A City of Sadness (1989)
For the Taiwanese.
Presentation:
In terms of cinematography, the presentation in this film provides little of visual interest, pretty typical of Taipei cinema with long lensing and formal framing. The most interesting aspect is perhaps a young Tony Leung, except he is made deaf and doesn’t speak. This film is strictly a historical film through the dramatic lens of a family’s misfortune.
Conclusion:
Revered as Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s masterpiece, I decided to give this film a chance in hope of finding something moving or revealing about Taiwan’s history. This is about Taiwan’s worst political moment, massacring their own people after Japan surrenders the war. An important film for the Taiwanese, but the film makes no effort to invite foreign audiences to care about their sad day, frankly necessary because many other countries around the world had it worse. But it feels strange not to promote a historical film, especially when such events are typically censored. But it did succeed in making me dig deeper into Taiwan’s history, and that might be all Hou could have asked for.
Recommendations
For the Taiwanese.