Invisible Nation helps to make Taiwan (more) visible (Film review)

 

Seen on the fourth day of my most recent Taiwan trip

 

Invisible Nation: Extended Cut (USA-Taiwan, 2024)

- Vanessa Hope, director and co-producer (along with four others)

 

I first heard about Invisible Nation soon after its September 2023 debut at the Woodstock Film Festival.  But with things being the way they now are in Hong Kong (with not only a number of Hong Kong protest documentaries not being allowed to be screened in cinemas but, also, certain films from Taiwan and elsewhere that were apparently adjudged to have breached the national security law), I held little hope of being able to view this documentary about Taiwan that was shot for the most part during Tsai Ing Wen's presidency. (Filming of the documentary began in May 2017, one year after she assumed office.)

 

So imagine my surprise upon discovering earlier this week that that which is listed as the extended cut of the film (yet is 82 minutes long, in contrast to the 85 minutes listed length (on IMDB) of the original version!) made available on the PBS platform is available to view in Hong Kong (as well as the USA) sans VPN!  And to confirm that, as of a few minutes ago, this documentary remains available to view, and for free too!

 

Invisible Nation begins with beautiful, peaceful vistas of a green tropical land with seas and urban along with rural scapes.  It then proceeds to show a smiling Tsai Ing Wen meeting school students and telling them that she hoped to learn from them "what you hope your country can do for you."  

 

Right there and then, it's made clear that Taiwan is a distinct place, and most definitely a democracy.  So one feels quite the frisson when the film then follows up with a view of The Great Wall of China and the sound of Chinese leader Xi Jinping stating that "Taiwan is part of China".  The People's Republic of China, it is implied.  In other words: non-democratic, authoritarian, Communist China.

 

Over the course of Invisible Nation, one also learns of how, in addition to denying that Taiwan is an independent nation, the government over in Beijing does its utmost to deny Taiwan visibility in the world -- and how the world for the most part, including world organizations like the United Nations and International Olympic Committee and other international sports bodies, goes along with it; with Taiwan not being a member nation of the United Nations, and Taiwanese sportsmen and sportswomen having to compete these days in international tournaments under the name "Chinese Taipei" and the Taiwanese national anthem not being allowed to be played when Taiwanese athletes win at the Olympics.

 

Despite it looking to be a David versus Goliath battle, Taiwan -- especially during the presidency of Tsai Ing Wen -- is not taking all this lying down.  (Why would it?  Especially when we know that in the Old Testament tale, David beat Goliath!)  And what Invisible Nation also makes clear is that Taiwan's existential struggle is two fold: with one part involving Taiwan working to stay politically independent and democratic; and the other part telling Taiwan's story to the world.

 

With Invisible Nation helping to fulfill the latter task, it's easy to see that there are people who will accuse it of being a propaganda work.  And for sure, Vanessa Hope does present Taiwan in a friendlier light than the People's Republic of China.  Ditto with regards to Taiwan's first female president (who, after serving two terms, has been succeeded by her vice-president, William Lai Ching Te -- as an afterword in the extended cut points out) being presented in a more favourable manner than Communist China's "president for life" (who assumed the offices of General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission back in 2012)!

 

At the same time though, Invisible Nation does present facts and figures, not just biases and vibes.  The documentary also does provide a historical perspective and portrait of a culturally diverse people that is helpful in allowing people to understand the overall situation and picture; one that, frankly, can come across as very complex and complicated, and overwhelm those who come into a viewing of this film with (next to) zero prior knowledge of East Asia -- though my own sense is that Vanessa Hope pitched this at just the right level, so that you don't have to be a complete East Asian political wonk to be able to comprehend and follow it all!

 

My rating for this film: 8.5          

Spare Queens is a bowling- and female-centric movie with plenty of drama and action to spare (Film review)

  

Key cast and crew at the world premiere of Spare Queens

 

The movie's two leading ladies

 

Spare Queens (Hong Kong, 2026)

- Tommy Tom, director and co-scriptwriter (with Lee Po-chi)

- Starring: Stephy Tang, Chrissie Chau, Anson Kong, Adam Pak

- Part of the HKIFF's Galas program 

 

In bowling, a "spare" is awarded after all the pins that were not hit by the first bowling attempt are hit with the second ball.  While it doesn't score as high as a "strike" (when all 10 pins are knocked down in the first roll), it's still pretty good.  And when a "spare" is made after the first ball left a 7-10 split (where the corner pins on opposite sides are left), it is quite the achievement indeed!

 

For his feature film debut, director-scriptwriter Tommy Tam chose to delve into the world of a favourite sport of his: one that both females and males can play and excel; and Hongkongers are competitive in. (A bit of trivia: last year's International Bowling Federation World Cup and World Championships took place in Hong Kong.)  And while Hong Kong has seen a number of sports movies in recent years (including football-themed Pass and Goal (2025), volleyball themed Life Must Go On (2022) and running-themed Zero to Hero (2021)), Spare Queens might well be Hong Kong's first ever bowling-themed movie!  

 

In addition, as its title indicates, Spare Queens is as female-centric as it is bowling-themed.  For while MIRROR band member Anson Kong appears as a talented male bowler whose style is rough but still can produce results and actor-model Adam Pak has a not insignificant part to play in proceedings, it's the film's two lead actresses who have the meatiest roles -- as former bowling rivals who return from retirement to play for the Hong Kong team and bid to help it qualify for the world championships.  (Yes, this is a film about second chances (and what people do with them).  And no, it's not much of a spoiler to point this out.  If so, they shouldn't have had the word "Spare" in the film's title!)   

 

For those who still know Chrissie Chau best as a "lang mo" (pseudo model) or Stephy Tang as a member of a girl group: rest assured that these two now 40-something-year-old entertainers have come a long way from there and are outstanding on their own in this movie and even better when on the screen together.  Also, that it looks to have been an inspired move on the part of director Tom to get both of these actresses to play against type and have their characters not only have personality clashes but also a relationship that's affected by their different social status and family background.

 

Other nice touches involve the characters of Chau, Tang and Kong being given distinct bowling styles that actually add to the story as well as are fascinating to see.  All in all, I found Spare Queens' dramatic scenes absorbing and its sporting action very entertaining; this from someone who's not spent much time at all in bowling alleys, never mind watching and following bowling as a competitive sport!

 

Cinematographer Chris Lee sure kept things interesting by utilizing quite the creative array of unusual camera angles for the bowling scenes.  Credit too to director Tom for having made good use of his animation and visual effects producer to produce a winning work that looked as well as was substantively good on the film's modest HK$8 million budget!

 

My rating for this film: 7.5