Creating a Unique Lesbian Love Story — An Interview with Su I-Hsuan, Director of Who’ll Stop the Rain
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This article is part of the 54th issue of LEAP — Voices of Youth e-letter. Subscribe now.
In recent years, there has been a growing presence of LGBTQ themes in films and television series both in Taiwan and abroad. However, if a closer look is taken, it’s not hard to find how male characters often take the forefront, leaving stories featuring lesbian characters in the minority. In late October, a Taiwanese film about student activism and lesbian romance, Who’ll Stop the Rain, premiered in theaters, receiving wide praise from young audience members.
Who’ll Stop the Rain is set in early 1990s Taiwan, just after martial law was lifted. As society gradually opened up, there was an increase in protest movements.
The film follows Chi-Wei, a freshman in the art department who leaves her hometown for university. Amidst an increasingly open socio-political background, she becomes involved in a student protest for “creative freedom” within her department. Through the course of the protests, Chi-Wei meets fellow student activists and develops a friendship with Qing, the girlfriend of the student council president. Eventually, a relationship beyond friendship blossoms between them.
Marking the directorial debut of Su I-Hsuan, Who’ll Stop the Rain quickly gained popularity among young audiences and received two nominations at the 60th Golden Horse Awards. Furthermore, it was selected for the Rotterdam International Film Festival in December and will be screened during the festival early next year. Su emphasized that this film is a work that “expresses her personality.”
Taking a Stand Against the Patriarchy
When asked why she wanted to make a lesbian romance film in the competitive movie market, Su expressed that rather than simply telling a lesbian story, she wanted to present her resistance against the patriarchy through film, stating, “If two girls are together, it seems to convey this message more effectively.”
Su mentioned that public attention to gender issues began in Taiwan in the 1990s. This was marked by incidents, such as the May 22nd Anti-Sexual Harassment Parade, the first protest initiated by women against sexual harassment, and the shocking charcoal-burning suicide of two students from Taipei First Girls High School. Both of these incidents serve as the background for Who’ll Stop the Rain.
(Note): The charcoal-burning suicide incident of the students of Taipei First Girls High School (TFG) happened in 1994. Two students from TFG were reported to have committed charcoal-burning suicide in a hotel in Yilan County. News reports at the time speculated that their suicide was related to their lesbian identities.
Deeply influenced by student activism, when Su reflected on her own experiences, she stated that student activism is a “very masculine field.” Therefore, she wanted to integrate her life experiences into her work, demonstrating her resistance to the patriarchy. For example, the film depicts the negotiation process between the student council president, Ah-Guang, and school authorities during the student movement. It subtly conveys expectations for everyone to follow his instructions, demanding that his girlfriend, Qing, fulfill her “supporting” role.
At the end of the movie, as Qing can no longer bear Ah-Guang’s expectations of her and how he took advantage of her family’s political background, their relationship ultimately fails. Su pointed out that this was an intentional arrangement in the plot to highlight how the president of the student council attempted to dominate in the public domain but still faced defeat in personal relationships.
Telling a Unique Lesbian Story
When discussing the characterization of the two female protagonists in the movie, Su I-Hsuan explained that the widely liked character, Qing, is modeled after the renowned Taiwanese lesbian literature writer, Qiu Miaojin (1969–1995). “She’s kind of a hipster who suffers from depression and has issues of her own.”
In 1990s Taiwan, even as societal attitudes gradually became more liberal, Qiu, considered one of the representatives of queer literature, often wrote about the struggles and crises the LGBTQ+ community faced in a patriarchal society. In 1995, at the age of 26, Qiu took her own life in her apartment when she was studying in France.
During the scriptwriting process that spanned several years, Su mentioned that she initially contemplated giving Qing a tragic ending. However, with Taiwan legalizing same-sex marriage in 2019, she felt the times were changing. She asked herself, “Even though I’m portraying a queer story from thirty years ago, should I still place it in the conditions of that time?”
In the characterization of both protagonists, Su integrated aspects of contemporary society, allowing her to break free from the established framework of Taiwanese society three decades ago. Chi-Wei doesn’t consciously contemplate whether the affection between the same sex is “normal” but follows her inner feelings. “For example, she never asked, ‘I was kissed by a girl, so do I like girls? Is that normal?’”
“Chi-Wei quite often decides what she wants based on her feelings,” she said.
In addition to the romantic relationship between the two female protagonists as one of the main themes of the film, Su also attempts to depict the connection between students fighting for artistic freedom and this romantic relationship. “Loving someone is similar to fighting for artistic freedom,” Su added. “Your sexual orientation, whom you want to love, is not something that society can easily change.”
However, she also pointed out that the open-ended conclusion of the film allows viewers to interpret it freely. “I don’t think the two ending up together guarantees a happily ever after. They may still have many challenges to overcome.”
“Who’ll stop the rain?”
Blending a lesbian love story amidst a backdrop of student protests, Su’s depiction of resistance is also reflected in the movie’s title. She notes that the film is titled Who’ll Stop the Rain, which is inspired by the song of the same name by Creedence Clearwater Revival. “At that time, they wrote the song to protest the Vietnam War, using rain as a metaphor for bullets.”
She explains that the song resonates with the background of the students’ protests in the film, saying, “During that time, it was the rainy season in Taiwan. I wanted the rain to symbolize the pressure of society. How we face the rain is something we can decide for ourselves.”
Through Who’ll Stop the Rain, Su presents a rare theme to the audience, focusing on women’s issues and resistance against the patriarchy. Su mentions that, “These three characters (Qing, Chi-Wei, and Ah-Guang) are all a part of me. I think this film is an expression of my personality and my questions about gender issues, the entire authoritarian structure, and revolution.”
She also shares that in the future, she plans to continue incorporating elements of diverse gender identities into her works, seamlessly presenting them before the eyes of her audience, allowing them to understand that individuals, whether gay, lesbian or on any side of the gender spectrum, are natural and inherent.
Also in This Issue: When Lesbians Are No Longer Just Depicted as Cat-loving Hipsters
Recently, the LGBTQ community has been more represented in Taiwanese society. But why are lesbians still less visible compared to gay men?
Author : Evelyn Yang
Freelance journalist exploring gender and public issues.
