A City of Sadness (EOTWS)

End Of The Week Shorts #51 extract: A City Of Sadness (1989)

Following the outbreak of scar-literature, or scar films, that emerged from China in the late 70s and 80s that dealt with the tragedies of the Cultural Revolution, A City Of Sadness is one of the very first films to deal with Taiwan's 20th century history and the 'white terror'. 

Far more subdued than the likes of Farewell My Concubine, A City Of Sadness is consumed by distant, silent melancholy. This is a film about unknowing and minute details, many of which are very hard to catch. As we watch one family through convoluted and complex times, we are then confined to lingering wide shots that refuse true familiarity, that refuse to imply any certainty or known direction. The wandering drama is difficult, but nonetheless silencing. More than living up to its title, A City Of Sadness is a forlorn sculpture in time just as subtle as it is poignant.