On the train 南方，寂寞鐵道
TAIWAN｜2023｜DOCUMENTARY｜106 mins
DIRECTOR: Chu-chen Hsiao 蕭菊貞
★Busan International Film Festival 2022
Synopsis
In the early Taiwan there was a dense railroad system, making Taiwan once called the “Kingdom of Railroad”. Almost all villages were formed along it. In this railroad system, the last built railroad was the South Link Line, as it was located in the southernmost tip and the most remote area of the island.
The South Link Line shuttles between high mountains and the spectacular Pacific Ocean. Due to its rugged topography and sparse population, this distinctive terrain created not only breathtaking scenery but extremely difficult constructions, which eighty percent of the mountainous areas are tunnels and viaducts. Therefore, behind its beauty and splendor, perils and loneliness loom over.
Director Hsiao and production team spent five years making this documentary and exploring the stories of the engineers who built the South Link Line, the three generations engine drivers who are fathers and sons, passing on their spirits and guarding the railroad. Fortunately, Director Hsiao recorded the last magnificent and unsophisticated features in time before the electrification of this railroad. Almost all of the old trains and platforms in the documentary have become history and no longer exist.
Before the final operation of the old trains, we have witnessed a influx of people into the desolate railroad, waving goodbye as if a farewell ceremony, while bringing back their collective memories of growing up, and the romance of their own youth.
台灣早年曾經有綿密且多元的鐵路系統，甚至曾經被稱為鐵道王國，許多城鎮的聚落發展幾乎都是沿著鐵道而成形。其中環島鐵路系統最後通車的南迴鐵路，擁有依山傍海的鐵道美景，但也因為沿線地形險峻和人煙稀少，工程困難度最高，而成為台灣最危險的鐵道。
導演用了五年多的拍攝時間，挖掘當年興建這段鐵路的艱辛過程，和前線鐵道員父子傳承守護鐵道的故事，並在這段鐵路電氣化前，記錄下它最原始單純的地景。如今紀錄片中的老火車和月台樣貌，幾乎都已成為歷史。消失的不會再回來，也最讓我們難忘，當人們湧入原本寂寥的南迴鐵路，再次坐上藍皮普快車時，彷佛不是告別過去，而是在南方時光列車上，再次與自己的青春相遇，也找回了在台灣成長的共同記憶。
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