Considering that Taiwan's pending recognition as an individual country could feasibly drive China and the United States to military conflict, the question of Taiwanese liberation is severely underemphasized in the media. The issue receives its due prominence in "Formosa Betrayed," an intelligent, calculated, political thriller that grapples with the complicated and corrupted state of Taiwanese politics in the 1980s.
The film kicks off with the murder of Henry Wen (Joseph Foronda), a respected Taiwanese-American professor who had been in the process of writing a book on the Taiwanese government and the island's right to independence. Upon further investigation, FBI Agent Jake Kelly (James Van Der Beek) connects the case to the professor's native land and is sent overseas to allegedly assist the Taiwanese government with the case.
From the moment Jake's foot grazes Eastern land, he is swept into a whirlwind of upper-class social affairs that hardly permit him a spare moment to conduct any investigative work. His nights are spent at ritzy dinners and opera houses, and his days performing tedious drudgework in the government office.
A tip from the professor's widow drags Jake from his cushy hotel room — courtesy of the Taiwanese government — onto the streets, where tension between civilians and their government thrums palpably. As Jake becomes increasingly entangled in his unsanctioned side-investigation, he begins to unwind an intricate web of government conspiracies that violate not only the principles of democracy, but basic human rights. Outraged to learn that the Taiwanese government is acting directly against its people, Jake abandons his agenda and places his neck on the line to fight for justice.
"Formosa Betrayed" is a powerful film that, despite being based on a combination of true-life events, is first and foremost a political thriller. This adherence to a sort of dramatic formula works both for and against the movie. The script manages to be informative without settling into the sonorous realm of didacticism, and the heavy-but-intriguing exposition, smattered with crucial moments of violence, keeps audiences perched on the edges of their seats.
Unfortunately, the film occasionally loses its freshness and impact; the moments between its spurts of poignant brilliance resemble much more closely an episode of "Law and Order" than a work of socially-conscious cinematic genius.
The dialogue is also a little awkward at times as Taiwanese political dissidents elucidate the complexities of the Taiwanese political situation to the clueless Jake — and simultaneously to the presumably clueless audience. In many scenes, Jake walks alongside a secondary character while receiving a history lesson or a brief summary of Taiwanese current events. Though these debriefings are never boring, they are sometimes a little stilted. Thus, the intensity of Jake's hunt for knowledge is diminished to that of a summer-camp scavenger hunt, in which he is forced to check tree trunks and the undersides of benches for notes with quick blurbs of information and a hint for the next clue.
Still, the quick pace of the film ensures that periods of flatness fly by, and overall, the plotline is gripping and smart. The movie starts with the final scene and flips periodically back and forth between the linear plot and its conclusion — a technique which heightens a sense of suspense in the theater. Viewers' minds will reel as they try to guess what manner of atrocities could have prompted straitlaced and idealistic Jake to go against the will of his own government.
The American actors, like Van Der Beek and Wendy Crewson, who plays American diplomat Susan Kane, are wry when at their best. At their worst, they act clumsily and without direction, as if for a pilot of a television show destined to die after eight weak episodes. Perhaps their performances would be sufficient for films of lighter fare, but the complex subject matter completely overwhelms their abilities, and their performances become secondary to the vivid plotline.
Their lackluster presentations are, however, balanced by Will Tiao's (LA '96) moving portrayal of Ming, a Taiwanese citizen who risks everything for the sake of national independence. Tiao's performance adds dimension and complexity to the film, enabling the viewer to deeply connect to his and his countrymen's plight.
Although "Formosa Betrayed" suffers from certain mechanical stutters, it is still an incredibly evocative film that will not only entertain for an hour and a half, but promises to haunt the viewer with significant questions long after he or she leaves the theater.
