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Films  ›  Hou Hsiao-hsien

A City of Sadness (1989)

Film
DirectorHou Hsiao-hsien
Meta takes1

Figures

Characters
  • The character of Hiromi as a historical witness.
Form & technique
  • The film's long-take, fixed-camera aesthetic (plan-séquence).
  • The narrative arc of the Lin family's suffering and dissolution.
  • The film's overall narrative as a challenge to official history.
Tropes
  • The indirect, off-screen representation of the 228 Incident.
  • The muteness of the character Wen-ching.
  • The "Little Shanghai" restaurant and the hospital/clinic spaces. → The Counter-Space

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