????OSCAR-WINNING director Ang Lee brought his latest movie “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” to his native Taiwan on Wednesday, a war drama the filmmaker has sought to turn into a strikingly immersive experience. ????The film, about a young U.S. private returning home for a victory tour following a battle in Iraq, was produced for a 3-D presentation in 4-K with a high frame rate of 120 per second. ????Newcomer Joe Alwyn plays the protagonist in the film, based on the novel of the same name, and the cast includes Vin Diesel, Chris Tucker and Kristen Stewart. ????“The whole thing was so special. The chance to work with a director like Ang at any stage of anyone’s career would be the most amazing opportunity,” Alwyn said. “For it to come around for me so early on with such a groundbreaking film, which is trying to do so much and push boundaries, is incredible.” ????Lee, known for “Life of Pi” and “Brokeback Mountain,” told reporters at the premiere in Taipei that he hoped “everyone will love this movie” despite not all cinemas able to show it in its groundbreaking format. “I hope that everyone can happily embrace a new kind of experience,” he said. ????The movie will open in China on Nov. 11. However, most Chinese audiences currently have little chance to see the novel format due to the high demands of special equipment. ????Lee said in an interview with Taiwanese media in early September that the film had humbled him as a veteran filmmaker. ????“The filming process was extremely painful,” Lee said. “It was the unprecedent filming experience and we had to deal with issues in unexpected areas with no precedents to follow.” ????Lee said he would use the same format and scale for his next film, “Thrilla in Manila,” about the third and final chapter in the boxing confrontation between the late Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. ????The world premiere of “Billy Lynn” was set for the New York Film Festival on Oct. 14. However, the film did not win much high praise as expected. ????The problem, though, is Lee’s use of the advanced 3-D technology and faster frame rate, which eliminates the veneer of traditional film and is supposed to bring the audience closer to the action on screen. Instead, either due to flaws in the storytelling or perhaps from the experimental technology itself, the audience seemed less engaged than would be the case with traditional film. ????Lee, who participated in a Q&A following a screening in Los Angeles in October, recognized the challenge he was presenting to audiences. ????“This technology exposes what we don’t know,” he said. “I know I’m not good enough for this and I’m two years ahead of the audience. You all are just getting started. There is no reference here so I call it a baby. And the technology is still pretty clumsy. It’s very inconvenient.” ????Still, Lee finds this hyper-real environment invigorating. The filmmaker, who first experimented with 3-D in his 2012 Oscar winner “Life of Pi,” wanted to go deeper with the technology, using it for dramatic effect, especially focused on close-ups. ????And after a frustrating year trying to get a boxing film made, Lee turned his attention to Fountain’s novel, convinced that the acerbic, satirical book could benefit from the new aesthetic he was experimenting with — especially the giant half-time show (featuring an odd Destiny’s Child re-enactment complete with their song “Soldier,” but not group members Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, or Michelle Williams) toggled with Bravo Company’s climatic battle with insurgents in Iraq. ????To get there, he had to recalibrate the actors’ performances, which included turns from Stewart, Diesel, and Steve Martin, hounding them to focus on the genuine and eliminating make-up and much artificial lighting to highlight the real. ????“Once I passed 60 frames, my relationship with movies changed. It’s really unknown territory for me and for the audience. It’s quite frightening,” says Lee. “It’s not that different in principal to those boys being thrown into battlefield for the first time. You feel very vulnerable.”(SD-Agencies) | 