This March, HBO Asia is bringing us a new anthology thriller from Taiwan titled Twisted Strings which also delivers satirical takes on selfishness, greed, and ignorance.
Executive-produced by renowned filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien, with the writing and direction of Huang Xi, Twisted Strings also has an award-winning cast ensemble which includes Lee Kang-sheng, Nikki Hsieh, Yo Yang, Yao Yi-Ti, and Sylvia Chang to name a few!
Check out the trailer and synopsis for the series below:
Twisted Strings follows a series of bizarre deaths happening in Taiping City. Against an eerie atmosphere, Wu Yuenu witnesses the deaths of people around her. A funeral, a missing body, a dangerous game, a kidnapping; real and unreal, these incidents are woven in Yuenu’s memories, converging in the mysterious Sailing Castle.
The name of the series is inspired by a popular Taiwanese nursery rhyme, which contains lyrics that tell the story of a monkey’s life over seven days. Each episode is loosely based on a line from the song.
Before the series premieres on WarnerMedia’s HBO and HBO GO this March 27, we got to virtually sit with its star Lee Kang-sheng for a roundtable interview where the actor talked about his experience working on this thriller. Below are the highlights of the interview:
Lee Kang-sheng on joining the project
Lee Kang-sheng has been known for starring in films such as Stray Dogs, Goodbye Dragon Inn, Rebels of the Neon God, and The Hole. “In the past, all of my movies are mostly very artsy,” said Kang-sheng. “In this TV series, hopefully, the Asian audience would get to see a different style of my performance. And because this series’ genre is a bit like dark humor, I think it would be very refreshing for the rest of the Asian audience.”
The movie star also shared how the script for the series convinced him to join the project. “When I received the full script from the director, I was immediately drawn to it. Typically, reading the full script would take up to two or three days, it only took me one day to finish reading the script.”
For Kang-sheng, the series stands out because of its appealing storyline, and the fact that it gathers an exciting ensemble of stars. “I think this is very appealing to me because of the storyline. I think the storyline gets kind of complicated and there are many actors involved in this production, about twenty-plus actors. That attracted me and pulled me to want to be part of it. I think this is a very fresh and unique production, and I’m very excited to be part of it.”
The parallel worlds of Taiping City
The setting of Twisted Strings is in a fictional city called Taiping, where bizarre things occur. The show opens with a curious-looking marionette monkey walking around its streets and observing the different stories that unfold in the series. According to Kang-sheng, the viewers must look closely to fully understand the show’s unique storyline.
“You need to watch it in detail and be very focused as you’re watching it,” said the actor. “Because many actors play more than one role. Sometimes you might be confused about who is playing who, because the story is happening in a parallel universe. It’s all happening in the same town, so you need to focus and make sure that you don’t miss out on any episode or it will be very hard for you to follow the storyline.”
Tipping toes around taboo themes
With the series revolving around Chinese traditional funeral customs, Kang-sheng also shared that the cast had to be careful about the taboos surrounding such a topic.
“Before [shooting], we would brief about the code of conduct. How to conduct ourselves as we enter into all these different places. The actors were briefed by a religious consultant to [point out] what are the taboos. For example, we cannot make a lot of noises as we enter into the funeral setting. And then before and after we enter the scenes, we also need to cleanse our bodies. Even after we return home, the religious consultant will give us a [talisman] for us to burn to make sure that the evil spirits do not follow us back.” Kang-sheng explained.
“Therefore, all the actors at the scene, we are very respectful, we conduct ourselves properly, solemnly, and carefully following all the rules. Every day, as we are shooting the scenes, we are on the tips of our toes to make sure that we didn’t cross any taboo,” the actor added.
Asked if there was anything creepy that actually took place during filming, he pointed out an instance when crew members of the production felt weak during their shoot.
“Personally, my day of birth in Chinese belief, I have a very positive charge– very Yang. My Yang is very strong, therefore, I don’t think I will encounter all these spiritual attacks. But I noticed that during the production, some crew members, they are not as strong as me. They are a bit weak or in Chinese interpretation, their Ying is higher. What I noticed is that the next day, the crew members did not come for work because they encountered a spiritual attack and they need to excuse themselves from work the next day,” shared the actor.
Why watch ‘Twisted Strings’?
For Lee Kang-sheng, watching a TV show should be relaxing and entertaining instead of getting too serious about things. He also cites two things that viewers can look out for when the series finally drops.
“As you watch this series, in one way you get to observe Taiwanese culture and how they conduct certain rituals. Another way you can enjoy this is how the director, being very professional and serious about the script, [has] a very unique way of handling this kind of topic. It’s supposed to be a thriller mystery because the show is really out of the ordinary, out of the box, and there’s a lot of room for imagination. So if you watch this, I would just advice you to relax, chill, and get entertained instead of perceiving it too seriously,” explained the actor.
Twisted Strings premieres with its first two episodes this March 27. You can watch the anthology series on TV via HBO, or via online streaming on HBO GO. Subscribe to www.hbogoasia.ph or the mobile app via the App Store or Play Store on your device for as low as P99.70 per month.
