7.9/10
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A City of Sadness (1989)

Beiqíng chéngshì (original title)
| Drama | 21 October 1989 (Taiwan)
A City of Sadness Poster
A beautiful, historical film based upon the complex lives of four brothers.

Director:

Hsiao-Hsien Hou

Writers:

T'ien-wen Chu, Nien-Jen Wu

Stars:

Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Shu-Fen Hsin, Sung Young Chen | See full cast & crew »
Reviews
8 wins & 6 nominations. See more awards »

Photos

See all 14 photos »
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Cast

Credited cast:
Tony Chiu-Wai Leung ... Wen-ching (as Tony Chiu Wai Leung)
Shu-Fen Hsin Shu-Fen Hsin ... Hinome
Sung Young Chen ... Wen-heung
Jack Kao ... Wen Leung
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Wou Yi Fang Wou Yi Fang ... Hinoiei
Ai-Yun Ho Ai-Yun Ho ... Bg Brother Chie
Chien-Ho Huang Chien-Ho Huang
Chien-ru Huang Chien-ru Huang
Chi-Ying Kao Chi-Ying Kao ... Shopkeeper
Tien-Lu Li Tien-Lu Li ... Ah-lu (as Tian-Lu Li)
Ju Lin Ju Lin
Lih-Ching Lin Lih-Ching Lin ... (as Liqing Lin)
Ikuyo Nakamura Ikuyo Nakamura ... Shizuko
Chen-Nan Tsai
Chang-Chiang Yang Chang-Chiang Yang
See full cast »
Edit

Storyline

A beautiful, historical film based upon the complex lives of four brothers.

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

part of trilogy | politics | family relationships | photographer | taiwan | See All (15) »

Genres:

Drama

Certificate:

See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

Add content advisory for parents »
Edit

Details

Country:

Hong Kong | Taiwan

Language:

Mandarin | Min Nan | Japanese | Cantonese | Shanghainese

Release Date:

21 October 1989 (Taiwan) See more »

Also Known As:

A City of Sadness See more »

Filming Locations:

Hokkien, China See more »
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Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,737
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Production Co:

3-H Films, ERA International See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Tony Chiu-Wai Leung's character was made a deaf-mute because the film used direct sound and Leung could not convincingly speak Mandarin or Taiwanese. See more »

Connections

Featured in Century of Cinema: Yang ± Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema (1998) See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

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User Reviews

One of the world's most important films
19 March 2003 | by M-Harrison03 – See all my reviews

Artistically, its greatness is not in dispute, but it is hard to overstate the importance of this film in political and social terms for Taiwan. The subject of the film, the February 28 Incident (the massacre of 20000 or more Taiwanese by Chinese Nationalist troops in 1947) had been completely been banned from public discussion by the now-defunct military government of Taiwan up until 1988 - only a year and a half before the film was released. To intervene so powerfully in a period of political and social change as Taiwan's democratic revolution in the late 1980s, makes the film as dramatic a re-configuring of a country's cultural landscape as any film has ever achieved.
16 of 21 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
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