Tropical Fish

Chen Yu-hsun's 1995 Taiwanese film follows a Taipei student under exam pressure. He witnesses a kidnapping and, trying to save the boy, is taken himself; he ends up in the countryside with a strange family of criminals. The humour comes from how ordinary that family is. Nobody takes the ransom plan seriously, the boy joins in the housework and the abduction becomes a holiday; the narrative lowers its own tension deliberately. The second line is the examination system. The boy's mind keeps drifting between questions and fish, and daydream sequences mix into the narrative. It is Chen Yu-hsun's first feature and one of the known examples of nineties Taiwanese comedy. Who it's for: those who like Taiwanese comedy and oddly pitched narratives. Who it's not for: viewers expecting suspense; the film never makes the kidnapping look dangerous.