The Embers (film)

The Embers
Theatrical poster
Traditional Chinese餘燼
Directed byChung Mong-hong
Written byChung Mong-hong
Produced byTseng Shao-chien
Arthur Chu
Tung Cheng-yu
StarringChang Chen
Mo Tzu-yi
Production
company
3 NG Film
Distributed byActivator Co.
Release date
  • 15 November 2024 (2024-11-15) (Taiwan)
CountryTaiwan
LanguageMandarin

The Embers (Chinese: 餘燼) is a 2024 Taiwanese crime drama film directed by Chung Mong-hong. The film features an ensemble cast led by Chang Chen and Mo Tzu-yi, along with Tiffany Ann Hsu, Chin Shih-chieh, Liu Kuan-ting, Nina Paw, Chen Yi-wen, Wang Po-chieh, and Frederick Lee. It explores Taiwan's history through the story of a police detective (Chang) and an orphaned child (Mo) investigating his father's death while uncovering mysteries from Taiwan's past.

The film premiered theatrically in Taiwan on 15 November 2024. It received five nominations in the 61st Golden Horse Awards.

Premise

In 2006, a police detective begins investigating two connected murder cases that lead back to a communist spy case from 1956, where the victims' fathers are all linked to a reading club. Along the way, the detective crosses paths with a food factory owner who is also probing his father's mysterious death.[1][2]

Cast

Also starring in the film are Esther Huang,[4] Umin Boya,[5] Phil Hou,[5] and Wu Chien-ho.[6] Zhang Zhiyong made a cameo appearance in the film.[7]

Production

After completing The Falls (2021), director Chung Mong-hong teased the development of an upcoming project focused on Taiwan's history and political situation in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in September 2021, where he was working on the screenplay at that time and planned to begin filming in the summer or fall of 2022.[8] As his seventh feature film, Chung described The Embers as the most challenging project he has directed, citing the lengthy filming period and the wide range of shooting locations across Taiwan.[9]

Principal photography wrapped up in August 2023, with Chang Chen, Chen Yi-wen, Chin Shih-chieh, Liu Kuan-ting, and Mo Tzu-yi announced as part of the cast.[10] An official trailer was released on 13 September 2024,[11] with Tiffany Ann Hsu, Nina Paw, Wang Po-chieh, and Frederick Lee revealed to be in lead roles.[3] Esther Huang was announced to be part of the ensemble in the same month.[4]

Release

The Embers premiered theatrically on 15 November 2024 in Taiwan.[12]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee Result Ref.
2024 61st Golden Horse Awards Best Leading Actor Chang Chen Pending [13]
Best Supporting Actor Mo Tzu-yi Pending
Best Art Direction Chao Shih-hao Pending
Best Makeup & Costume Design Hsu Li-wen Pending
Best Original Film Song "People From the North" Pending

References

  1. ^ "《餘燼》金獎導演鍾孟宏新作 1956年共諜案在遺忘中重現". United Daily News (in Chinese). 23 September 2024. Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  2. ^ Yang, Christy (23 September 2024). "張震、鍾孟宏睽違16年合作電影《餘燼》陣容超華麗！許瑋甯極短髮現身、劉冠廷不當反派變身警察卻大反轉？". Elle (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "鍾孟宏新作《餘燼》集結神仙陣容，張震、莫子儀、許瑋甯、劉冠廷掀起懸疑凶殺案背後秘密". Marie Claire (in Chinese). 19 September 2024. Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  4. ^ a b 熊景玉 (19 September 2024). "小薰成《餘燼》少數紅花！帶兒認屍戲超困難　演技獲鍾孟宏肯定". Mirror Media (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  5. ^ a b 周毓洵 (15 October 2024). "《餘燼》莫子儀展現優雅的邪惡 獲滿堂喝采". Youth Daily News (in Chinese). Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  6. ^ "【金馬61】《餘燼》6大搶先亮點！名導鍾孟宏「突破之作」入圍5大獎，張震、莫子儀影帝交鋒，捲入50年懸案揭歷史傷痕". Bella Taiwan (in Chinese). 16 October 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  7. ^ "《漂亮朋友》耿軍：用愛情反抗，療癒歷史的創痕". Initium Media (in Chinese). 24 November 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  8. ^ Brzeski, Patrick (3 September 2021). "Venice: Chung Mong-Hong Sets "Violent and Bloody" Revenge Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 5 October 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  9. ^ 許世穎 (20 September 2024). "《餘燼》帶子認屍險心理創傷 小薰喊本人做不到". Liberty Times (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 19 September 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  10. ^ 邢媛 (21 August 2023). "張震新片《餘燼》正式殺青 講述上世紀50年代的復仇故事". QQ.com (in Chinese). Jinan Daily. Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  11. ^ 粘湘婉 (13 September 2024). "鍾孟宏《餘燼》集結神仙卡司　張震、莫子儀雙影帝首度同台". Want China Times (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 13 September 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  12. ^ 王心妤 (19 September 2024). "莫子儀「餘燼」分飾2角 小薰拍認屍戲太震撼". Central News Agency (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  13. ^ Wong, Silva (3 October 2024). "'Dead Talents Society' leads Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards nominations". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.