Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale 

Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale (Chinese: 赛德克·巴莱, pinyin: Sàidékè Balái, literally, Real Seediq or Real Men) is a 2011 Taiwanese historical drama epic film directed by Wei Te-Sheng and produced by John Woo, based on Wushe Incident in central Taiwan in 1930.

The film is divided into two parts – the full versions in Taiwan, the part 1 is called “The Flag of Sun” (太阳旗, Pinyin: Tàiyánɡ qí), and the part 2 is called “The Bridge of Rainbow” (彩虹旗, Cǎihónɡ qiáo), both running at a total of up to four and half hours.

 

Director: Wei Te-Sheng

The film was shown in competition at the 68th Venice International Film Festival and was selected as a contender for nomination for the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film in 2011 and was one of nine films shortlisted to advance to the next round of voting for nomination. But the original two parts are combined into the single international cut version; its running time is two-and-half hours.

The film is the most expensive production in Taiwanese cinema history. The film has also been compared to the 1995 film Braveheart by Mel Gibson and The Last of the Mohicans by the media in Taiwan.

The film Seediq Bale depicts the Wushe Incident, which occurred near Qilai Mountain of Taiwan under Japanese rule. Mona Rudao, a chief of Mahebu village of Seediq people, led warriors fighting against the Japanese.

 

Wushe Incident, a fight against the Japanese

Seediq Bale had its world premiere at the 68th Venice International Film Festival in September 2011. It also was shown at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2011. The film opened April 27, 2012 in the US in New York, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area. And then the film premiered in Beijing on May 6, 2012, and released nation-wide on May 10.