Although the note booklet is entirely in Chinese, good ol’ Google quickly brings up a page on this film by Hou Hsiao-hsien (the final track of the disc is dedicated to the director). It is the story of a family caught in the terror inflicted on the Taiwanese people by the Kuomintang after they emigrated to Taiwan following the island’s takeover from Japan. Thousands of people were massacred, and only one member of the family – a photographer – is left at the end of the film to tell in writing the story of his family’s destruction.
The opening title track has a lovely melody heard on some sort of electronic instrument over deep and dramatic drumming. It reminded me of Kitaro’s music. After a short flute solo there is a lyrical theme on piano accompanied by synth strings. The track titled Hiromi returns to the soaring melody over dramatic percussion and sounds exactly like Kitaro. The final, dedicated track is a compelling theme featuring a guitar-like instrument as well as various synth sounds. You’re not provided a great deal of music for the higher import price, it’s not multichannel, and it’s rather derivative. I’m afraid I was more moved to look into viewing a DVD of the film, since it concerns a historical event I didn’t know about, than to listen again to the SACD, however crisp may be its sonics.
7. Gallantry (Dedicated to Hou Hsiao-hsien)
