This wistful, moving film established the distinctive visual and narrative style that defines the international reputation of Hou Hsiao-hsien (A City of Sadness; The Flowers of Shanghai). Described by Hou as “some memories from my youth,” it examines how exile affects three generations of a mainland family trapped in Taiwan by the Communist takeover of China. As parents and grandparents pine for their homeland, the younger generation comes to terms with a country that both is and isn’t their own.
Hou’s exquisitely composed long-shots capture small-town family life swept up in the currents of history. A breakthrough film for Hou in aesthetics and subject matter, it established him as the foremost cinematic chronicler of Taiwan’s recent history.
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