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Reel 09Taiwan1982–1991

Taiwan New Cinema

台灣新電影 · Taiwanese New Wave

In the early 1980s, the state studio Central Motion Picture Corporation gave a group of young directors a chance, starting with the anthology In Our Time (1982). Instead of melodrama and martial arts, they filmed everyday Taiwanese life, childhood and memory in long, patient takes.

Moreover, after martial law ended in 1987, Hou Hsiao-hsien could finally put the island's suppressed history on screen: A City of Sadness won the Golden Lion in Venice in 1989.

  • Hou Hsiao-hsien
  • Edward Yang
  • Long takes
  • Memory and history
No.FilmDirectorYear
  1. 01

    光陰的故事

    In Our Time

    Four short stories by four young directors, from childhood to adulthood. This is where the movement starts.

    Tao Te-chen, Edward Yang, Ko I-chen, Chang Yi 1982
  2. 02

    風櫃來的人

    The Boys from Fengkuei

    Three teenagers from the Penghu islands drift to the port city of Kaohsiung.

    Hou Hsiao-hsien 1983
  3. 03

    青梅竹馬

    Taipei Story

    A couple drifts apart in a fast-changing Taipei. Hou Hsiao-hsien plays the male lead.

    Edward Yang 1985
  4. 04

    童年往事

    A Time to Live, a Time to Die

    Hou's own childhood, in a family that crossed from the mainland and never quite settled.

    Hou Hsiao-hsien 1985
  5. 05

    悲情城市

    A City of Sadness

    Start here

    A family in the years after 1945. It was the first film to depict the 228 Incident, and it won the Golden Lion.

    Hou Hsiao-hsien 1989
  6. 06

    牯嶺街少年殺人事件

    A Brighter Summer Day

    Teenage gangs in early-1960s Taipei, based on a real killing. Nearly four hours, worth every minute.

    Edward Yang 1991
  7. 07

    一一

    Yi Yi

    Coda: one Taipei family over one year, from a wedding to a funeral. Best Director at Cannes.

    Edward Yang 2000