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The
Story About SiˇDMamnno , Shiang-Chu Tang's Movie
"How Deep is the Ocean" is a 16mm documentary. Director Tang
took two years to become integrated with an Orchid Island
village, and documents the life of a local youth, Si-Mamnno.
In the film Si-Mamnno is 40 years old. He left Orchid Island in
his teens to seek employment on the mainland of Taiwan, and at
17 entered the world of organized crime and gang wars.
At 34 he had a stroke, from which his doctor said he would never
recover. Following local custom, the people of his village
arranged to bring him home once more before his death.
Unable to move of his own volition, Si-Mamnno sat alone on his
porch every day. But the sight of the ocean a kilometer away
stirred something within him, drawing him towards it. He slowly
began moving towards the sea. At first he could only take a few
stumbling steps before collapsing, but after a year of effort he
crossed the distance and entered the water. |
