Rebels of the Neon God (1992)

Within the urban gloom of Taipei, four youths face alienation, loneliness, and moments of existential crisis amidst a series of minor crimes.

Director:

Ming-liang Tsai

Writer:

Ming-liang Tsai

Stars:

Chao-jung Chen, Chang-Bin Jen, Kang-sheng Lee

5 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Chao-jung Chen	...	Ah Tze
Chang-Bin Jen	...	Ah Bing
Kang-sheng Lee	...	Hsiao-Kang
Yi-Ching Lu	...	Mother (as Hsiao-Ling Lu)
Tien Miao	...	Father
Yu-Wen Wang	...	Ah Kuei

Storyline

Defying his parents, Hsiao Kang drops out of the local crammer to head for the bright lights of downtown Taipei. He falls in with Ah Tze, a pretty hood and their relationships is a confused mixture of hero-worship and rivalry that soon leads to trouble.

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Plot Keywords:

telephone call | taipei taiwan | telephone booth | pay phone | cigarette smoking | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film has a 100% rating based on 32 critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

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Goofs

When picking up his son from school, Hsiao Kang's father says that his son's name is "Lee Kang-Sheng". This is the name of the actor, not the character, Hsiao Kang.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mother: What on earth happened? You are all bloody. What happened?

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Connections

Followed by The River (1997)

User Reviews

Rain, disengagement, and failure to communicate in Taipei

Young disaffected people in Taipei—two friends steal a lot of coins from telephones and other things. They also play a lot of videogames, and ride motorbikes and drink. One of them lives in an apartment that is always inexplicably flooded. A pretty girl, Ah Kuei (Yu-Wen Wang) takes up with one of them, and there is engagement and disengagement and anomie and sadness, though at the end they don't seem to give up on each other. Another boy drops out of school and follows the crooks, and sabotages a motorcycle, and other such things—his father drives a taxi, and his mother worries because she's been told he's a reincarnation of the god Norcha. The city itself is incredibly busy, cars and motorcycles and crowds everywhere. There's a lot of rain in this movie, too. It's a melancholy scene

Details

Country:

Taiwan

Language:

Mandarin Min Nan

Release Date:

4 August 1994 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Teenage Norcha

Filming Locations:

Taipei, Taiwan

Box Office

Gross USA:

$28,791

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$28,791

Company Credits

Production Co:

Central Motion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1