Unit
831 was sort of like the USO, except they managed a brothel to keep the early
1960s Nationalist Chinese Military’s morale high. There were not comfort women.
It was more complicated than that. A young enlisted man will learn just how
complicated in Doze Niu Chen-zer’s Paradise
in Service (trailer
here),
co-produced by none other than Hou Hsiao-hsien, which screens during the 2015 Seattle International Film Festival.
Lo
Pao-tai has the physique to be a frogman, but he literally cannot swim to save
his life. Washing out of the Sea Dragons training program, he is transferred to
serve out his remaining mandatory term of enlistment at a local Unit 831
brothel. His first day will be quite an eye-opening experience for the naïve young
man. However, in his new assignment, he will periodically meet and greet some
of his former comrades, including the grizzled Sergeant-Major Chang Yung-shen. In
fact, he will see quite a bit of the veteran sergeant, since he has fallen for
Chiao, a.k.a. Number 8, the top girl at Lo’s “teahouse.”
Unfortunately,
Chiao is a bit of a game-player, whereas Ni-ni is the exact opposite. She came
to work at the teahouse under rather tragic circumstances. She and Lo soon
become friends, but not yet with benefits. Their courtship will be a slow
business that often must be deferred by more pressing Unit 831 business.
Yes,
there is probably no better place to come of age in a hurry than a military cat
house. While Niu makes it plenty clear just what goes on there, the vibe of the
film is strangely innocent. In a way, its concerns are not so very different
than Neil Simon’s Biloxi Blues, but
can you imagine how delighted his sex-obsessed Eugene Jerome analog would have
been with this sort of service detail?
The
time capsule-like period details of Paradise
are often quite eye-opening. The idea of armed conflict with the Communists
was hardly idle speculation for the military stationed on Quemoy, where each
side constantly blasted propaganda through loud speakers at each other. There
is definitely a sense that both sides are in a not so “Cold” War staring
contest.
While
the setting of a military brothel could easily lend itself to comedy (“no time
for procurers”), Niu plays it achingly straight, often diving into pure
melodrama. However, the cast sells it like an ensemble of champions. Ethan Ruan
has never been better as the innocent Lo, developing some deeply felt chemistry
with Regina Wan Qian’s Ni-ni. She is also terrifically sensitive yet restrained
as the inherently respectable prostitute. Like a Taiwanese Tommy Lee Jones,
Chen Jianbin rock solidly anchors the film as the gruff but vulnerable
sergeant, while Miao Ke-li steals scene after scene as Cher, the older,
brassier working woman.
