Cape No. 7 - 2

Obviously Aga's situation is not unique. Tomoko (Chie Tanaka), a Japanese ex-model fluent in Mandarin whose career as a dead-end publicist stranded in Taiwan fares no better than Aga's budding career as an irresponsible postal delivery man. Both persons are down on their luck and just as fate would have it, they cross path when Tomoko reluctantly becomes the liaison between a Japanese singer who is coming to perform for a resort there and the local impromptu warm-up band fronted by Aga. The band has been a constant struggle and a flash point among the band members and Tomoko; the keyboardist is too young, the bassist is too old and the second song is never ready. Just when Tomoko is about to throw in the towel and call it quit, a wedding banquet changes the course of events to the unexpected or rather expected: Aga and Tomoko are actually in love despite their constant bickering. The main story has a simple structure, the plot progresses in an orderly manner with the cumulation of a successful opening act where Aga demands and receives a confirmation of his love from Tomoko right there on stage. Also running parallel and in contrast with this main storyline is the sub-plot of a pair of star-crossed lovers from sixty years ago whose presence are felt mainly by voice-over reading of the seven unsent letters by one of the ill fated lovers, a Japanese high school teacher who got to be in Hengchun when Taiwan was a Japan colony between 1895 to 1945. The teacher fell in love with one of his Taiwanese students also called Tomoko but when Japan lost the War in 1945, he left behind Taiwan and deserted his girlfriend right when they were supposed to board the ocean liner to Japan together. In his letters to his jilted girlfriend who finally gets to read them some sixty years later, he bemoans the shame and guilt he has to endure as a Japan national when Japan, the aggressor was condemned and defeated in the War. And for whatever logic, twisted or not, like national pride or guilt or just being a plain coward, he just couldn't bring himself to be with his love anymore. In one of the letters, he writes he doesn't know if he is returning home or leaving home, his disorientation, probably not induced by seasick, is heartfelt and understandable. Their doomed love affair is as much personal as it is historical in the sense that it is really a product of their time. Only a few men made history, most others are just by products of an era.

"Cape No. 7" also tells many other stories. A precocious ten year old from a single mom, a geezer who plays some kind of Chinese guitar thinks he is a national treasure, an ex-SWAT turns traffic cop whose wife walked out on him. A motorbike mechanic who has a crush on his boss's wife and wouldn't mind her husband is still around and they have a triplet of young boys. Some characters may appear stereotypical and the plot line straight forward but perhaps it's this no nonsense film making approach that makes it enjoyable, just pure powerful story telling without all the convoluted techniques or plot twisting gimmickries. Cape No. 7 puts south Taiwan ethos on celluloid and it is beautifully done.