A City of Sadness opens with the announcement of the Japanese surrender which will mark the withdrawal of the Japanese overlords after over 50 years of rule. The movies focuses on the Li family as they negotiate this new political reality. Nationalist troops and government officials as well as Shanghai-based gangsters descend on the island. At the center of the film is the February 28 Incident (1947) in which the National government suppressed a popular rebellion in which at least 18,000 civilians were killed. The Li family has three brothers (a forth never returns from the war) : Wen-heung, the oldest brother who runs a bar and is a small time gangster, Wen-Leung, a gangster who is the Shanghai-gangsters betray to the police (and who suffers brain damage), and Wen-Ching, a deaf photographer (and fellow traveler of revolutionaries). What is the movie telling about the political realities of Nationalist Chinese Taiwan? What about the use of violence for political or personal ends?
A City of Sadness offers a profound exploration of the turbulent political realities of Nationalist Chinese Taiwan during a crucial period in its history. The film, set against the backdrop of the Japanese surrender and the end of over 50 years of Japanese rule, effectively depicts the chaos and complexities that unfolded as different factions vied for power on the island. The portrayal of the Li family, with its three opposing brothers, serve as a microcosm of the broader societal condition: one is deaf, one is a gangster, and one is a educator. The film delves into the effect political turmoil brings to bare on their situations. Innate personality quarks clash with broader sociopolitical forces that end up begin beyond the control of the characters as two die and one go missing. This outcome illustrates the ruthlessness of political authorities in maintaining control.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, A City of Sadness underscores the pervasive use of violence for both political and personal ends. The character of Wen-heung, the oldest brother, embodies the world of small-time gangsters who wield force to secure their interests. Meanwhile, Wen-Leung's betrayal by Shanghai-based gangsters and subsequent brain damage reveals the dangers of entanglement with organized crime. The character of Wen-Ching, as a deaf photographer and revolutionary sympathizer, symbolizes the potential for personal and political motives to converge. Through these characters and their stories, the film effectively showcases how violence can be a tool for control and, at the same time, the unintended consequences it can have on individuals and families.
Hou Hsiao-Hsien's film City of Sadness represents the effect that violence resulting from war, crime and political instability have on individual characters and their family. The film commences at the end of the most violent event in the 20th century: World War II. As the Japanese occupation is rescinded, the effects of the war begin to reveal themselves. The Lin family is left wounded after one of the four brothers is presumed dead in while fighting in Philippines and another left recovering from truama of the war.
ReplyDeleteAfter recovering, this brother (Wen-liang) gets involved with a large-scale criminal operation in Shanghai. While he does some work for them, he eventually is framed by the gangsters from Shanghai and is imprisoned as a result. Wen-liang's brain activity is impaired after he is horribly beaten. The oldest brother, Wen-hsiung, is killed after being shot in a fight with the same gangsters later on.
The last brother, a deaf man named Wen-ching, meets another solemn fate when he is detained by the Chinese nationalist government that is consolidating power in Taiwan. Wen-ching would often take trips into the mountains to support a group of revolutionaries that opposed this government.
Each brother of the Lin family meets an unfortunate fate due to the ever-present violence in City of Sadness. Interestingly, the film incorporates several shots and events which downplay the importance of the characters themselves. The extreme wide shots of the Taiwanese countryside humble and downplay the importance of the story we are following. The inclusion of the February 28th incident also suggests that the Taiwanese were similarly affected by suppression and violence as the four Lin brothers. Due to hints from the cinematography and inclusion of events like the one on February 28th, perhaps the Lin brothers stand in to represent the greater struggles of the Taiwanese people during this period.
In Hou Hsiao-hsien’s movie, “A City of Sadness”, Hou uses the characters’ experiences to demonstrate the rough and complicated transition from Japanese to Chinese rule in Taiwan. The Li family specifically becomes a representation of the uncontrolled gang violence and strict ruling of the Taiwanese government when Sheng-Check first took over.
ReplyDeleteGangsters and living a gangster lifestyle severely impact both Wen-Leung and Wen-heung. These brothers inherit their titles from their father. Their dad claims he was a good gangster because he opposed the Japanese government. Wen-heung attempts to take over this role, but a gangster opposing the Japanese under Chinese rule is ultimately just a gangster. He is not a man of the people, and we do not see him give back to his community. Eventually, his life comes to an end when he tries to defend his brother from some other small-time gangsters, and he gets gunned down. Wen-Leung approaches gangster life in a slightly different way than his brother. He tries to become big and pulls tricks behind his brother’s back that get him in a bit too deep. When his peers rat him out, he gets captured by the police and returns with permanent brain damage. Hou uses these characters to show what’s going on behind the scenes in the transition into Nationalist Chinese Taiwan, and he uses Wen-heung to represent the ‘good gangsters’ becoming obsolete under this new rule. Also, more gangs from Shanghai and mainland China get involved and make the gangster scene one hundred times more dangerous. These new gangs were a big part of these brothers’ eventual deaths. Neither of them had the power they thought they did anymore.
Wen-Ching is more heavily affected by the strict rule of the new Taiwanese government and its use of violence for political ends. Wen-Ching’s best friend is a teacher who tries to spread knowledge and help the uneducated. He has helped Wen-Ching navigate his disability throughout his life and supported him. But in the Nationalist Government’s eye, he had one major flaw. Wen Ching’s best friend was involved with communist ideologies. The Nationalist Government was fresh from losing the civil war and had zero tolerance for anything communist related at the time. Hou used Wen-Ching’s friend as a representation of the people who were killed by an angry Nationalist government. He showed us that this new government was willing to kill even educators and good people just because they were associated with a different ideology. This concept is very prevalent in present-day life as well, and Hou paints this picture impressively.