Film review: Seediq Bale's 'Warriors of the Rainbow'

Warriors of the Rainbow recounts the violent uprising of the aboriginal tribesmen of Taiwan against the occupying Japanese. The event became later known as the 1930 Wunsh Incident and is one of the most prominent and violent examples of a local population rising up against their occupiers.

 With a budget of $25 million, it is the biggest and most extravagant movie to come out of the tiny island and director Wei Te-Sheng spares no expense when it comes to portraying the blood, guts and gore of the uprising.

Before launching into its frenzied battle scenes, the movie begins by portraying the Seediq tribe, their customs, traditions and their reliance on the forest as a fertile hunting ground. It outlines the Japanese invasion of their land in search of natural resources, the destruction of traditional Seediq livelihood and their descent into slavery. Tensions between the Japanese and Seediq build up as local Japanese officers make snide remarks and refer to them as "savages".

Te-Sheng's depiction of Seediq life centres around Mouna Rudo, an aggressive young man who later becomes chief of the tribe. Fed up after 30 years of occupation and egged on by the younger men in the tribe, Mouna mobilises the various local tribes into a haphazard army of adolescents wanting to prove their manhood and reluctant old chiefs trying to hold on to their bloodline. 

While the director works hard at the historical setting, through meticulous detail in clothing, weaponry, language and fighting technique, the film loses some of the credibility through its tendency towards cheesiness and bad CGI. Woven between the scenes of gore is slightly overbearing music, reminiscent of the bagpipe tunes trumpeted throughout Braveheart. The movie takes its title literally, with a cartoon rainbow making a regular appearance as the tribesman seek solace in their heritage and nature.

While the movie might err on the kitsch side and a constant stream of rolling heads, explosions and burning huts make it an exhausting viewing, it does portray an important event in Taiwanese nationalist history and by bringing it to an international audience, it provides an insight into Taiwanese history, before its occupation by the Japanese and Chinese.