Tobias Klich

Prayer for Taiwan

video / audiovisual composition for Lâm-koán ensemble (2020-24), 6 min.

“Prayer for Taiwan” is an audiovisual composition for an ensemble of traditional instruments in the style of Taiwanese lâm-kóan music, consisting of sam-hiân (three-stringed fretless lute), pê (four-stringed lute), phek (tonewoods), siau (vertical flute) and jī-hiân (two-stringed string instrument). The melody appears only in fragments. It is based on the piano piece “A Maiden’s Prayer” by Polish composer Tekla Bądarzewska-Baranowska, published in 1856, which is used as the signature tune for rubbish collection in Taiwan.

The recording took place in the Cihu Memorial Sculpture Park in Taiwan. The fivefold appearance of the musician imitates the arrangement of the Chiang Kai-shek sculptures there. As a result of the critical process of coming to terms with the history of the military dictatorship under Chiang’s rule, many of the Chiang Kai-shek sculptures that had been removed from public spaces have been collected and reinstalled there since 2007. This park – not far from Chiang’s former residence – has thus become a symbol of an ambivalent reappraisal of history.

Concept, composition, film, production: Tobias Klich
Musical interpretation (Lâm-koán ensemble: Samhiân, Pê, Phek, Siau and Jīhiân): HE Yi-Jen
Sound recording, production assistance: CHEN Chengwen

Recordings: February / March 2024
Cihu Memorial Sculpture Park, Taiwan
Treasure Hill Artist Village Taipei, Taiwan

A production by tritonus e.V.

Supported by:
Filmbüro Bremen / nordmedia
Goethe-Institut
stiftung schwule freunde bremen

Screenings

14.11.2024 | Kassel | Kino BALi
41. Kasseler Dokumentarfilm- und Videofest

04.05.2025 | Oberhausen
71. International Short Film Festival Oberhausen 2025 | German Competition

Press commentaries

In „Prayer for Taiwan“ (2024) thematisiert Regisseur Tobias Klich in einer gelungenen Komposition aus Bild und Ton eine historische Aufarbeitung der Militärdiktatur unter dem Machthaber Chiang Kai-shek […]

Daniel Urban | SCHIRN MAG, Magazin für Kunst, Diskurs und Gesellschaft | Mai 2025 | Link

同一、差異與挪用

在外國人眼中，怎麼看待像慈湖紀念雕塑公園這樣的奇特空間？出身德國、同時也是位音樂家的 Tobias Klich 拍攝的《Prayer for Taiwan》（2024），透過有機的剪接，提供出一種幽默的觀點。影片開場，以靠近鏡頭中央的圓形構圖，陸續框取各個蔣中正銅像的手的細部姿態，接著，演奏樂手在後方以模仿前景銅像的手勢，分別手持五種南管樂器（拍、琵琶、簫、三弦、二弦），然後又是連續正面框取各個銅像的臉，後續則以一個 360 度環繞的長拍鏡頭，依次讓演奏中的樂手及其身後散布公園中的銅像入鏡；與此同時，南的樂音則以鬆散的方式，逐漸演奏出〈少女的祈禱〉這首在臺灣每當垃圾車出現必伴隨的曲子。

這部不過五分多鐘的影片重覆出現的特徵，首先是同一跟差異的對比，如同樣都是蔣中正銅像，然而，即便姿勢面容相同，也會在製作上有落差而看得出差異，同時它們也歷經不同環境的風霜而呈現不同的斑駁。因此，當它們被放置同一環境裡呈現出的，更像是一種複音多調的面貌，在 Tobias Klich 的想法中，或許是以樂器合奏的想像去詮釋這樣的狀態，因此讓演奏不同樂器的樂手皆為同一人，卻被合成出現在同一空間。至於本片另外引發我們去想像的概念，則是回收與挪用，如〈少女的祈禱〉原為波蘭女作曲家巴達捷夫斯卡（Tekla Bądarzewska）所做，但在臺灣被用於特定情境下而形塑出不同語境（聽到就曉得垃圾車來了），滲進民眾的日常生活（而在本片亦是特別用貼近庶民傳統的南管樂器演奏）；同樣的，蔣中正銅像在過去作為威權的崇高性象徵，在臺灣民主化後並未完全被拋棄，而是在這座公園裡被回收、挪用，在新環境中產生經過除魅、流露著古怪趣味的（觀光）意象。〈少女的祈禱〉與蔣中正銅像原先屬於外來事物，但在歷經本地風土轉化後、被改造出新用途而共存於新脈絡，反映出的，或許也是臺灣民情看似駁雜粗糙、「借來就用」的務實慣性下，所特有的包容與適應性。

林忠模 | Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute | Juni 2025 | Link

Score

Tobias_Klich_Prayer_for_Taiwan_score