The Time to Live and the Time to Die

In 1957, Ah-ha and his family get together in the south of Taiwan where the climate is milder for his asthmatic father. Pampered by his grandmother, the little Ah-ha grows up in a close-knit environment, but is tragically struck by illness: the mischievous little boy turns into a taciturn and rebellious teenager...
In this film, Hou Hsiao-Hsien continues his exploration of Taiwanese youth through the autobiographical form, from the first memories of his childhood games to his adolescent loves, punctuated by the dramas that occur in the adult world. The passing of time is treated like a series of paintings, in which life is revealed without disguise or taboo. Implicitly, the filmmaker evokes the political situation in Taiwan at the time of Chiang Kai-shek’s anti-communist propaganda.

A moving chronicle of life passing by, disillusionment and dreams, of passing on and coming of age.


Millenium Mambo (BM02)

Carlotta Films / France / Ines Delvaux / ines@carlottafilms.com