Ask MDL And Now For Something Different: Historical (September) Tells the story of a family embroiled in the tragic "White Terror" that was brought 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 depicts the Lin family's experiences during the White Terror. The eldest brother Wen Heung is murdered by a Shanghai mafia boss, the middle brother Wen Leung suffers a traumatic brain injury in a KMT jailhouse, and the youngest brother Wen Ching, 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. (Source: Wikipedia) Edit Translation
- English
- magyar / magyar nyelv
- dansk
- Norsk
- Native Title: 悲情城市
- Also Known As: Bei Qing Cheng Shi ,
- Director: Hou Hsiao Hsien
- Screenwriter: Chu Tien Wen, Wu Nien Chen
- Genres: Historical, Drama
Cast & Credits
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![Tony Leung in A City of Sadness Taiwanese Movie (1989)]( "Tony Leung in A City of Sadness Taiwanese Movie (1989)")
Tony LeungLin Wen ChingMain Role -
![He Ai Yun in A City of Sadness Taiwanese Movie (1989)]( "He Ai Yun in A City of Sadness Taiwanese Movie (1989)")
He Ai Yun[Concubine]Main Role -
![Chin Shih Chieh in A City of Sadness Taiwanese Movie (1989)]( "Chin Shih Chieh in A City of Sadness Taiwanese Movie (1989)")
Chin Shih ChiehMr. WongSupport Role -
![Hsin Shu Fen in A City of Sadness Taiwanese Movie (1989)]( "Hsin Shu Fen in A City of Sadness Taiwanese Movie (1989)")
Hsin Shu FenHinomeSupport Role -
![Wu Nien Chen in A City of Sadness Taiwanese Movie (1989)]( "Wu Nien Chen in A City of Sadness Taiwanese Movie (1989)")
Wu Nien ChenMr. WuSupport Role -
![Chen Shu Fang in A City of Sadness Taiwanese Movie (1989)]( "Chen Shu Fang in A City of Sadness Taiwanese Movie (1989)")
Chen Shu Fang[Heung's wife]Support Role
Photos
Reviews
Slow paced, depressing and slighlty messy
If you are looking for something cheerful and happy, you may think that a tittle named city of sadness should give you a clue to look away and find something else and well you would be right. AS this movie is true to its name and will offer you a bunch of sadness and cries as well as symbolism as far as the aye can se. As I do not think it is a coincidence that the movie starts of with a boy named light making his way out from the darkness of the war/womb and in to the light as Taiwan was libirated from the Japanese.This is a movie that shows human being living in a time where when one war ends another takes over. Day to day life meets a guy running towards you with a knife. Babies cry as they are taken out to a court yard to be shot with a bunch of other people.. The enamy changes and the wrong answer to the question are you japaneese, Mandarin or Taiwanese can get you killed by, showing an added dificulty to those who can not hear. a mob... but than again even the right answers can get one killed at this time...
But rest assure!
"I want to assure those who love peace that this decree is for your protection,, take no notice of roumers about spies. because suspicuion leads to fear, I assure all citizens that obay the law that nothing will happen to them. Meanwhile I announce the reintroduction of martial law Our objective is merely to punish rebels and traitors, for each day they are at large peace loving people will have to put up with another day of disorder" -
This movie is highly acclaimed so while I did not really find it entertaining I am sure it has a lot of qualities for those who are more well educated than I am as I found it kind of boring and hard to follow
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For me, just starting to learn about Taiwan history, the movie just felt like a historical movie. For my mom who grew up under KMT martial law, the movie means a lot more, especially since she remembered watching it in theatres back in 1989.
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