A City of Sadness
1989
Directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien
The previous Hsiao-Hsien film on the List was A Time To Live, A Time To Die. It was quite boring to sit through, although at least I had some idea what was happening on screen. I will blame the age old scapegoat for my stupidity and confusion: the subtitles.
The film kind of feels like a history lesson, attempted to be related in an entertaining way. As I don't feel like writing an essay on White Terror, I won't go into too much detail. Basically, the movie tells the story of a Taiwanese family during the period of White Terror which followed the February 28 massacre. If you don't have a useless Asian history minor like me, that sentence will require some googling. I don't know what I am bragging about, though, because I still had no idea what was going on.
So yes, I got bored fairly quickly as I realized right away I was lost and the subtitles weren't going to help clear up my confusion. It did look beautiful at least. I feel like I just sat through a two and a half hour lecture. Informative? Perhaps. Entertaining? Not at all.
RATING: **---
Interesting Facts:
First Taiwanese film to be shot in direct sound.
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