The Taiwanese drama Family Matters 我家的事 opens innocently enough. The birds are chirping in a rural village setting in Changhua County. From there, director and screenwriter Pan Ke-yin takes viewers inside the working-class family home. There, the father (Lan Wei-hua) encourages his daughter use her crayons to colour scenes that she has never seen before. Mom (Kao Yi-ling) looks on lovingly, before suddenly feeling nausea and rushing off to the bathroom.
It’s clear that the mother is pregnant, suggesting that this nuclear family will soon grow larger and perhaps even happier. But alas, life sometimes throws unexpected surprises at nuclear families, along with disappointments. And it’s not unusual for members to keep their deepest and darkest secrets to themselves.
Family Matters 我家的事 is exceptional in how it plumbs these depths in four “matters” laid out as chapters over a 24-year period. Through these episodes, director Pan depicts how each family member addresses a life-altering challenge with plot turns that offer repeated yet authentic surprises. Each of the major characters is named after a season—Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter—creating a beautiful symmetry.
LNY Splash screens Family Matters
There is some luscious cinematography and the acting is outstanding. Every major cast member received nominations for their acting at both the Taipei Film Awards and the Golden Horse Awards.
Kao snared Best Actress at the Taipei Film Awards for her fiery portrayal of the mother. The film won Audience Choice Award. Meanwhile, Tseng Jing-hua captured Best Supporting Actor for his riveting performance as the son at the Golden Horse Awards. Pan won Best Adapted Screenplay
LNY Splash will present Family Matters 我家的事 at 8 p.m. on Monday (February 16) at the VIFF Centre. It’s part of a series of LNY Splash films focusing on families that coincide with Lunar New Year.
In addition, LNY Splash will screen two other films on Monday at the VIFF Centre. The Japanese-French coproduction of Renoir 風葵的夏日物語 (3:15 p.m.), directed by Chie Hayakawa, is about an 11-year-old girl who becomes fascinated by telepathy as her father battles a terminal illness. The other film is A Good Child 好孩子, directed by Ong Kuo Sin 王國燊 (5:45 p.m.). This Singaporean comedy-drama revolves around a drag queen, Jiahao, who returns home after being estranged from the family to help a brother care for their mother with dementia.
LNY Splash will present Family Matters 我家的事 at 8 p.m. on Monday (February 16) at the VIFF Centre. It will be screen in the Lochmaddy Studio Theatre in Taiwanese and Mandarin with English subtitles. For tickets and more information, visit the LNY Splash or VIFF Centre websites. Follow Pancouver on X @PancouverMedia and Instagram @PancouverMedia.
