Film Screening:
A Brighter Summer Day
(Edward Yang, 1991, 237 min, Taiwan, Mandarin with English Subtitles, DCP)
— Introduced by Prof. Guo-Juin Hong (Asian & Middle Eastern Studies / AAHVS / GSF)
Set in the early sixties in Taiwan, A Brighter Summer Day is based on the true story of a crime that rocked the nation. A film of both sprawling scope and tender intimacy, this novelistic, patiently observed epic centers on the gradual, inexorable fall of a young teenager (Chen Chang, in his first role) from innocence to juvenile delinquency, and is set against a simmering backdrop of restless youth, rock and roll, and political turmoil.
“A physical and social world as dense with family, community, and other personal ties as any John Ford film, and furnished with more sheer physical presence (including characters, settings, and objects) than any other fiction film I know of from the ’90s.” – Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
“Yang has erected a temporal experience, a completely immersive world that few artists in any medium could ever hope to do. If you love cinema, you’ll love this movie.” – IndieWire
“Yang’s methods bring a melancholy tenderness to his recollections. He films intricately staged action in long takes of a rueful, contemplative reserve.” – Richard Brody, New Yorker
Screen/Society screenings are free and open to the public. (COVID-19 Info)
