Overview
A poignant exploration of family ties amidst political turmoil and oppression.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- Moderate
- melancholic
- austere
- contemplative
- serious film study
- historical reflection
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Hou Hsiao-hsien’s elliptical, long-take historical drama as a landmark of Taiwanese New Cinema, while acknowledging its opacity and political ambiguity.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The February 28 Incident and White Terror are filtered through the Lin family’s fragmented experiences and are often implied rather than explicitly shown.
Hou Hsiao-hsien’s long takes and framing through doorways create distance, opacity, and historical resonance.
The family’s life is transformed by the Kuomintang takeover, political repression, and the island’s unsettled postwar identity.
The story explores Taiwanese life after Japanese rule and the arrival of a mainland Chinese government through the family’s differing positions and experiences.
Films like A City of Sadness, and why
The Last Emperor
shared elliptical historical drama, politically charged family narrative, and restrained visual storytelling
The Puppetmaster
shared Taiwanese New Cinema context, postwar political trauma, and contemplative long-take aesthetics
Reds
shared intimate family drama shaped by authoritarian history and national displacement
Movie Details
- Director
- Hou Hsiao-hsien
- Release Date
- 1989-10-21
- Runtime
- 158 min
- Rating
- 7.5 / 10 (160)
Cast
- Tony Leung Chiu-wai
- Hsin Shu-Fen
- Chan Chung-Yung
- Jack Kao
- Tai Bo
- Li Tian-Lu
- Grace Chen Shu-Fang
- Wu Nien-jen
- Tsai Chen-nan
- King Shih-chieh
Common questions
- What is A City of Sadness about?
- A restrained family epic turns Taiwan’s postwar political trauma into an intimate portrait of silence, displacement, and fractured belonging.
- What is A City of Sadness like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of A City of Sadness as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as dense.
- Is A City of Sadness violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in A City of Sadness as moderate.
- What did critics think of A City of Sadness?
- Critics broadly regard Hou Hsiao-hsien’s elliptical, long-take historical drama as a landmark of Taiwanese New Cinema, while acknowledging its opacity and political ambiguity.
- Which films are like A City of Sadness?
- Films with a similar feel include The Last Emperor, The Puppetmaster, and Reds.
- How long is A City of Sadness?
- A City of Sadness runs 158 minutes.
