Hit Taiwan movie tackles Asian taboos

Comedy bromance between homophobic cop, gay ghost reflects increasingly liberal society

TAIPEI -- "After the same-sex marriage bill was passed, we suddenly felt that we could be together for a lifetime," a gay ghost tells his human husband, a handsome and heavily muscled policeman, in the groundbreaking Taiwanese movie "Marry My Dead Body."

This is a line that could not have been delivered before 2019, when Taiwan became the first -- and until now, the only -- Asian government to legalize same-sex marriage. In January, sexual minority rights took another step forward when President Tsai Ing-wen's Democratic Progressive Party administration moved to recognize gay marriages between Taiwanese and non-Taiwanese partners, even when such unions are banned in the foreign partner's native country.

The comedy reflects Taiwan's efforts to carve out an identity as a liberal and progressive democracy, while simultaneously confronting conservative local views on social issues such as gender stereotyping.

"This is a movie that could only appear after [Taiwan's] gay marriage law was passed. The background of the movie is not just imagination; it's reality. This is Taiwan's progress," award-winning film director Cheng Wei-hao told Nikkei Asia.

"There may still be divisions and rifts in society, but I believe there's a 'power' -- through this movie -- that has led to a new beginning, which allows everyone to listen to the voice of the other side, and be inclusive."

Against this background, "Marry My Dead Body," a romantic action-comedy bromance released in February, has broken local records for LGBT-themed movies, becoming the first to exceed 100 million New Taiwanese dollars ($3.2 million) in box-office revenues. It had made $11.1 million by the end of March.

The film combines scenes of friendship, family and love with bullets, racing cars, police investigations, drug cartels and supernatural activities, focusing on gay ghost Mao Mao, killed in a car crash, who was active in campaigning for gay rights, the environment and animal rights.

The ghostly Mao marries homophobic policeman Wu Ming-han, played by Greg Hsu, who mistakenly picks up a red envelope containing a "ghost marriage" proposal -- a Taiwan tradition in which families seek husbands for dead daughters, forcing men who open such envelopes into marriages with their deceased children. Mao's beloved grandmother tells Wu he must marry her grandson or be cursed.

Mao gradually transforms his narcissistic cop husband. The pair become friends and work together to capture the culprit behind Mao's car crash, who turns out to be a drug boss whom Wu and his colleagues are trying to arrest.

The film also addresses female stereotypes. "How can you see through a 'vase' at one glance?" asks cop-turned-villain Lin Tzu-ching (played by actress Gingle Wang), referring to the Chinese slang term "vase" for attractive but simple women. In the film, Lin suffers institutional discrimination in the police force and takes her revenge by joining the criminal drug gang, which she ultimately also betrays.

In one humorous scene, Mao's family presents skin care products during his ghost marriage with Wu, playing on the (exaggerated) importance of appearance to Mao, and to gay people in general.

"Marry My Dead Body" concludes with an emotional display of family love and friendship as Wu abandons his homophobia in the face of his growing platonic feelings for Mao. The dead man's father's love for his gay son is also beautifully illustrated at the end.

As well as challenging conservative social views in Taiwan, the core themes of the movie -- gay marriage and discrimination against women -- are at odds with attitudes in other ethnic Chinese-dominated cultures, such as in both China and Singapore, where gay marriage is banned and women are largely absent from the highest echelons of power.

The movie "has everything that defines Taiwan's youth culture today -- social justice, the environment, gender and women's rights, the generational divide and learning to deal with the differences within society," said Taiwanese podcaster Emily Y. Wu.

"Nothing in the movie is about China or Taiwan's relations with China. As the plot shows, many in this country are working towards improving our society without being defined by neighboring China," said Wu. "It doesn't mean we don't care about Chinese threats; we should be prepared. But Taiwan is so much more than being a country harassed by China. We have so many facets of life that's beyond this threat," she commented.

Communist China has never ruled Taiwan but claims it as its own territory. Under Chinese President Xi Jinping, Beijing has stepped up military aggression and hostility against the Taiwanese. Xi last year vowed never to renounce the use of force to take control of its democratic neighbor.

Local reviews have been largely supportive of the film, in spite of the challenge it poses to Taiwanese who struggle with rapidly changing social mores.

As a couple, Mao and Wu are forced to confront myriad challenges in their professional, family and romantic lives, said a review in the Taipei Times. "They both harbor stereotypical beliefs about people of each other's sexual orientation, and the scenes of their daily interaction and eventual mutual understanding, while cheesy at points, are hilarious and poignant."

Taipei-based CommonWealth Magazine said the movie "does not preach social issues to you, but subtly touches your heart through a realistic portrayal [of Taiwan society] combined with crazy laughter and tears."

Cheng said the film's use of contemporary language, contexts and social issues reflect a unique Taiwanese identity that is framed with a sense of humor.

"I have always wanted to make an action-comedy, and during the discussion with the screenwriter, I decided to develop the film in a comic atmosphere of binary opposition between a straight policeman and a dead gay man," said Cheng, adding that he wanted to confront established stereotypes.

"No matter what gender or sexual orientation, we are all the same when it comes to love," Cheng said, "This is a movie about two buddies."

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