City of Sadness
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Hou Hsiao-hsien’s A City of Sadness follows the Lin family in the years surrounding Taiwan’s transition from Japanese colonial rule to Nationalist Chinese administration. Centered on the four brothers and their families, the film traces their lives through the political upheaval that follows the February 28 Incident of 1947, when widespread unrest and government repression profoundly affected Taiwanese society. The deaf youngest brother, Wen-ching, becomes caught up in the political turmoil while his family struggles with loss, imprisonment, and separation. Through its restrained, elliptical narrative, Hou intertwines intimate family histories with the larger traumas of Taiwan’s postwar past, creating a haunting meditation on memory, silence, and historical violence.
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