Green Jail is author and filmmaker Huang Yin-Yu’s personal, emotively written memoir of his pursuit of memories and a heritage on the verge of disappearing. While interviews with Granny Hashima bring the outlines of the life story of Yang Tien-Fu, Iriomote Island’s last Taiwanese mine foreman, into gradual focus, past and present are juxtaposed to paint a picture of the Japanese Empire at both its height and dissolution and, in the process, resurrect long-buried memories of colonial-era Taiwan.
Readers follow the author’s meticulous preparations for this groundbreaking historical documentary. Although meant as an addendum to the film, this work stands well on its own. The narrative honestly reveals the author’s rationale for retaining and omitting certain information and lines of inquiry in the final film, how Huang established his relationships with key individuals, and how he cobbled together key facts from the meager clues still remaining. The deep consideration invested in making this film may be gleaned only from the pages of this book.