Logline
A boy with unusual vision who believes he is on Mars stumbles into a nationwide feast of education anxiety. Is he a manufactured prodigy, or an innocent oddball?
The Boy from Mars
Creative Statement
In an age of nationwide education anxiety, who wants their child to fall behind? This is a fable about a simple, unusual boy colliding with the noisy adult world. The competitive adventure is like a miniature of our own growing up, and it also deepens the parent-child relationship in the story. Mother and son move from dependence, restriction and conflict to finally understanding each other, letting each other become an independent "person" able to love the world. The Boy from Mars draws on several genres: adventure, comedy, fantasy, and even satire. Visually it will blend realism with stylised spectacle, like a dream, a little playful and always accompanied by danger...
Synopsis
Xingxing is a naturally dreamy ten-year-old who keeps saying he sees Martians at night. He is mocked as a freak, yet thinks everyone likes him. His single mother, Zhang Lin, counts every penny to get by and has no time for her son's social problems. Zhang Lin's best friend Zhou Lili takes her son Wang Chen to the auditions for "Super Kids", and Xingxing, who goes along, unexpectedly wins recognition for his own "superpower". Xingxing wants to enter the contest to prove himself, and Zhang Lin also thinks this may be her son's chance to overtake others on the bend. So mother and son set out on an adventure to turn their fortunes around. The children show off their skills under their parents' guidance. With help from the eccentric scientist Lu Fei, Xingxing unlocks his ability: in the dark he sees objects glow orange-yellow and can judge how hot they are by the depth of the colour. Having mastered the trick, Xingxing stands out in one challenge after another. His "Mars stories" spread across the internet, and he becomes the briefly famous "Boy from Mars". Zhang Lin, now proud, strikes while the iron is hot and takes Xingxing into high society, where they see the world of elite education. Wang Chen places in the contest but is forgotten. Zhou Lili, who helped out of kindness at first, resents this and copies Xingxing's formula for success, turning Wang Chen into the "Boy from Uranus" to replace Xingxing. A "child prodigy" cannot lose, so Zhang Lin crams Xingxing with training. The two mothers even make up stories for their children to meet their fans' expectations... But this endless competition finally breaks the children down. Accusations that mother and son are "manufacturing a star to make money" come pouring in, and their once-close relationship is on the verge of falling apart... Xingxing finally realises that his mother never believed his "Mars stories", and for the first time he runs away from her...
-
Genre:
Drama, Comedy, Fantasy -
Director/Screenwriter:
Chen Yu-chieh (Taiwan, China)
-
Producer:
Feng Fangfang