Movie Review: Rebels of the Neon God (1992)

Adolescent Adventures

Movie: Rebels of the Neon God

Dir: Tsai Ming-liang

There is an instance in Tsai Ming- liang’s Rebels of the Neon God where the mother of an adolescent boy confides to her husband that her kid is the incarnation of the Neon god, who is known for rebelling against his own father Lee-chin. This story doesn’t have any hold on the narrative of the movie, it’s just that it provides a hint into the rebellious nature of the young people in action.

This coming-of-age drama is as much the story of the young Ah ping--who is not content either with his school life or his shadow-like and lacklustre existence of staying with his parents—as it is the story of Ah Tze, an energetic lad who revvs away on his motorcycle. A minor hormonal error committed by Ah Tze triggers an already disturbed Ah Ping to break free from the commitments he had towards his family. Ah Ping, who had the air of a not-so-confident boy throughout the movie having his revenge on the boisterous Ah Tze towards the end of the movie and his act of killing a cockroach with a drawing compass, and the looks of jealousy in his eyes whenever he sees Ah Tze with this lady are all hinting at how lonely he actually is. Tsai Ming-liang once told in an interview of how he was avoided by his fellowmen back in school, and how he started enjoying his own company by literally stopping to talk to anyone. Ah Ping might have a bit of Tsai in him too, who knows.

There’s not one dialogue that seems to be jutting out or inappropriate, and even the recorded score of the film is used with care. An occasional tempo-like beat seems to be the only use of composed sound all through its length. The setting of the film is so organic that humour springs from nowhere in a scene where Ah Ping masquerades a frenzied tremble to act like he is incarnation of the Neon God in front of his parents. And when we prepare ourselves to laugh for this, the father throws a plate at his son bringing back the tension which was eased for a moment.

In the end, we don’t know about the fate of the youngsters in the movie, but we know enough about them to be content with. Rebels of the Neon God has enough adventures and moments in its belly, making it a fine coming-of-age movie.

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