The Island Tales (異邦人たち)
The Island Tales (Japanese: 異邦人たち; Chinese: 有時跳舞) is a 2000 drama film directed by the Hong Kong director Stanley Kwan, made as a co-production of Japan and Hong Kong. It depicts a group of people of different nationalities and backgrounds who are stranded on a small island near Hong Kong after the government seals it off as the suspected source of an infectious disease.1 • 2
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Titles | English: The Island Tales; Japanese: 異邦人たち; Chinese: 有時跳舞3 |
| Director / writer | Stanley Kwan; screenplay by Jimmy Ngai1 |
| Production | 2000, Japan–Hong Kong co-production, 103 minutes, color1 • 4 |
| Japanese release | 24 February 2001, distributed by Omega Entertainment and Dragon Film1 |
| Principal cast | Takao Osawa, Michelle Reis, Shu Qi, Kaori Momoi, Julian Cheung, Elaine Jin, Gordon Liu5 |
| Hong Kong box office | HK$504,894, ranked 161st3 |
Spoilers
Story and cast
The setting is a small island near Hong Kong, reached by visitors with different personal circumstances: Haruki (Takao Osawa), a Japanese journalist staying on the island for tuberculosis treatment; Sharon (Michelle Reis), who spent her childhood there and has since become a successful banker; her friend, the Japanese photographer Marianne (Kaori Momoi); Mei Ling (Shu Qi), who has come from Taiwan to meet her lover; and Han (Julian Cheung), a popular actor hiding from the press after canceling a press conference for his new film.1 • 4
The island is suddenly quarantined by the Hong Kong government as the suspected source of a mysterious infectious disease, and the stranded visitors, speaking different languages to one another, begin to act on their anxieties in their own ways.1 • 2 Elaine Jin plays May and Gordon Liu plays Bo, a hotel proprietor.4 • 8 The dialogue mixes Japanese, Cantonese, and Mandarin, with much of the conversation in accented English.6
Production and release
Stanley Kwan (關錦鵬), known internationally for films such as Hold You Tight and Lan Yu, directed the film from a screenplay by Jimmy Ngai (魏紹恩), who also served as one of the editors. The producers were Shinya Kawai and Saeko Fushida, with cinematography by Kwan Pun-leung, art direction by William Chang, and music by Yat Yiu Yu.1 • 4
The film was produced in 2000 as a Japan–Hong Kong co-production. It opened in Japan on 24 February 2001 through the joint distributors Omega Entertainment and Dragon Film.1 The date of its Hong Kong release is reported differently by two databases: Kungfu Tube lists 24 February 2000,3 while the Chinese database 1905.com lists 24 February 1999.6 In Hong Kong it earned HK$504,894, placing 161st for the year.3 A Japanese DVD was released by Pony Canyon on 10 August 2001.7
Reception
Japanese descriptions of the film emphasize its stateless, dreamlike atmosphere; the allcinema synopsis calls it a story of the fates of people isolated on a small island, and the trade paper Pia describes it as quietly depicting the figures of people forced to spend a night on the sealed island.1 • 2 • 4 English-language reception was cooler: Time Out judged the film misjudged, criticizing its scrambled time frame and characterization while noting stronger work from Shu Qi and Kaori Momoi, and the review site LoveHKFilm called its premise intriguing but the film itself slow-going.8 • 5
References
- 異邦人たち : 作品情報・キャスト・あらすじ, 映画.com
- 異邦人たちの作品情報・あらすじ・キャスト, ぴあ映画
- 異邦人たち／有時跳舞（2000）, KUNGFU TUBE
- 異邦人たち, allcinema
- The Island Tales (2000), LoveHKFilm
- 有时跳舞, 电影网 1905.com
- 異邦人たち DVD, 楽天ブックス
- The Island Tales, Time Out
Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026
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