Upstream

Synopsis

Han, the mayor of Wan-he city, is trying to run for re-election and it is a struggle, since his party has been performing up to the standards or the voters. He turns to the oil company that has been supporting him for help, but they demand a high price. Chuang, a consultant of the oil company sets up a fake kidnapping of Han, in order boost his status within the city. They hire Rock, a young in his 30s, with a sick father and a girlfriend working in strip club, to do the deed. Han and Rock meet and realize they are both being used by the oil company, which wants use the kidnapping as an excuse to to control all political power in the city. They decide to work together, to expose the corporation’s evil plan.

Directed By

Born in Kaohsiung in 1983, when he was 16 he immigrate to Canada and attended the Vancouver Film School. When he returned to Taiwan, he studied at and graduated from the Institute of Film Creation at the National Taipei University of the Arts. Being influenced by American film styles, his work has a strong visual style and likes to explore the blurring of lines between good and evil.

Director's Notes

Modern society operates like a large, chaotic, Darwinian jungle, survival of the fittest. The masses are exploited for the benefit of the 1%. When I was writing the script, the history and events that occurred to the citizens of Yunlin at Liu Qing was always on my mind. Although they were subjected to live in such a polluted, corrupt environment, they chose to stay in the hometowns. I spent a lot of time thinking about how the characters could find a way out towards salvation, and let there efforts allow them to survive, and to always remember to protect people who are treated more unfairly than ourselves.