Love in Chilly Spring (1979)

One of Taiwan's legendary singers, the late songstress Feng Fei-fei made her silver-screen debut in 1979 in this wartime romantic melodrama set in the mountains of Yilan during the final days of World War II. Young and free-spirited Shiow-lan (Feng) falls in love at first sight with Charng-rong, a worker at her father's lumber mill. She likes to sing, he likes to write music. With their parents' approval, the two decide to get married but their plans are thwarted by Japanese lieutenant Yokoyama who has set his eyes on Shiow-lan. Yokoyama drafts Charng-rong and sends him to war in Southeast Asia where almost certain death awaits. The movie was one of the few literary and artistic films by Chen Chun-liang. It was also the first movie that was restored by the Taiwan Film Institute via public fundraising in Taiwan. Although the movie had the icing of a melodramatic story on the outside, its core was full of patriotic passion against Taiwan's colonial master Japan.