The poster of the film "Monga"[Photo: travel.cri.cn]

If you get a chance to go to Taipei, Ximending, the shopping district in the Wanhua District, would be a great place to visit. Would you like to see what Ximending was like in the 1980s? The action movie "Monga" can show you through a story of street gangs and friendships.

Monga refers to the oldest quarter of the Wanhua District in Taipei. The story is set in the mid-'80s. Mosquito (Mark Chao), Monk (Ethan Ruan), Dragon (Rhydian Vaughan), Monkey and A-Po are high school students who are members of "Gang of Princes." The five teenagers hate being pushed around and enjoy their gangster lifestyles. They plan to take over as the 'top dogs' on the streets of Monga. They are so naive and arrogant however that they don't know their power is from Dragon's father--Gata, who is one of Monga's old Triad bosses. He considers it his duty to teach the youngsters the laws of gangsterdom and brotherhood, and tells them about the legacy handed down by Monga's founders. But a new gang arrives, armed with an arsenal of handguns, and is about to change forever the little world where the "Gang of Princes" have declared their turf.

Director Doze Niu praises the friendship of the five young men. In the first half of the film, we can feel their joy - as they take to the streets in gang fights, the audience doesn't feel disgusted by the violence. On the contrary, it looks beautiful, with slow motion and light music. After they kill Dog Boy, a punk in another gang, by mistake, however, they begin to realize they are grown-ups and must take responsibility for their actions. "They go into the adult world and never come back," as the director said.

All at the same age, each man is simultaneously reaching a crossroads in life. When Monk chooses what he thinks is the best way forward, his friends treat it as a betrayal of Geta. At last, Monk and Mosquito realize that friendship is more important than the gangster lifestyle.

One weakness in this movie was the way Mosquito overreacted to Geta's death. Although he treated Geta as his father, the director didn't seem to put much emphasis on how their relationship developed. It seemed Mosquito overacted to the accident.

"Monga" opened in Taiwan on February 5, 2010, grossing 260,000 U.S. dollars on the first day and 1.85 million dollars on its opening weekend. It has been chosen to represent the films of Taiwan to compete for a spot in the Best Foreign-Language Film category at the 83rd Academy Awards.

Why is the film so popular?

First of all, "Monga" has a strong local feel. The movie was filmed on location and features landmarks such as Longshan Temple, Snake Alley, Bopiliao and Ximending. It portrays a typical night market of Taiwan, local cuisine and the daily life. Additionally, much of the dialogue in this film is in Hokkien.

Second, Doze Niu, the director, is an expert storyteller. He chose a theme attractive to young people and added an air of nostalgia by using yellow and a bit of green as the main colors for the film.

Third, Ethan Ruan and Mark Chao starred in the film, helping to raise its profile. Ruan did a good job of acting as the self-contradictory mind of Monk when Monk must make a choice between his friends and the gangster life.

To sum up, I don't think "Monga" tells us a gangster story but a memory of the youthful days, with a tone of deep nostalgia.