TAIPEI (TVBS News) — China will re-release Taiwanese film "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale" (賽德克．巴萊) in December amid tensions with Japan over Taiwan, marking the first two-part theatrical return since its 2012 Chinese debut. The re-release follows Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent statement that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger Japanese military response.
Beijing News (新京報), a Chinese state-affiliated newspaper, reported the two-part film will screen Dec. 12-13, adding 123 minutes to the 153-minute version that grossed 16.52 million yuan (around US$2.3 million or NT$72.688 million) in 2012. Chinese film platform Migu (咪咕電影) describes the film as portraying "Chinese Taiwan people" resisting Japanese invaders.
Taiwanese director Wei Te-sheng (魏德聖) directed the film, adapted from Chiu Jo-lung's (邱若龍) manga "Musha Incident" (霧社事件), which premiered in Taiwan in September 2011 as two parts: "The Sun Flag" (太陽旗) and "The Rainbow Bridge" (彩虹橋). The narrative depicts the 1930 Musha Incident in central Taiwan, where Mona Rudao (莫那．魯道) led the Seediq tribe, an indigenous group, in an uprising against Japanese colonial rulers. ◼