圖片出處：https://pavilion.taicca.tw/portfolio-item/rungay-2/
《Rungay》片名意為「猴子」，在台灣原住民族的神話與口傳故事中，猴子常象徵人與自然界之間模糊的界線。導演以此命名，不僅是對靈長與人類共生關係的回望，也隱含對族群記憶、生命循環與靈魂歸返的探問。
影片開場，主角Temu在叢林中追逐名為Silin的人影。鏡頭沉靜而厚重，奠定了全片關於「生與死」、「世代與思念」的核心情感。現實裡，Temu是一位臥病在床、被繩索固定四肢的老人；照護他的女兒因婚姻破裂而返家。她在照護與重擔之間，試圖重新界定家庭的歸屬。片頭那名在夢境中被追逐的Silin。
最令人印象深刻的橋段，是女兒手持地契，懇求父親將老家留給她，而Temu堅拒不從。這一幕揭露了原鄉中真實且普遍的長照與土地繼承困境。父女之間的爭執，不只是財產的分配，更是對「家」與「土地」意義的歧見。當女兒輕聲說出「Silin還在就好了」，觀眾能感受到那份破碎家庭中無以言說的遺憾與牽絆，我個人非常有共鳴。
而片中的「靈猴」登場自然且不突兀，與Temu靈魂出竅時的幻境交織成詩。當他在靈界道路上遇見狗的狂吠、逐漸年輕的自己，以及深林中的白骨，這些意象組成一場生命回溯的旅程。導演曾提到，他相信外公的靈魂若能離體，必然以最年輕健壯的姿態重返山林。最終，Temu追隨靈猴，走入深林，看見遠方的白骨與那似是而非的身影或許是Silin，也是他思念最深的人。當中還是可以看到導演對土地販售、家園流失等議題的憂思。
導演以此片紀念至親，並提出「人若回到自然，最終會變成猴子」的思考。雖然此句帶有進化論式的想像，但若對照太魯閣族神話，猴子其實象徵人類偏離祖靈教誨後的懲罰與轉化，是文化倫理的警世寓言。若導演能更深入對應這層文化脈絡，將能使影片的文化厚度更為深刻。
配樂設計上，每當靈異或出竅場景出現時，配樂中即響起鈴聲與缽音。這雖符合通俗電影語彙，但在族語文化脈絡中顯得略為失真。若能以部落自身的音樂符號或自然聲景取代，將更能貼近影片的精神與文化底色。
整體而言，《Rungay》不僅是導演對外公的思念之作，更映照出台灣原住民族青年面對長輩離世、文化凋零與土地流失的時代縮影。
我最喜愛的畫面，是Temu靈魂在山林中俯瞰部落的瞬間。那不只是對家園的凝視，更是一種尋找歸屬的凝問，這份凝望，也許正是《Rungay》最溫柔而深刻的靈魂。
題外話，Rungay在太魯閣語意思除了「猴子」，也有「掙扎」的意思，或許冥冥之中成為電影的一部份。
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The title Rungay means “monkey.” In the mythology and oral traditions of Taiwan's Indigenous peoples, monkeys often symbolize the blurred boundary between humans and the natural world. By choosing this title, the director not only reflects on the coexistence of primates and humans but also contemplates collective memory, the cycle of life, and the return of the soul.
The film opens with the protagonist Temu chasing a figure named Silin through the forest. The camera's quiet, weighty tone establishes the core emotions of the film—life and death, generations and longing. In reality, Temu is an elderly man confined to bed, his limbs bound by ropes. His daughter, who has returned home after a broken marriage, takes care of him while struggling with the burdens of care and the meaning of family. The Silin who is chased in the dream represents the lingering shadow of loss.
The most striking scene comes when the daughter, holding the land deed, pleads with her father to leave the family house to her—but Temu refuses. This moment exposes the very real and widespread challenges of elder care and land inheritance in Indigenous communities. Their argument is not merely about property division but about the conflicting meanings of home and land. When the daughter quietly murmurs, “If only Silin were still here,” the audience can feel the unspoken grief and bond within a broken family—a moment that resonated deeply with me.
The “spirit monkey” appears naturally, woven seamlessly into Temu's out-of-body experience. As he journeys through the spirit realm, encountering barking dogs, his younger self, and skeletal remains deep in the forest, these images form a poetic journey of life's retrospection. The director has said he believes that if his grandfather's soul could leave the body, it would return to the mountains in its strongest and most youthful form. In the end, Temu follows the spirit monkey into the forest, where he sees bones gleaming in the distance and a faint figure—perhaps Silin, or perhaps the one he misses most. Beneath these visions lies the director's reflection on land sales and the loss of ancestral homes.
The director made this film in memory of a loved one, posing the question: “If humans return to nature, do we ultimately become monkeys?” Though this line may sound Darwinian, in Truku mythology the monkey actually symbolizes the punishment and transformation of humans who stray from the teachings of the ancestral spirits—a moral parable of cultural ethics. Had the director engaged more deeply with this layer of meaning, the film's cultural depth would have been even richer.
In terms of sound design, each supernatural or out-of-body scene is accompanied by bells and bowl tones. While this aligns with the cinematic language of the supernatural, it feels somewhat detached from the Indigenous cultural context. Replacing these with local musical elements or natural soundscapes would have brought the film closer to its spiritual and cultural essence.
Overall, Rungay is not only a tribute to the director's late grandfather but also a portrait of Indigenous youth in Taiwan confronting the loss of elders, the decline of culture, and the erosion of ancestral land.
My favorite scene is when Temu's spirit gazes down upon the village from the mountains. That moment is more than a look back at home—it is a question of belonging. This quiet gaze may well be the most tender and profound soul of Rungay.
As a side note, Rungay in the Truku language means not only “monkey” but also “struggle,” perhaps unknowingly becoming an intrinsic part of the film itself.
