THE RICE BOMBER

2014 | Fiction | 80′ | TAI  | vo Ch st Fr Nl

Set during an economically turbulent period in Taiwan’s recent history, the film follows the small town boy from his life on a rice farm in the central Changhua region, to the military service that taught his the tricks of his trade and finally to full blown agitator trying to bring attention to the plight of the island’s farmers. As Taiwan enters the WTO and struggles beneath the burden of a newly globalized food supply, Yang Rumen (Huang Chien-Wei) transforms into an advocate for local farmers. Progressing from letters to the editor, to petitions at government agencies and finally his renowned rice bombs, Rumen (in reality now a major proponent and practitioner of organic farming after 7 years in prison) doesn’t want to hurt anybody, one of the reasons his 17 bombs (which spray rice like buckshot) are planted in reasonably empty spots. That’s not the case of his likeminded friend Troublemaker (Nikki Hsieh), a rich gangster’s daughter who prefers more militant action. (Elizabeth Kerr, the Hollywood Reporter)

“I still hope that through films, we can let the world become a better place. Perhaps, every deteriorating society would need a ‘Rice Bomb’!”

Cho Li