Written by Helen Stenbeck
Director and Scriptwriter Su I-Hsuan (蘇奕瑄) Biography
Lost and Found 《失物招領》 (2013) Shorts
WHERE THE SUN DON’T SHINE 《青苔》(2018) - TV Movie
The 2014 Consensus 《家族無共識》 (2019) Shorts
Detention - The Series 《返校 影集》 （2020) - TV Series
Awards:
2023 Golden Horse Awards – Nominated for Best Cinematography and Best New Performer 入圍第60屆金馬獎最佳攝影、新演員
2023 Taipei Film Awards – Winner Best New Performer and Nominated for Best Cinematography 入圍第25屆台北電影獎最佳攝影、最佳新演員，並榮獲台北電影獎最佳新演員（葉曉霏）
2023 Tokyo International Film Festival – World Focus Category 入圍2023東京國際影展 - 世界焦點（World Focus）單元
2024 International Film Festival Rotterdam - IFFR 入圍2024鹿特丹國際影展
2024 BFI FLARE - London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival 入圍2024英國BFI Flare 倫敦酷兒國際影展
WHO'LL STOP THE RAIN – Now available to stream on-demand from 1-11 March as part of the Queer Screen — Mardi Gras Film Festival.
Taiwanese director Su I-Hsuan’s directorial debut feature “WHO’LL STOP THE RAIN” (2023), is an elegant and poetic queer cinema set in 1990s Taiwan, an era of symbolic social and political vicissitude following the abolition of martial law for around four decades.
Produced by the award-winning Lin Shih-Ken, who received Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year at the Golden Horse Awards in 2023. Lin’s works as a producer include MARRY MY DEAD BODY, COOCOO 43, LITTLE BLUE, and THE BOLD, THE CORRUPTED AND THE BEAUTIFUL. With decades of experience working in the film industry, the cinematographer Chen Chi-Wen (MAN IN LOVE; THE SILENT VOICE; SEN SEN; THE ISLAND THAT ALL FLOW BY) utilises a 4:3 ratio for the film to create an intention of drawing closer attention to actors’ expressions and meticulous details of scenes.
The film begins with the backdrop of rebellion against the obsolete educational system, portraying a group of university students pursuing fairness, artistic freedom and their voices to be heard. The film is based on the actual student movement in Taiwan (草山學運, aka 美術系事件）at the Chinese Culture University in 1994. The cinematography artfully captures the essence of 1990s Taiwan, immersing the audience in the exquisite and unique cultural and historical landscape of that time. Su adeptly collaborates with various thematic elements, creating visually stunning scenes with an emphasis on the tone of blue to reinforce the youth’s serenity and sombreness.
The film deftly convolutes the personal and the political, offering a melancholy discovery of identity, freedom, and the pursuit of passion. “WHO’LL STOP THE RAIN” resonates with audiences on a profound level, highlighting the complexities of coming of age in a fluctuating society.
THE TITLE OF THE FILM
Tracking back to the origin title of the film, 青春並不溫柔, (Qin Cun Bing Bu Wen Rou); meaning “Ungentle Youth”, echoes the tender and bitterness young people endure through the acts of the antagonising the rigorous education system as well as the struggles within their self-discovery toward relationship. This title reflects both individual experiences during their youth and society as a whole, depicting the fact that not every encounter is gentle or tender, but the response of oneself determines how the gentleness will be perceived in the end.
As for the English title, Director Su decided on "WHO’LL STOP THE RAIN” to pay tribute to the 60’s band Credence Clearwater Revival and their song with the identical title. The song had been recognised as a representation of the anti-war movement during the Vietnam War era.
Director Su ingeniously perceives the song as a similar symbolism for illustrating the antagonism and protest against the system. While some had interpreted the bullets on the battlefields as raindrops, Su’s directorial interpretation of the English title thus leads to a sense of suppression as it always rained during the student movements in Taiwan.
“The rain symbolises the external force, whether it is structure constraints, suppression of art freedom, or society’s expectation on one’s own sexual desire,” Su believes that the rain will continue regardless; it is up to oneself to determine how to confront the rain.
THE ORIGIN OF THE SCRIPT
Su first acquired the idea for the film while working with Taiwan’s Academia Sinica(中央研究院) for a project collecting data on past social activism. She noticed a phenomenon that most protests and demands from students in the '90s were largely concerned with political, social, or economic matters. The demand by the students of the art department of Taiwan’s Chinese Culture University intrigued Su as she discovered that the protest was for freedom of art expression, ignited when an art student was expelled unfairly and the students held the longest strike in Taiwan’s protest history (34 days).
“Art expression is very personal and individualistic; it is similar to our desire and who we want to love. It is undeniable that we cannot restrain personal preference of how we express ourselves through art, and who we fall in love with. I found this specific protest was relevant to what I do as a creator in films.” Su said at the post-screening Q&A session at the 2024 Queer Screen - Mardi Gras Film Festival in Sydney.
THE CHARACTERS DEVELOPMENT
From the film’s beginning, we hear Chi-Wei’s mother say to her, “You should tame your temper. or you’ll scare men off.” The art teacher blames Chi-Wei for accepting a secret note in his classroom, and at various times, the male characters touch (or even kiss) the female unapologetically. It's fair to say although it's set in a historical period, it’s a history that’s rewritten to compile a fresher and powerful take on Taiwanese queer cinema and female voices.
That’s how Chi-Wei (played by Lee Ling-Wei), the character, is born, with an innocent outlook yet fearlessly confronts the stringent artistic standards throughout the film, combined with her irrefutable desire and love. The character’s personality reflects the courage and resilience of the youth during the tumultuous and transformative period.
“If you compare the two characters, you will sense that Chi-Wei is more progressive and isn’t afraid to stand up for herself and speak her mind. She is also the one who has no doubts about her desire and sexuality but only being perplexed by the ones around her.”
Another main protagonist, Wei-Ching, a tenacious student activist known for her strong-willed and defensive nature, played by actress Yeh Hsiao-Fei, who was awarded for Best New Performer for this role at the 2023 Taipei Film Award. Her portrayal captures the generation of youth striving for transformations amidst adversity.
Director Su commented that the character Wei-Ching is based on a reference to the late Taiwanese female author Qiu Miao-Jin, who rose to fame through her collective works of short stories and prose on lesbian love. Qiu Miao-Jin was known for her cool, nonchalant appearance, yet expressed her literary work with ferocious passion.
Overall, “WHO’LL STOP THE RAIN” is an evocative and visually captivating film that skilfully portrays the individual and societal struggles of its characters during a pivotal era in Taiwan’s history. Soulful directorial work by Su I-Hsuan combined with the stellar performances by Hsiao-Fei Yeh and Ling-Wei Li, “WHO’LL STOP THE RAIN”, has marked an important history of Taiwanese queer cinema. Now available to stream on-demand from 1-11 March as part of the Queer Screen — Mardi Gras Film Festival.
