Traditional 麵引子 Mandarin Miàn Yǐnzi | Simplified 面引子 Directed by You-Ning Lee | |
Produced by Wang Shou-Qan
Chiu Shun-Ching Written by You-Ning Lee
Zhao Dongling | ||
'Four Hands' is a Taiwanese drama directed by You-Ning Lee, starring Wu Hsing-kuo. The movie premiered on October 12, 2014 in Taiwan. The story depicts a veteran of the Republic of China Army from Shantung who settled in Taiwan, separated from his family due to the Chinese Civil War. The film deals with the affairs of a three-generation family across the Taiwan Strait. The Chinese title comes from the yeast used when making mantou.
Contents
Plot
In 1949, while returning to his home in Shantung, Houcheng (Wu Hsing-kuo) was forcefully conscripted by the Republic of China Army under shackle, leaving behind his younger brother, his wife, and the whole family. Soon after, his wife gives birth to a boy Jiawang (Geng Le).
Fifty years later, Houcheng now lives in a military dependents' village in Taipei, having re-married a local Taiwanese woman and fathering a daughter (Yeh Chuan-Chen) and a grandson. He wakes up every morning to make mantou, per his family tradition since when he was in Mainland China. In his old age and after the death of his second wife, Houcheng returns to visit his hometown in Shandong, only to discover that his first wife had died. He was met with a hostile son who resented him for not having been present in his life. He returns to Taiwan without having resolved the conflict with his son.
Ten years later in Taiwan in 2009, Houcheng suffers a stroke. At the urging of his family, Jiawang goes to Taiwan, perhaps to see his father for the last time. While in his father's home in Taiwan, Jiawang discovers forty years worth of unsent letters (due to the ongoing Civil War) written to his mother, expressing his futile desire to return home. Jiawang realizes that, unlike what he thought, his father had never forgotten about them. With the new discovery, the misunderstanding was resolved. The film ends with Houcheng passing away peacefully in his sick bed, imagining his return to his hometown of 1949, reuniting with his first wife.