The story begins with a light that shines, one night in 1994. That simple oil lamp is passed from the hands of Chin-Chih to his wife amidst the... More

The story begins with a light that shines, one night in 1994. That simple oil lamp is passed from the hands of Chin-Chih to his wife amidst the goading of Japanese soldiers and in this way, the young couple say goodbye for all eternity. In the fading light of his memory, Chin-Chin\'s father, Grandpa, slowly tells of the eight years of Japanese occupation, when the people of Kinmen were forced to build airports. As soon as the Japanese left, Kinmen was swamped in retreating Nationalist forces. In the story, Grandpa returns from fishing and finds his house surrounded with no trace of his daughter-in-law and grandson An-Ming. The village is full of the unfamiliar faces of soldiers walking about, speaking some strange language. Quickly, the fires of the war between the nationalists and Communists spread to Kinmen. It was here that their most violent confrontation took place. The Battle of Kuningtou(古寧頭), Battle of 6-17, Battle of 6-19, and especially the Battle of 8-23 brought a nightmare beyond anything ever imagined to the doorstep of the community in Kinmen. That night, Grandpa is ill, uncle Ah-Yuan and the neighbors have been drafted to secure the beach at Liao Luo Bay. Aunt Chin-Chih and Ah-Ming are on their own to carry Grandpa up to the bomb-shelter on the hillside. They did not know that the shelling would last fire the next 50 days. They returned to a destroyed village. For the two decades following, the mainland forces continued their attack on every odd numbered day without fail. Besides little Ah-Ming, everyone in the cast lived through the experience of these days of shelling. Although now they can share a laugh or two when they recall the days, the memory of the terror of being under fire for twenty years, and of the cold cruelty of war when it takes lives-is deeply engraved in each of their hearts, a fate which they attribute to the heavens. While dodging bombs on the odd-numbered days, Ah-Ming passed his days of youth. Aunt Chin-Chih and Grandpa grew older, too. Soon, Ah-Ming would be going to Taiwan to make a living, like the rest of his peers from the village. The older generation look on with ambivalence, they can\'t ask the children to stay behind on a land that has no foreseeable future, yet are reluctant to see them leave the homeland behind. Mr. Hsu, a school teacher who plays the role of the deputy village chief says \"I leaving home and going to Taiwan for an unknow future is the common experience of all the youth of Kinmen.\"This is true for Ah-Ming in the film and for all the young actors in the film. Before leaving, Chin-Chih takes Ah-Ming to temple to get him an amulet to protect him from harm. On their way home, the houses along the road hang up well-wishing lamps to \"light up the way \" for all the young men who are leaving. The smoke-colored yellow glass of the oil lamps are painted with the couplet：\"Phantom fires during ghost month, peace throughout the lang.\" As Ah-Ming\'s boat leaves shore and gradually melts to a dot on the horizon, the night descends and the light from the lamps are reflected on the water. Close