A Dance With Rainbows: A Debut That Packs a Punch

Lee Yi-shan’s feature debut, A Dance With Rainbows, arrives with the grounded authenticity of a documentary filmmaker and the emotional heft of a veteran storyteller. Premiering at the Hong Kong International Film Festival and earning Yu An-shun a Best Actor accolade, the film uses the boxing ring as a microcosm for broader societal struggles, particularly those faced by women navigating a patriarchal East Asian society .

The narrative centres on Ling, a twenty-year-old amateur boxer played with compelling restraint by Lin Yi-ting. She is mired in a losing streak, yet her battles outside the ring prove far more punishing. Ling shoulders the burden of supporting her mother’s flagging lunchbox business while her family’s fragile illusion of harmony shatters when her father introduces a new girlfriend. Her younger brother, meanwhile, endures harsh training from a coach, mirroring the generational expectations their father—a former table tennis athlete—places upon them . The pressure intensifies when Ling defies her own coach’s orders to throw underground matches, setting off a chain of consequences that threaten to consume her .

Lee’s direction is perceptive and unsentimental. Drawing from personal experience and a deep engagement with boxing culture, she treats the sport not as mere spectacle but as a lens through which to examine exploitation, commodification, and moral compromise . The “boxing babes” sequences and the inclusion of underground bouts are particularly incisive, exposing how spectacle and commerce often reduce athletes to mere assets . The film subtly critiques the older generation’s contradictions while the youth’s search for authenticity becomes the emotional core.

Performances are uniformly strong. Lin Yi-ting anchors the film with a delicate balance of vulnerability and resilience, her six months of intensive training evident in every convincing punch . Yu An-shun’s supporting turn is a standout—bringing gravitas, nuance, and unexpected levity—while Tsai Chen-nan’s coach embodies a man who acts more as a parent to his athletes than their actual families. Lotus Wang, as Ling’s conflicted mother, adds further depth to a quietly devastating portrait of familial collapse .

Cinematographer Chang Chih-teng adopts a restrained, documentary-like approach, particularly during matches, using handheld camera work to create intimacy and immediacy . The action choreography, recognised at the Golden Horse Awards, is exceptional. Composer Tsai Yi-chun’s hybrid score, underscored by a recurring tango motif, subtly reinforces the film’s themes of family and longing .

A Dance With Rainbows is a grounded and emotionally resonant debut that prioritises realism over melodrama. It offers a promising first statement from a director unafraid to tackle complex social commentary within the framework of an accessible, human story.

Elven Ho