Here is a film that I watched literally only yesterday. I’ve been intrigued by it for a while thanks to Letterboxd, as many people seem to recommend it on that website. What I didn’t expect was to get dragged down a long rabbit hole and come out the other side a changed human being. Needless to say, this film made it to the top of my list straight away and, by far, has become the best film I’ve ever watched. Not only that, this film is based on true story and set in 1960 in Taiwan.
Directed by Edward Yang, this film features over 100 characters—all with speaking roles!—and gives the story a whole lot more depth than most films are prepared to do. A word of warning, though: this film is 4 hours long! You will be sitting down for what feels like forever, but without a dull moment in it, the film will hook you right in. Here is A Brighter Summer Day (1991).
The story follows the youths of Taiwan as they try to navigate through the
turbulence caused by the political instability currently happening in mainland China and their parents facing uncertainty. The plot narrows down a little on Zhan Zheng (a.k.a. Xiao S’ir) as he develops a friendship that later blooms into a romantic relationship with Ming, who at the time was the girlfriend of a runaway gangster boss, Honey.
S’ir and his friends, Cat and Airplane—both nicknames, of course—aren’t new to the gangster life, as it brushes past them at school all the time. It’s just the reality of teenagers of the time. However, they get unexpectedly dragged into it more and more since getting closer to Ming—and later on Honey himself. This might not end well for them in more ways than you might expect.
A production of the ’90s, this film has that grainy quality that only comes pre-digital filming. The production itself is very well done—from the set design, costume and lighting all the way to the colour grading and editing. Making great use of the 4 hours and 100+ characters involved, this film gives amazing depth to the true story of Zhan Zheng (S’ir). It is a tragic portrayal of what happens to the youths when there’s a political turbulence for the adults and the authority is not to be trusted.
Violence really colours the entirety of this film, so please tread carefully. That being said, the film doesn’t show blood or the violent acts explicitly—most of which happens in the dark. Aside from the violence and street gang arc, this film also portrays the Zhan family chemistry incredibly well. Everything about this film just feels so raw and natural, you won’t know what to do with yourself once the 4 hours is up.
Here is a film that I watched literally only yesterday. I’ve been intrigued by it for a while thanks to Letterboxd, as many people seem to recommend it on that website. What I didn’t expect was to get dragged down a long rabbit hole and come out the other side a changed human being. Needless to say, this film made it to the top of my list straight away and, by far, has become the best film I’ve ever watched. Not only that, this film is based on true story and set in 1960 in Taiwan.
Directed by Edward Yang, this film features over 100 characters—all with speaking roles!—and gives the story a whole lot more depth than most films are prepared to do. A word of warning, though: this film is 4 hours long! You will be sitting down for what feels like forever, but without a dull moment in it, the film will hook you right in. Here is A Brighter Summer Day (1991).
The story follows the youths of Taiwan as they try to navigate through the
turbulence caused by the political instability currently happening in mainland China and their parents facing uncertainty. The plot narrows down a little on Zhan Zheng (a.k.a. Xiao S’ir) as he develops a friendship that later blooms into a romantic relationship with Ming, who at the time was the girlfriend of a runaway gangster boss, Honey.
S’ir and his friends, Cat and Airplane—both nicknames, of course—aren’t new to the gangster life, as it brushes past them at school all the time. It’s just the reality of teenagers of the time. However, they get unexpectedly dragged into it more and more since getting closer to Ming—and later on Honey himself. This might not end well for them in more ways than you might expect.
A production of the ’90s, this film has that grainy quality that only comes pre-digital filming. The production itself is very well done—from the set design, costume and lighting all the way to the colour grading and editing. Making great use of the 4 hours and 100+ characters involved, this film gives amazing depth to the true story of Zhan Zheng (S’ir). It is a tragic portrayal of what happens to the youths when there’s a political turbulence for the adults and the authority is not to be trusted.
Violence really colours the entirety of this film, so please tread carefully. That being said, the film doesn’t show blood or the violent acts explicitly—most of which happens in the dark. Aside from the violence and street gang arc, this film also portrays the Zhan family chemistry incredibly well. Everything about this film just feels so raw and natural, you won’t know what to do with yourself once the 4 hours is up.