'More Than Blue' an international success for Taiwan

「比悲傷更悲傷的故事」是台灣國際上的成功

`More Than Blue’ was warmly received by FEFF audiences in Italy, touching hearts and eliciting laughs in all the right places


Udine (Taiwan News) -- Given the runaway success of "More Than Blue" (比悲傷更悲傷的故事) you might think director Gavin Lin (林孝謙) would be full of confidence, and ready to take on the world.

Since its release last November Lin’s romantic drama has taken around US$150 million at the box office, breaking records both at home and abroad as it screened to audiences in offshore markets such as Hong Kong and China.

But when Lin arrived for the European festival premiere of his hit at the 21st Far East Film Festival (FEFF) in Udine, Italy, the filmmaker revealed he was full of worry about how his film might be received so far away from home.

Asked about his feelings on the sidelines of FEFF, the director was quick to say: “Nervous.”

"Even after the premiere at the Busan film festival [last October], the Taipei Golden Horse festival and great success at the Asian box office, the trip to Udine made us really nervous,” Lin revealed. “Our thinking was that the "More Than Blue" mindset is unusual for Europeans. We worried audiences were not going to understand."

"The beginning of the movie is a comedy, the jokes are more for Mandarin speakers and we thought European audiences would just not get it."

How wrong they were.

"More Than Blue" was warmly received by the FEFF's Teatro Nuovo audience, with laughs in all the right places, while the romantic elements seemed to touch hearts.

"I couldn’t have imagined European audiences would be touched by my film,” said Lin. “My film is very romantic, and Italy is also romantic. I think that is why they accepted it.”

Remaking the South Korean film of the same name presented challenges to the Taiwan team and in Udine, they were quizzed about how they set out to make their production "unique."

Lin said he had cried alongside screenwriter Hermes Lu (呂安弦) when their boss at MM2 Entertainment sat them down to watch the original film. They actually left the screening thinking the Korean version could not be matched.

So, they went away and thought about how these characters each had a unique take on love – something more fully explored in the Taiwan version of the tale.

"It is not easy doing a remake as you have to find what you can add or what you can do that will make the film different from the original one,” said Lin. “Then you have to find a way to make these ideas work.”

Once the filmmakers had expanded on the romance between the characters played by Jasper Liu (劉以豪) and Ivy Chen (陳意涵), they sent their film off for a test screening. This was in front of industry professionals and members of the general public and it was so well received they walked away confident their mission had been accomplished.

"The test screening included people of all ages," said Lin. "They gave us very different opinions before we made the final cut. After listening to their feedback we knew what the film should look like, and the marketing team knew who to focus on.”

Lin also took care of duties off camera, writing the lyrics for the film's theme song, "A Kind of Sorrow." After struggling to find the right mix, he said he was advised by leading Taiwan singer/song-writer Yvonne Lin (A-Lin) to simply create “something that everybody will remember.” History shows that, like the film, "A Kind of Sorrow" was a runaway hit.

Now, boosted by the experience in Udine, Lin and Lu are turning their attention – and their good fortune – towards a rom-com about a couple who head off on a trip together.

“It’s been good for us to experience what kind of culture shocks can happen when you come to a different country,” said Lin. “This can be a real-life reference for us in our new film.”

(All photo credit: Far East Film Festival)

Chen Yu-shih attended the Far East Film Festival’s Campus programme which promotes cultural exchanges and shared education between young writers from Asia and Europe.