Gymnastics and gangsterism collide in this ode to following one’s passion. As a young teen, Ashin, solidly played by Eddie Peng (Hear Me, TFD 2010), is enamored of the athletic life; training and competing in gymnastics gives him focus and drive. When family and work responsibilities take him away from this love, Ashin and his best friend Pickle (played by outstanding character actor Lawrence Ko (Honey Pupu, TFD 2011) descend into the rudderless world of street fighting and drugs. Each finds his character tested and some of their actions have disastrous consequences, throwing into question whether they will ever recover. Remarkably based on the true story of director Lin Yu-Hsien’s older gymnast brother, Jump! Ashin fuses moving drama with inventive action and athletic sequences and was a smash hit in Taiwan, playing in theaters for three straight months in 2011.


Written by Kuo-Kuang Wang. Photographed by Shao-Yu Hsia. With Han Dian Chen, Lawrence Ko, Chen-Shi Lin, Eddie Peng. (126 min. In Mandarin with subtitles. Central Motion Picture Corporation)