A City of Sadness is an intimate, poignant and masterful work from Hou Hsiao Hsien, a deep dive retrospective into Taiwan's post-war history, featuring strong ensemble performances from Chan Sung Young and Tony Leung.
Winner of the Golden Lion Award for Best Film at the 46th Venice Film Festival in 1989, the film has been remastered in 4K digital and re-released after 33 years.
The story chronicles the lives of three brothers during the White Terror, a period of political repression and martial law in Taiwan under Kuomintang rule post-WWII.
The eldest brother, Lin Wen-hsiung, runs a bar in a coastal town near Taipei. The second brother disappeared in the Philippines during the war. The third brother, Lin Wen-liang, who's come home after working as an interpreter for the Japanese in Shanghai, struggles with mental illness and engages in illegal activities. The fourth brother, Lin Wen-ching, is mute after suffering an illness and runs a photography studio.
Hou Hsiao Hsien invests the screen time in the daily mundanities of Taiwanese rural life, covering full scenes in long take master shots that transports the audience into its historical setting.
A City of Sadness forced me to mature into an adult through its 157 minute runtime. My mind fought against the slow-moving slice-of-life aesthetic at first and narrowly nodded off in the first act but I eventually tuned to it and learned the virtue of patience. At its peak, I felt I was lingering around in a historical period.
Hou builds the tension through his own unique film language. Initially, my patience was tested watching Tony Leung's mute character hand write notes in real time but eventually I was on the edge of my seat, eagerly waiting what he was about to write, and thus, how the story was about to unfold.
Whenever the story pulls the rug from under the audiences' feet, the drama hits hard and it is heartbreaking to witness good working folk slowly losing their own nation and their way of life. An overwhelming melancholy slowly builds and builds up to the very end.
Chen Sung Young, who famously played Jet Li's father-in-law from Fong Sai Yuk, delivers a great naturalistic performance as the elder brother. I couldn't feel the acting. It was pure behavior.
Tony Leung gives a fascinating performance as the mute Lin Wen-ching. It is the most stripped down Leung has ever been from his movie star leading man persona. There's no smirking or cinematic coolness like in his Wong Kar Wai roles, just raw emotions bathing in silence.
A City of Sadness is a great piece of art. It's an important film for Taiwan that can be prescribed as a group cathartic release of an unpleasant part of their history that went undiscussed for too long.
Hou Hsiao Hsien just presents the history through civilian eyes. He does not judge, critique or take a stance. I walked out wishing more historical dramas were made with this level of craft and mastery.
Winner of the Golden Lion Award for Best Film at the 46th Venice Film Festival in 1989, the film has been remastered in 4K digital and re-released after 33 years.
The story chronicles the lives of three brothers during the White Terror, a period of political repression and martial law in Taiwan under Kuomintang rule post-WWII.
The eldest brother, Lin Wen-hsiung, runs a bar in a coastal town near Taipei. The second brother disappeared in the Philippines during the war. The third brother, Lin Wen-liang, who's come home after working as an interpreter for the Japanese in Shanghai, struggles with mental illness and engages in illegal activities. The fourth brother, Lin Wen-ching, is mute after suffering an illness and runs a photography studio.
Hou Hsiao Hsien invests the screen time in the daily mundanities of Taiwanese rural life, covering full scenes in long take master shots that transports the audience into its historical setting.
A City of Sadness forced me to mature into an adult through its 157 minute runtime. My mind fought against the slow-moving slice-of-life aesthetic at first and narrowly nodded off in the first act but I eventually tuned to it and learned the virtue of patience. At its peak, I felt I was lingering around in a historical period.
Hou builds the tension through his own unique film language. Initially, my patience was tested watching Tony Leung's mute character hand write notes in real time but eventually I was on the edge of my seat, eagerly waiting what he was about to write, and thus, how the story was about to unfold.
Whenever the story pulls the rug from under the audiences' feet, the drama hits hard and it is heartbreaking to witness good working folk slowly losing their own nation and their way of life. An overwhelming melancholy slowly builds and builds up to the very end.
Chen Sung Young, who famously played Jet Li's father-in-law from Fong Sai Yuk, delivers a great naturalistic performance as the elder brother. I couldn't feel the acting. It was pure behavior.
Tony Leung gives a fascinating performance as the mute Lin Wen-ching. It is the most stripped down Leung has ever been from his movie star leading man persona. There's no smirking or cinematic coolness like in his Wong Kar Wai roles, just raw emotions bathing in silence.
A City of Sadness is a great piece of art. It's an important film for Taiwan that can be prescribed as a group cathartic release of an unpleasant part of their history that went undiscussed for too long.
Hou Hsiao Hsien just presents the history through civilian eyes. He does not judge, critique or take a stance. I walked out wishing more historical dramas were made with this level of craft and mastery.