101 mins | 2021 | 賴麗君 Li-Chun Lai

The film “Eagle Hand” tells a story about a farming village in Chia-yi, Taiwan that specializes in lotus roots. During the glory days of exporting to Japan and Hong Kong over 40 years ago, there were over 10 million square feet of farmland and over 100 farmers. Nowadays, with modernization and development, only 4 million square feet of farmland and 27 farmers remain in lotus root farming. Instead of risking damage to the delicate lotus roots with metal farming tools, the farmers have to manually dig for the roots buried over a foot deep in the mud with their bare hands. Over decades of hard work, the farmers’ fingers are often deformed with enlarged and bent knuckles, and thus nicknamed “Eagle Hand”. Nowadays, these “Eagle Hands” are a symbol of perseverance and long-lost cultural values.  The director presented the scenery and population development of her hometown through her own eyes. Following the perspective of the director, the audience witnesses a story of the  younger generation leaving the farm villages for a brighter future in the city while some arrive and rediscover their merit and motivation in the field.

那雙老鷹手原本在天上飛，他們這雙老鷹手卻往土裡鑽 ! 

嘉義牛斗山村早年盛產蓮藕，八零年代曾是全國最大宗，當時更大量銷售到日本和香港，隨著時代變遷逐年沒落，蓮藕的榮景卻只停格在過去，如今牛斗山村的種植人口僅剩二十七戶。老農無法割捨大半輩子賴以維生的傳產，堅持用老邁的身軀守護田園，長年挖蓮藕變形的「老鷹手」是他們辛勤的歷史印記。

當農村青年大量北漂，一些非農二代年輕人卻選擇留下，從零開始學習種蓮藕，從夕陽產業拚出一條生路，即使經歷幻滅又重生的輪迴；抑或面對傳統產業的困境，依舊不認輸地用一雙「老鷹手」，挖出被歷史遺忘的價值和夢想。