Tong nien wang shi (1985)

Director:

Hsiao-hsien Hou

Writers:

T'ien-wen Chu (writer)
Hsiao-hsien Hou (writer)

Release Date:

1988 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

This depiction of childhood and adolescence draws heavily from the filmmaker's own boyhood. Like many of their compatriots...

Plot Keywords:

Coming Of Age | Historical | Teen

Awards:

5 wins

Cast

Mei-Feng
Yu-Yuen Tang	...	Grandmother
Feng Tien
Shufen Xin
Ann-Shuin Yiu

Also Known As:

A Time to Live and a Time to Die (USA) (festival title)
A Time to Live, a Time to Die (International: English title) (DVD title)
The Time to Live and the Time to Die
Tong nian wang shih (Taiwan)

Runtime:

Argentina:138 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente) | France:137 min | USA:138 min

Country:

Taiwan

Language:

Mandarin | Taiwanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | France:U | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

Taiwan

Company:

Central Motion Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

This film is inspired by screenwriter-turned-director Hou Hsiao-Hsien's coming-of-age story. It is the second installment of Hou Hsiao-Hsien's "Coming-of-Age Trilogy" that features three prominent Taiwanese screenwriters' coming-of-age stories - the other two are _My Summer at Grandpa's (1984)_ (inspired by the childhood memories of Chu Tien-Wen) and _Dust in the Wind (1986)_ (inspired by the coming-of-age story of Wu Nien-Jen).

a truly transcendental film

For me, this transparent, transcendental film ranks with with the very best of Bresson and Ozu. Meandering, episodic and deceptively detached in tone, A TIME TO LIVE AND A TIME TO DIE is quite probably Hou Hsiao-Hsien's most daring formal experiment, as well as--surprisingly--his most moving film to date.