I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

I love this movie so much

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The political framework on which the story hangs is evidently drawn from historical incidents, but the story sucks. The film is a sort of true-crime docudrama of the sort that shows up on TV from time to time. It can't make up its mind whether it wants to be more docu or more drama, and the result is a pretty choppy piece of work.A renowned Chinese professor is assassinated in Chicago and the FBI investigation leads one agent (Van Der Beek) to Taiwan, formerly Formosa, homeland of the now dead scholar. The authorities greet him, promise him observer status, but make it clear he will not carry out any independent investigation. Then they quickly try to shuffle him aside with restaurants and parties. "Enjoy the many pleasures of Taipei." The rest of the film demonstrates that the government of Taiwan is thoroughly corrupt, murderous, lying, greedy, and given to exploitation of the United States. Since the events described are true, or close to it, I'm sympathetic to the native Taiwanese' desire for independence, but the movie is so clumsily written and edited that I was never really sure who they wanted independence from. From the mainland Chinese? They're already independent of the PRC. From the residue of the government of Chiang Kai Shek? That makes more sense. Chiang lost the war against the Chinese communists led by Mao Tse Tung in 1947 and moved what was left of his army to Taiwan, where he became a ruthless dictator. It was like some third world country in Latin America. He was roundly hated by the Taiwanese whom he hadn't yet exterminated. No reason to doubt that, according to some anthropologists I know who did field work on Taiwan during the early 60s. We supported him not because he was the model of a democratic leader but because he wasn't a communist. During the Korean War, General Douglas MacArthur wanted to "unleash" Chiang Kai Shek and let him invade the mainland, which was pretty funny, even at the time.But back to the movie. There are so many threads involved that it's awfully confusing. Van Der Beek's principal contact in Taipei is an embassy official, a woman who is somehow involved in secret deals to buy arms from Nicaragua. The guy who assassinated the professor tries to assassinate Van Der Beek but then changes his mind, decides to testify for the independence movement, and is himself assassinated by parties unknown but probably impolite.I didn't like the acting. Will Tiao as Ming is okay, sympatico in appearance and demeanor. Mintita Wattanakul, a Thai actress, is almost edible. But the audience proxy is poor James Van Der Beek. He cannot act. He lends the movie's center a ligneous presence, a la David Duchovny in "The X Files", which might pass for being cool. But one or two scenes call for outrage and he can't handle it.The direction by Adam Kane is very fashionable and it's terrible. The palette is ghoul green. The camera never stops moving. That's okay for the inevitable chase through an open Chinese market but not for a medium two shot of people trading lines. There are gigantic close ups, for the sight challenged. Van Der Beek is young, handsome, outfitted in tailored suits, his hair perfectly styled and dry blown, and he wears an a la mode day's growth of beard whose density and length don't vary -- no matter if he's spent the night in jail or in a ritzy hotel room. You know, your typical FBI agent who looks exactly like a Hollywood movie star? It's a dumb movie about how bad Chiang's government was, rather in the same way that Richard Gere's "Red Corner" was a dumb piece of anti-Chinese propaganda. (Gere likes Tibet.) It's not impossible to make decent movies about intrigues in exotic lands. "The Killing Fields" managed it, though it was more drama than docu. "The Year of Living Dangerously" gave us another glimpse of how it can be carried off and so, in its own abominable way, did "Casablanca." "The Sorrow and The Pity" was straight docu. It CAN be done, but "Formosa Betrayed" just throws too much information at the viewer, as if anxious to win our sympathy quickly and completely, and in doing so it alienates us. Or me, anyway.

I like this movie. I agree with some people that the scene doesn't look like Taiwan in 80'. It should've been more modern look, but the story is just so good so I can forgive the settings. It reminds us not to forget that we are TAIWANESE, nothing to do with China. We have been using the name "Taiwan" for 100 years, and I am proud of it. We have our own culture, language, food, government, law system, not to mention democracy. How can you deny it is a country and very different from China. It is a shame that still some people don't recognize Taiwan as a independent country, even some Taiwanese, but I appreciate that a lot of people are trying to let people see us and value us.The acting and editing are excellent. Also, the music at the end "Desire for Spring Breeze", the traditional Taiwanese song, just makes me cry.

Formosa Betrayed is an excellent portrayal of the devastating history that the people of Taiwan have endured over the years. A rich and fertile island that has been occupied by foreigners for most of its history, Taiwan's history is entirely unknown to the vast majority of Americans. Thus, this film speaks volumes about the ignorance of many Americans toward the plight of the Taiwanese people who have been seeking independence for centuries, and serves to educate the masses who have the privilege of watching it. History is important, and this film is a first class history lesson and a must see film. As an International Relations major in college, I was struck by the way in which this film depicted injustice in a manner that implicates (and rightly so) the American government as complicit in allowing the oppression of the Taiwanese people. The makers of this film have done an excellent job displaying the effects of power politics at the international level on smaller countries. Taiwan, a nation with a distinct identity separate from mainland China, has just as much of a right to be an independent nation as the United States did when it declared independence from Great Britain. Unfortunately for Taiwan, the United States cares more about its foreign relations with Taiwan's larger neighbor China than it does about promoting justice, as embodied through the independence of Taiwan. This film is made all the more excellent through fantastic performances by its leading actors, especially those of James Van Der Beek, Will Tiao and Wendy Crewson. Furthermore, it's extremely well made, and as a political action thriller it transcends a mere history channel documentary while sacrificing none of the content.

This movie talks about many real events fighting for freedom and democracy in Taiwan in 1947 - 1981. Because this is just a movie, it mixes up the time-line of the real incidents to make the movie more entertaining. People who know the incidents may feel that this movie does not reflect the truth. People who do not know the incidents may not really understand the underlying meanings/incidents of the scene. I strongly recommend that people who do not know the incidents can see the movie first, and then try to search relevant real incidents (like 228 and Kaohsiung Incident), and then see the movie second time to understand and feel more about this movie.