Sunday, September 22, 2013

西門町 - Westgate Tango



西門町 (Westgate Tango) is an 2012 film out of Taiwan. The movie stars Dylan Kuo, Anthony Wong, and Amber An. The film takes place almost entirely in Taipei's Ximending.

Amber An takes to the shops of the infamous Ximending of Taipei. There she finds a shop owner that takes in all sorts of pretty gals to help hawk all the crazy stuff you find there. Dylan Kuo is a shop runner and fortune teller in training. When their world's collide, Amber takes to Kuo right away. When the bad guys come running in to take some real estate properties, the life and death sakes of living in Ximending are escalated. Will the two be able to break on through to the other side, especially with Dylan's mysterious background.

The movie was slow, mysterious, and a hard watch. I liked the way the movie was shot as it did highlight Ximending I've not seen in other variety shows. As the premiere counter culture area of Taiwan, it attracts tourist, locals, and other Taiwanese to the area. In the movie, the various people land there and make a living there due to a past they are running away from. Others are just trying to make a living. This movie was a brief look into the lives of those that make it run.

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