Blood brotherhood and <i>bromance</i> in Taiwan cinema

Abstract The rejection of Mou Tun-fei’s End of Track (late 1960s), an ‘invisible’ film, never distributed, proves to what extent the themes it tackled (homosexuality, class difference, nihilism) were taboo for an entire generation. Banana Paradise (1980s) deals with the way two brothers in arms survive by usurping the identity of deceased comrades and eventually living in a society in exile tainted by the memory of the continent. Finally, Gf/Bf (2000s) develops themes that were once censored (homosexuality, democratization) and which resurface through the lens of a love triangle. Despite their heterogeneity, these films allow us to draw a history of this fraternal relationship in ambiguous and dissonant contexts. Through three films from different periods, I trace the evolution over time of the representation of friendship between men, an evolution that reveals a ‘paradigm shift’ within Taiwanese society itself.