Hou Hsiao-hsien 21: A City of Sadness (Taiwan, 989)

https://notesonfilm1.com/2021/07/23/hou-hsiao-hsien-21-a-city-of-sadness-1989/ After all our contextualising, we return to Hou Hsiao-hsien films proper, focussing on the masterpiece that is a City of Sadness. We are able now to discuss not only what the film feels like to watch or what it is about in formal terms but can now add various kinds of contexts: historical, political, social, aesthetic, industrial, and even how our own personal histories find echo in the film and how those echoes add a layer of insight and understanding into the film and perhaps also into ourselves. It makes for a rich but still -- as is proper with all great works -- initial and tentative discussion.