Based on a true story, primarily on a conflict between two youth gangs, a 14-year-old boy's girlfriend conflicts with the head of one gang for an unclear reason, until finally the conflict c... Read allBased on a true story, primarily on a conflict between two youth gangs, a 14-year-old boy's girlfriend conflicts with the head of one gang for an unclear reason, until finally the conflict comes to a violent climax.Based on a true story, primarily on a conflict between two youth gangs, a 14-year-old boy's girlfriend conflicts with the head of one gang for an unclear reason, until finally the conflict comes to a violent climax.
- Awards
- 8 wins & 13 nominations
- Youngest Sister
- (as Fanyun Lai)
- Underpants (Mingxin)
- (as Mingxin Zhang)
- Tiger (Xiao Hu)
- (as Huiguo Zhou)
- Hefty (Da Ge)
- (as Qingqi Liu)
- Animal (Mao Shou)
- (as Qingxiang He)
- Tiger's Buddy
- (as Changda Cai)
- Tiger's Buddy
- (as Zhongming Li)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaChen Chang, who plays Xiao Si'r (or Little Four) and Kuo-Chu Chang, who plays his father, are real-life father and son. The actor's own name is also used for the full name of the character of Xiao Si'r (or Little Four).
- Goofs(at around 130 mins) When Si'r shoots Ma's shotgun, sound of a firing can be heard, but the shotgun makes no recoil, indicating that the sound effect of the firing was used in the scene and no actual gun firing took place.
- Quotes
Father: Remember - things with a hole in the middle bring headaches...
Xiao Si'r (Zhang Zhen): What's that mean?
Father: Nothing. You'll find out when you grow up.
- Alternate versionsDirector's Cut is 237 minutes long.
- ConnectionsFeatured in When Cinema Reflects the Times: Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Edward Yang (1993)
As a coming-of-age film, it's one of the very best. As a tragic romance, it delivers due to its Shakespearean quality. As a crime film, it can stand toe-to-toe with some of the very best of them. Even more impressive is that the film is able to cover so many important and (still) relevant issues and effectively explore the human condition without any heavy-handed morals or messages. The film is as straightforward and honest as they come, making it that much more engaging. And yet, despite all its qualities, it's not a film with universal appeal. Most would frown at its bleak approach and wonder where all the praise comes from. Others would skip it entirely due to it being a slow 4 hour film with no exploitative elements. Others would be wishing everyone were killed off and/or there was more action and pretentious imagery they could easily gravitate towards. Others.....well, I think you get the picture. Ultimately, those who would get the most out of this film are those who are willing to acknowledge that the world is a messed up place and some movies are going to reflect that. So, if you're easily offended, go back to watching "safe" Hollywood pictures, because you won't be able to appreciate this underrated gem. And yeah, that's me being a condescending prick. Sue me, what I say is true, and those who have seen the film know I'm right.
I'm going to go ahead and admit right off the bat that what I just wrote does not do justice to the film's level of substance and depth. This is merely a description. Others have gone far more in-depth into what makes the film so good than I'm capable of doing from a single viewing, so I recommend reading what they've wrote as well.
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Cổ Lĩnh Nhai Thiếu Niên Sát Nhân Sự Kiện
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $117,372
- Runtime3 hours 57 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1