A Confucian Confusion (1994)
"Du li shi dai" (original title)

Director:

Edward Yang

Writers:

Hung Hung, Edward Yang

Stars:

Shiang-chyi Chen, Yiwen Chen, Danny Deng

3 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Shiang-chyi Chen	...	Qiqi
Yiwen Chen	...	Liren
Danny Deng	...	Larry
Hung Hung	...	Molly's brother-in-law
Elaine Jin	...	Auntie
Richie Li	...	Feng
Chen Limei	...	Molly's sister
Shu-Chun Ni	...	Molly
Bosen Wang	...	Akeem
Weiming Wang	...	Ming
Yeming Wang	...	Birdy

Storyline

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

Taiwan

Language:

Mandarin Min Nan

Release Date:

1 October 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Confucian Confusion

Filming Locations:

Taipei City, Taiwan

Company Credits

Production Co:

AtomFilms

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

References A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)

User Reviews

Neat, nice made

When I first came across 'A Confucian Confusion', I expected nothing much. I was wrong, very wrong. It turned out to be a great movie. On one of your 'average' days, go to a video store, then rent and watch it. I guarantee it will be the best thing on your day. ('Average' here means the rest of the days when you don't win lotto or have a date of your life)

The film looks at a sample of modern Taiwanese life. Edward Yang the director, who won some awards for his later film 'Mahjong', focuses at a different part of the taiwanese society. If in 'Mahjong' he tells the story through the darker gangsters-like fraction of the population, here he puts a light above a 'whiter' group of people, mid to upper class men and women trying to cope with the fast living in the money-driven, ever growing Taipei. And that's all the film's about, a window to some Taipei lives in particular and modern taiwan in general. A society as a result, not necessarily an effect, of the very old Confucian philosophy.

Although this movie is categorized as a comedy, don't expect to laugh out loud during this 90 or so minutes. The most you can get are some subtle smiles and a big one out of satisfaction five minutes after it ends, realizing what a great movie it was.

The comedy may come from some 'very interesting'(bizarre, weird, ultra square, whatever you call it) characters, which make a very interesting but incredibly believable premise. This is possible since the story circles around the showbiz, the 'funny' business.

Excellent performances add a hell lot of greatness to this movie. Well, I couldn't say more. You just have to watch it yourself to appreciate this wonderful film.