The biggest hit of this year's Taiwan drama is "The Distance Between Us and Evil".
Douban 9.5 points, IMDb 9.3 points, basically locked in the "best of the year" of Chinese dramas.
Just some time ago, another Taiwan drama with good quality was launched.
Its theme is similar to "With Evil", but the perspective is more long-term.
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Like "With Evil", "Sin Eater" is also produced by Taiwan Public Television.
It is Taiwan's only non-commercial over-the-air television station and is not controlled by any government, political party or interest group.
Therefore, the dramas of public television are usually more bold and profound in the selection of themes and story mining, and the ratings and word-of-mouth are also quite capable.
For example, "Anesthesia Storm" with a score of 8.7, "A Handful of Blue" with a score of 9.3, "Your Child Is Not Your Child" with a score of 8.3, and so on.
Stills from "Your Kids Are Not Your Kids."
Closer to it, this year's public view of "The Distance Between Us and Evil" can be called a breakthrough.
It jumps out of the black and white trap, does not portray the ferocity of the perpetrator's criminal means, or presents the victim's hardships of showing justice.
It is concerned about the plight of the families of the victims and the perpetrators after the incident, as well as the different attitudes of the media and the public.
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Stills from "Our Distance from Evil"
Also on the issue of "crime and punishment", "The Sin Eater" builds on "And Evil".
It throws a question to all the viewers —
How can a person who has sinned be redeemed and born again after he is released from prison?
The male protagonist in the play is named Wang Xiang (played by Zhuang Kaixun), who was originally a respected assistant teacher.
However, he was sent to prison on suspicion of killing a female high school student.
The future came to an end, and he would be labeled a "murderer" for the rest of his life.
Now, twelve years later, Wang Xiang has finally been able to get out of prison on parole.
But twelve years of isolation is enough to disconnect one from modern society.
What he has to face and adapt to is a completely new world.
The first is the contact with the outside world, before he went to prison, he was still in the era of writing letters to convey information, and now the Internet has penetrated into all aspects of life.
Mobile phones, computers, the Internet, you have to learn from scratch.
Second, as an adult with the ability to take care of himself, Wang Xiang must find a job that can at least support himself.
Unfortunately, he has a criminal record, so he is repeatedly turned away from his ideal job.
Eventually, after being introduced by his loved ones and concealing his criminal history, he reluctantly managed to find a job as a private driver.
Finally, and most importantly, Wang Xiang must once again integrate into his family life.
Wang Xiang's mother and brother are probably the people in the world who least mind his status as a "murderer."
However, their excessive protection, as well as too much concern, made him uncomfortable.
In addition, the fear and fear inadvertently displayed by the younger brother's girlfriend is also an invisible bayonet for Wang Xiang.
All these are the difficult problems that Wang Xiang needs to overcome and adapt to as a "former murderer.".
These seemingly inconspicuous little things are a serious challenge for them, and even related to survival.
In the movie "The Shawshank Redemption", there is a vivid example -
Old Boo, played by James Whitmore, has spent most of his life in prison.
When he reached old age and finally had a chance to get out of prison, he chose to end his life in a hotel.
Because this new world has long excluded him invisibly, and he does not have the heart to adapt to the many rules of this flower world.
Finding out, going to jail and getting out of jail doesn't necessarily mean a better start for a criminal.
In the words of the play, these are just two different "states of non-freedom" -
In prison, what is not free is the body.
After being released from prison, what is not free is the heart.
And the unfreedom of the mind is often even less free than the unfreedom of the body.
In Taiwan, there is also a special title for people like Wang Xiang: zhenren.
This represents the expectation that society has given them: that they will be able to renew their lives after they are released from prison.
But is "regeneration" really so easy for them?
Not.
Prejudice from all sides is always the biggest obstacle to their "rebirth" -
The employer's family has lost something, and the first to be suspected are these "rehabilitated people".
Ordinary people will keep the hat of a "murderer" on their heads.
The news media will say that the resurrected person has a "high chance of re-offending."
The most ridiculous thing is that even the families of these "rehabilitated people" will have discrimination and prejudice against other "rehabilitated people".
You don't want to be with that kind of person (someone who has been in jail).
In the play, a rather ironic bridge section is also used to present this prejudice.
Wang Xiang, a private driver, accidentally saved a mother and son who were in a car accident on a driving road.
His act was filmed by the employer's little girl and uploaded to the Internet.
Although he could not see his face clearly, overnight, he became a "hero brother" praised by everyone and was widely reported by television stations and the Internet.
Unfortunately, the good times did not last long.
When the true identity of this "hero brother" was exposed, everyone's attitude changed dramatically.
Why is there a world of difference between saving people and "former murderers"?
Why is the judgment of "good guys" and "bad guys" only based on people's subjective feelings?
Why does a criminal who has already been punished not deserve the right to freedom after he is released from prison?
The above deafening questions are the problems that the main creator of this drama throws to every audience and deserves our serious consideration.
It used to be said that he was a good man
Now I know what people used to do
He said he wasn't a good person
He is not a good man
You decide
I've been punished
People like me
Isn't it supposed to be
There must also be the right to freedom
Speaking of this, we have to mention the strong creative team of this drama.
The first is the screenplay for "The Sin Eater", which is adapted from Yang Nianchun's work "Beyond the Line", which is a work that has won the "TV Program Script Writing Award".
And the double directors Lai Mengjie and Zhang Hengru, who directed and filmed this drama, were also particularly careful when shooting.
Directors Lai Mengjie (bottom row, third from left) and Zhang Hengru (top row, fifth from right)
The director revealed in the interview that as early as the early stage of shooting, they participated in the fieldwork of Taichung Prison and actually understood the details of the lives of the prisoners.
In order to truly and completely restore the situation in prison, they abandoned the prison scene and chose to shoot in a real correctional center.
The person who plays the bailiff in it is also the real guard in the prison.
Such an attitude of striving for authenticity and restoration makes people have to be convinced.
In addition, Zhuang Kaixun, who plays the male protagonist, is also worth mentioning.
Many mainland audiences remember him because he played the leading role in the high-scoring suspense film "The Pursuit of witnesses" the year before.
In fact, as early as 2015, he won the "Best Supporting Actor" award at the 49th Taiwan Film Golden Horse Awards with the movie "Rookie".
Stills from "The Sight of the Killer"
Wang Xiang in "Sin Eater" is not the first time he has played the role of "rehabilitated person".
Nine years ago, he made the same attempt in the series Breaking the Waves.
But by the time "Sin Eater" was filmed, he still did a lot of homework, such as going online to watch real-life interview videos and so on.
In the end, his portrayal of Wang Xiang's role can also be remarkable, and his real and natural acting skills can be said to be the finishing touch to the whole play.
The English translation of The Sin Eater is a quote from Gandhi:
“Hate the sin, love the sinner.”
It means hating sin, but also caring for those who have sinned.
This just shows the original intention of director Zhang Hengru's shooting -
"The story of "The Sin Eater" is mainly to let everyone think about whether the truth of the matter is as true as everyone sees, and whether there are other reasons behind it through the story of how to slowly return to the process of life after a reincarnated person is released from prison. At the same time, we must also let everyone see that there are many complex human natures in life. ”
Indeed, human nature is complex, fluid and changing.
Those who make mistakes and are punished may become devoted to good.
Conversely, those who are committed to bringing the "bad guys" into a situation of perdition may also have evil intentions.
Because, when they shout and release extreme emotions, they have quietly become part of the "bad".
*Author: Zhang Bucai