Best movie of this year hands down!

Very disappointed :(

Excellent but underrated film

Blistering performances.

There is nothing wrong with the story board…a young man got bullied in school and eventually join the gang to protect himself. And then it's the story of his gangster life, brother hood, betrayal, woman… The director try to put the message into the movie through the story, however I don't feel the message comes solid and the it ends up just become a slogan with no meaning. Another thing I don't feel comfortable with the movie is…the costume. To me, the people are more like 60's to 70's dressed. You know… the bell bottom, the skinny shirt, the flower print…. This is nothing reminds me the 80's! Well I ain't no Taiwanese and I don't know the fashion sense in Taiwan in 80's. Maybe was like this there. In conclusion, the story goes smooth but somehow the core message is missing (very weak) and the costume which really confuse you the era takes place.

Monga is directed by Niu Chenze from Taiwan in 2010. This film is based on the mid-1980s in Taiwan as a background. The film related to five young teenagers who just out of school and the experiences of entry the gangsterdom (heishehui). The entire film revolves around brotherhood, interests, fight and conspiracy to develop the story plot. The genre of this film is drama. The story start in Taiwan that a place called Manga. A young boy, Zhouyiwen or mosquito, he was a timidity and kind boy; he has been bullied by others since he was little. He has not a father. Because of a drumstick, he met a several young people who living the gangster life. Also because of a drumstick he began his gangster life. They set up a group called Prince Gang. They often fight on the street, visits brothel and receive protection fees from others. As result of Li Zhilong's father, Geta, is a boss of Temple Front, no one can bully them. As the resentment of elder, they involved in that. Conflict and betrayal leads to them killing each other finally.I want to analyze two character mosquito and Heshang.The lead character, after met his four buddies, and he thought his life has meaningful suddenly. He thought they save his soul and brought a new world for him. In the film, there are have a one scene that is, when they climbed the wall and play truant go to outside, mosquito looked back and without hesitation to jumped the wall. I t seems tell us he wants to say goodbye to his past. This is my favorite place. He just knows the brotherhood is very important to him. He thought His buddies like his brother. Because of them, his life was becoming exciting even leave school he felt not matter. They protected him at school and celebrate his birthday. They help each other, they together do everything. All this, he was deeply moved by them. Compared with them, he is more innocent and kind. He is more like a follower. Just like the lines of film, "the grass flutters in the same direction as the wind blows". From this movie we can clearly see that mosquito aspires to paternal love. He was very envy Zhilong has a good father, he saw zhilong with his father sang a song together affectionate, he was touched by this scene. He cried, he hopes he was Zhilong and Geta was his father. Actually, in his heart, he has been thought Geta was his father. At the Temple Front, he saw Geta lying in the pool of blood, he was collapsed. After Geta dead, he replaced Zhilong attended the funeral. These evidences reflect mosquito was much respected Geta although his emotion was humble. He fell in love with Xiaoning, a hooker; he thought he could tell everything to Xiaoning. Particularly, he discovered the real gangster life is terrible, and the cruel ways of punish to others lead to him felt fear and thought of her as refuge.The other lead character, Heshang, he was clever, he and Zhilong grew up together, , they have exceeded the feelings between brothers. He knew his father's hand was cut off by Geta, he decided to revenged. At the same time, his heart was extremely contradictory. In the movie, when he found the missing Zhilong, he embraced him tightly, and he recalled the picture that he killed the Geta. He burst into tears loudly. He was much regretted. All the remorse in his mind is vent out in this moment. In the film's final, he chose to believe mosquito. Like mosquito said "you thought you goof the gangster life, in fact you goof the friendship and brotherhood". In fact, all of them are not had gangster life, they trust each other and not leave each other. Heshang's confusion, helplessness, sadness, and contradiction also are represents the other four. In this film, there are two lines repeated several times. "I only heard of brotherhood, never heard of meaning". And "If you don't killed them up today, once day you'll be killed". I think these two lines are influences them deeply.In this movie, there are two key points which are yo-yo and Sakura. They appeared many times in this movie. Heshang gave the new yo-yo to mosquito; mosquito was moved and takes this everywhere. He often plays yo-yo, Heshang was wounded, he sat on one side and holds yo-yo until he fell asleep. Mosquito make a nightmare, when he woke up the yo-yo on his pillow. They sat on the dam, the yo-yo issued weak light. In the end, mosquito use the line wanted to kill Heshang. It can be said, this yo-yo is witness their friendship breakdown. The other thing is Sakura, the combination of Sakura and blood is special point in the film. Progress to the end of the film, Heshang's blood spatter in the air and becomes the Sakura, this is mosquito always dreamed of seeing.All the character describing is based the story line, on that way; the story has already reflected the characters' temperament, experience, emotion. In addition, this film has well reflects the characteristics of Taiwan's local, exaggerated bright clothes, the Taiwan dialect and some lifestyle about Taiwan. Meanwhile, also reflects their idea is not very open and feudal, because they think the gun is evil and not accept the new culture. The film uses slow motion and soft music to balance the fight scenes, especially, five teenagers caused the fighting of all turfs in Monga.Overall, Monga has a very strong emotional color. This story is sad and dreary, everyone lose their important emotion. They never have gangster life, they just through the brotherhood to burning their life. This is the confusion of puberty and the pressure of real life to give a special significance.

So this was the hottest flick in Taiwan after it came out, overthrowing Avatar's reign at the box office. After hearing so much about it, I had to go see it... and it was quite good. I have to honestly say I wasn't really expecting too much based on Taiwanese films I'd seen before (disclaimer: I actually haven't seen very much), but this one is very well made, has a great story, and the actors are pretty hot... Takeshi Kaneshiro, watch out!In short, it's about a place called Monga, which I have learned was a port where many mainlanders entered Taiwan from back in the day. In this film, the story takes place in the '70s and '80s and is about a group of friends, part of the Temple Front gang. The narrator of the story, Mosquito (Mark Chao), is invited to be a part of the gang after a silly fight with members of another gang, the Back Alley. Mosquito has grown up without a father and has never had any real friends, so after Monk (Ethan Ruan) and the others take him under their wing, he fully embraces the new lifestyle and there's no turning back. The story has a number of heart-wrenching twists and while it is a drama, there's also a lot of humor which I loved. In the end, it all comes down to the characters trying to balance the harsh realities of a violent gangster life with the honor of friendship and brotherhood.I have no idea when the film will be hitting the U.S., but it has a promising future as it's totally something fresh out of the Taiwanese film industry. As they would say in Taiwan, this film is 紅 ("hong") or red... meaning it's hot!Overall thoughts: Strong acting, engaging story, and a good film to watch with a group of friends!

Monga is a combination gangster story/ Asian male bonding story, which begins by revealing the early delinquent life of a group of boys who eventually make the leap to a full-blown criminal lifestyle. Much of this evolution takes place while the bonds that develop among the youths deepen. The film mostly focuses on three principles in the group. As their exploits become increasingly violent, they eventually join a criminal organization headed by Boss Geta, the leader of a local syndicate, and from there allegiances become more complicated. One of the young men does have an offbeat romance with a prostitute, but otherwise the core of the movie remains focused on the intense relationship between the males in this young gang. A betrayal by one member brings emotions to a fever pitch, but not with any unexpected consequences. While the film is well-acted, this viewer found it just a bit too long, at over 140 minutes. Also, the film strives for sympathy as we eventually watch these young men's lives come to ruin, a sympathy which does not come easily given their penchant for problem-solving through violence. By the end of the film they have long lost their innocence; sympathy from the viewer is not so easily gleaned, even though the film would like us to continue to think of them as wayward youth.