A newly restored version of Hou Hsiao-hsien’s classic 1989 film A City of Sadness (悲情城市) is set to be released and screened in theatres.
For long-term residents, this film is well known as the first cinematic attempt (shortly after the lifting of martial law on Taiwan) to address the notorious February 28 Incident and its impact on the people of Taiwan. Tightly focused on a family in Jiufen, it also helped to make this small mountain community famous and immediately recognizable to nearly all of us.
For newcomers to Taiwan: if there is only one Taiwan film you watch during your time here, in my view this should be it. Be prepared for Hou’s signature long shots and a devasting story with those empty chairs at the end of the film speaking across the decades even now.
Debuting at the Kaohsiung Film Festival on Friday October 14, and scheduled for theatrical release in Taipei on Friday October 28, Zero Chou’s (周美玲) Untold Herstory (流麻溝十五號) tells the story of women rounded up and imprisoned on Green Island in the early White Terror period. Seeking to present this awful moment in Taiwan’s history in epic form, Chou’s film is the latest in the series of books and films on White Terror.
The only Taiwanese movie I’ve ever seen is an English dub of 八百壯士, Eight Hundred Heroes, though none of the movie actually takes place in Taiwan. It’s about the defense of Sihang Warehouse in Shanghai. It was made in the 70s and has Brigitte Lin in it, and the character she plays is Yan Huimin, who came to Taiwan after the Communists won the Civil War. Mainland China did a remake recently. It wasn’t an amazing movie, but it was pretty good. I like the design of the poster:
There is a funny moment near the end when they’re counting the survivors of the battle and after counting 357 soldiers, a guy pops out of the water and says “what number am I.”
It’s an adaptation of a critically acclaimed play, about two plays trying to rehearse on a double booked stage. I love that movie. It’s really a commentary on the reality and the memory of 1949 refugees to Taiwan. The period drama seems pretty straight forward, but the comedic Peach Blossom Spring play is secretly about nostalgia and being stuck in the harsh reality. Both plays interrupts one another and in the end they were both about missed opportunities, a life that could have been and the lost of youth.
It really is one of the most brilliant plays in Taiwan.
I just realized one of the actors, Ku Bao-ming passed away last March… He was in so many of my favorite movies.
Just saw “Taipei Story” for the first time last night. I didn’t mind the slow pace as I am used to films by Yasujirō Ozu, Hou Hsiao-Hsien, and Ming-Liang Tsai. The plot is a little scattered, and might be hard to follow if someone doesn’t understand Mandarin and Taiwanese (The English subtitles are sporadic)… I was delighted to see some old Taipei (pretty ugly and depressing for the most part), especially old shops and the Double Ten lighting around the Presidential Office. The cinematography was superb, Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s acting was very good, and the use of Bach Cello Suite No. 2 was a pleasant surprise. 7/10
I have only seen less than half of these. Finding the films is probably the biggest obstacle.
Supposed to be a remarkable movie but I found it a bit boring. Why do so many Taiwan films have little dialogue and just show someone sitting on a toilet or looking at a window or smoking a cigarette for a few minutes.
Most interesting thing for me was seeing Daan Park as nothing but dirt when it was being constructed around 1994. Skip to about the 1:40 minute mark if you want to see a walk through of the park. Or watch the YouTube clip for some of it.
Hahaha yeah that Yang Kuei-mei scene is great! Love Tsai Ming-liang and I made sure to visit that spot in the park after moving to Taiwan. The title of the film btw is not “Viva L’Amour” but “Vive L’Amour.”
