consistently high-quality performances over the years.

"It's the mindset. You just think of every performance as a date. What kind of date do you want it to be?" Chin said.

"I want a fun game to take place in my life. How should I go about playing this time? I couldn't help but smile every time I think about that," Chin said.