A City of Sadness
Encyclopedia
A City of Sadness is a 1989 Taiwanese
historical drama film directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien
. It tells the story of a family embroiled in the tragic "White Terror
" that was wrought on the Taiwanese people
by the Kuomintang government
(KMT) after their arrival from mainland China
in the late 1940s, during which thousands of Taiwanese were rounded up, shot, and/or sent to prison.
The film was the first to deal openly with the KMT's authoritarian misdeeds after its 1945 turnover of Taiwan
from Japan
, and the first to depict the 228 Incident
of 1947, in which thousands of people were massacred.
A City of Sadness was the first Chinese-language film to win the Golden Lion
award at the Venice Film Festival
.
mafia
boss, the middle brother Wen-leung (Jack Kao
) suffers a traumatic brain injury in a KMT jailhouse, and the youngest brother Wen-ching (Tony Leung Chiu Wai
), who is both deaf and mute, hopes to flee to the mountains with his friend to fight in the anti-KMT resistance movement. By the end of the film even the photographer Wen-ching has been arrested by the authorities, leaving only his wife to tell the story of the family's destruction.
Wen-ching's deafness began as an expedient to disguise Tony Leung's inability to speak Taiwanese (or Japanese - the language taught in Taiwan's schools during the 51 year occupation
), but wound up being an effective means to demonstrate the brutal insensitivity of Chen Yi
's ROC administration.
This film is regarded as the first installment in a trilogy of films that deal with Taiwanese history, which also includes The Puppetmaster
(1993) and Good Men, Good Women
(1995).
2005, and placed at No.1 on The Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures by Golden Horse Film Festival 2011.
Cinema of Taiwan
The history of Chinese-language cinema has three separate threads of development: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of Mainland China and Cinema of Taiwan . Taiwanese cinema grew up outside of the Hong Kong mainstream and the censorship of the People's Republic of China.Taiwanese cinema is deeply rooted...
historical drama film directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien
Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Hou Hsiao-Hsien is an award-winning film director and a leading figure of Taiwan's New Wave cinema movement.-Biography:...
. It tells the story of a family embroiled in the tragic "White Terror
White Terror (Taiwan)
In Taiwan, the White Terror describes the suppression of political dissidents, as well as public discussion of the 228 Incident in Taiwan under the period of martial law, which lasted from May 19 1949 to July 15 1987, 38 years, and 57 days...
" that was wrought on the Taiwanese people
Taiwanese people
Taiwanese people may refer to individuals who either claim or are imputed cultural identity focused on the island of Taiwan and/or Taiwan Area which have been governed by the Republic of China since 1945...
by the Kuomintang government
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
(KMT) after their arrival from mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
in the late 1940s, during which thousands of Taiwanese were rounded up, shot, and/or sent to prison.
The film was the first to deal openly with the KMT's authoritarian misdeeds after its 1945 turnover of Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and the first to depict the 228 Incident
228 Incident
The 228 Incident, also known as the 228 Massacre, was an anti-government uprising in Taiwan that began on February 27, 1947, and was violently suppressed by the Kuomintang government. Estimates of the number of deaths vary from 10,000 to 30,000 or more...
of 1947, in which thousands of people were massacred.
A City of Sadness was the first Chinese-language film to win the Golden Lion
Golden Lion
Il Leone d’Oro is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most distinguished prizes...
award at the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
.
Synopsis
The film depicts the Lin family's experiences during the White Terror. The eldest brother Wen-heung (Sung Young Chen) is murdered by a ShanghaiShanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
boss, the middle brother Wen-leung (Jack Kao
Jack Kao
Jack Kao is a Taiwanese actor. He began his career in the late 1980s films of Hou Hsiao-Hsien.-Filmography:*Daughter of the Nile *Rouge of The North *A City of Sadness *Island of Fire *Dust of Angels...
) suffers a traumatic brain injury in a KMT jailhouse, and the youngest brother Wen-ching (Tony Leung Chiu Wai
Tony Leung Chiu Wai
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai is a Hong Kong film actor and former TVB actor. A major film star since the 1990s, Leung has won nine Hong Kong Film Awards and three Golden Horse Best Actor awards...
), who is both deaf and mute, hopes to flee to the mountains with his friend to fight in the anti-KMT resistance movement. By the end of the film even the photographer Wen-ching has been arrested by the authorities, leaving only his wife to tell the story of the family's destruction.
Wen-ching's deafness began as an expedient to disguise Tony Leung's inability to speak Taiwanese (or Japanese - the language taught in Taiwan's schools during the 51 year occupation
Taiwan under Japanese rule
Between 1895 and 1945, Taiwan was a dependency of the Empire of Japan. The expansion into Taiwan was a part of Imperial Japan's general policy of southward expansion during the late 19th century....
), but wound up being an effective means to demonstrate the brutal insensitivity of Chen Yi
Chen Yi (Kuomintang)
Chen Yi and later Gongqia , sobriquet Tuisu ; 1883 – June 18, 1950) was the Chief Executive and Garrison Commander of Taiwan after it was surrendered by Japan to the Republic of China, which acted on behalf of the Allied Powers, in 1945...
's ROC administration.
The Lin Family
- Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as Wen-ching
- Sung Young Chen as Wen-heung
- Jack KaoJack KaoJack Kao is a Taiwanese actor. He began his career in the late 1980s films of Hou Hsiao-Hsien.-Filmography:*Daughter of the Nile *Rouge of The North *A City of Sadness *Island of Fire *Dust of Angels...
as Wen-leung - Li Tian-luLi Tian-luLi Tian-lu is a principal character in the trilogy of historical films of Taiwanese film directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien.-The Trilogy:The Puppetmaster tells the true story of Li's life as a master puppeteer faced with demands to turn his skills to propaganda during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan in...
as Ah-lu (Grandfather)
Other Roles
- Xin Shufen as Hinomi
- Wu Yi-FangWu Yi-FangDr. Wu Yi-Fang was one of the first women in China to hold accredited Bachelor of Arts degrees, and the first female university president in China...
as Hinoiei - Nakamura Ikuyo as Shizuko
- Jan Hung-Tze as Mr. Lin
- Wu Nien-jen as Mr. Wu
- Zhang DachunZhang DachunZhang Dachun is a notable Taiwanese author and literary critic. He is the author of many novels, two of which, Wild Child and My Kid Sister , were published together in the U.S. as Wild Kids.-Educational background:...
as Reporter Ho - Tsai Chen-nan as singer (cameo appearance)
Production
A City of Sadness was filmed on location in Jiufen, an old and declined gold mining town in northeast of Taiwan. The film revived Jiufen, and it became a popular tourist attraction.This film is regarded as the first installment in a trilogy of films that deal with Taiwanese history, which also includes The Puppetmaster
The Puppetmaster (film)
The Puppetmaster is a 1993 Taiwanese film directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien. Based on the memoirs of Li Tian-lu, Taiwan’s most celebrated puppeteer, this story covers the years from Li’s birth in 1909 to the end of Japan’s fifty-year occupation of Taiwan in 1945.-Plot:It tells the story of Li Tian-lu...
(1993) and Good Men, Good Women
Good Men, Good Women
Good Men, Good Women is a 1995 Taiwanese film directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien, starring Annie Shizuka Inoh, Lim Giong and Jack Kao. It is the last installment in the trilogy that began with A City of Sadness and continued with The Puppetmaster...
(1995).
Critical reception
The film was placed at No.5 on The Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures by Hong Kong Film AwardsHong Kong Film Awards
The Hong Kong Film Awards , founded in 1982, are the most prestigious film awards in Hong Kong and among the most respected in mainland China and Taiwan. Award ceremonies are held annually, typically in April. The Awards recognize achievement in all aspects of filmmaking, such as directing,...
2005, and placed at No.1 on The Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures by Golden Horse Film Festival 2011.
Awards and nominations
- 46th Venice Film FestivalVenice Film FestivalThe Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
- Won: Golden LionGolden LionIl Leone d’Oro is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most distinguished prizes...
- Won: UNESCO Prize
- Won: Golden Lion
- 1989 Golden Horse Film Festival
- Won: Best Director – Hou Hsiao-hsien
- Won: Best Leading Actor – Sung Young Chen
- Nominated: Best Film
- Nominated: Best Screenplay – Chu Tien-wen, Wu Nien-jen
- Nominated: Best Editing – Liao Ching-song
- 1989 Kinema Junpo Awards
- Won: Best Foreign Language Film – Hou Hsiao-hsien
- 1991 Mainichi Film Concours
- Won: Best Foreign Language Film – Hou Hsiao-hsien
- 1991 Independent Spirit AwardsIndependent Spirit AwardsThe Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit...
- Nominated: Best Foreign Film – Hou Hsiao-hsien
- 1991 Political Film SocietyPolitical Film SocietyThe Political Film Society is a nonprofit corporation that exists to recognize Hollywood films' ability to raise awareness in political matters in the world. Film makers are the ones who are awarded by this organization...
- Won: Special Award