A City of Sadness (1989)

悲情城市

158 min ·NR

DramaHistory

Soon after Japan relinquishes control of Taiwan in 1945, the Lin brothers face hardships from the changing culture. Bar owner Wen-heung, the eldest brother, falls foul of local gangsters, Wen-sun disappears, and Wen-leung, scarred by his experiences in the war, ends up in an insane asylum. Deaf-mute photographer Wen-ching, the youngest brother, decides to make a stand and fight the Kuomintang government from China that is assuming power.

Flocks 1

Rain and Neon — Hou Hsiao-hsien & Tsai Ming-liang 1 members · 8 movies

Two masters, one island. Hou Hsiao-hsien brings melancholy landscapes and the weight of history — A City of Sadness, Flowers of Shanghai, The Assassin. Tsai Ming-liang floods apartments, silences characters, and turns Taipei into a haunted aquarium — Rebels of the Neon God, Goodbye Dragon Inn, Stray Dogs. Between them they basically invented a new grammar of cinema. Slow, patient, devastating. Pull up a chair. This might take a while.