Liàn liàn fengchén (1986)

A young couple leave their mining town home for Taipei where they struggle to eke out a living in an industrial wasteland.

Director:

Hsiao-Hsien Hou

Writers:

T'ien-wen Chu, Nien-Jen Wu

Stars:

Shu-Fang Chen, Shu-Fen Hsin, Lawrence Ko

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Shu-Fang Chen	...	(as Shufang Chen)
Shu-Fen Hsin	...	Kang So-Huen
Lawrence Ko	...	Mrs. Lin's son (as Ko Yu-Luen)
Tien-Lu Li	...	Grandpa (as Tian-Lu Li)
Ju Lin
Yang Lin
Fang Mei
Mei-Feng
Chien-wen Wang	...	Wan
Bi-yuan Yan
Li-Yin Yang	...	Ying

Storyline

A-yuan and A-yun are both from the small mining town of Jio-fen. In the city, A-yuan is an apprentice by day and goes to night school, and A-yun works as a helper at a tailors. Everyone thinks they are meant for each other, so do they. They fail to see time and fate are beyond their control.

---

Plot Keywords:

part of trilogy | coal mine | taiwan | grandfather grandson relationship | conscription | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance

---

Details

Official Sites:

International Film Circuit

Country:

Taiwan

Language:

Mandarin Cantonese Min Nan

Release Date:

1986 (Taiwan)

Also Known As:

Dust in the Wind

Company Credits

Production Co:

Central Motion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is inspired by screenwriter Wu Nien-Jen's childhood memories. It is the third installment of director Hou Hsiao-Hsien's "Coming-of-Age Trilogy" that features three prominent Taiwanese screenwriters' coming-of-age stories. The other two are Dong dong de jiàqi (1984) (inspired by the coming-of-age story of Chu Tien-wen) and Tóngnián wangshì (1985) (inspired by the coming-of-age story of Hou Hsiao-Hsien, who is a screenwriter-turned-director).

---

Connections

Follows Dong dong de jiàqi (1984)

User Reviews

In a time capsule

When it comes to writing about a specific film I stutter, I'm lost. But don't misunderstand me, I know enough of movies to say this is a work of art that will prevail thorough time as the greatest novels do. I believe Hou is up there with Tarkovsky, Bresson, Ozu, Pasolini, Dreyer, Sokurov, Fellini, Herzog, Paradjanov and others. I mention them so as to locate a few of you readers who may have heard little of Hou.

I think its better not to talk about the movie itself, one shall see it with new eyes. It is something new, this time cinema works for reality to transform it to beauty, that's the real meaning of art. It may seem simple at times, and yes it is, for time at present seems always simple, but it also accumulates the most complex structure of time. One can feel how the banality of everyday slowly fixates itself in eternity, one can see the inevitable, the beauty in the every small detail. Hou justifies life in a century that has lost itself and that sees only its own shadow. Humanity in its true form, going around like lost and innocent children, and there's no evil. And every second in Hou's work makes life more beautiful.

I've talked to a few people who have seen his movies, I can't guarantee the same experience, but what I've seen is there if you can see it in yourself.