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A Brighter Summer Day 15 rating

Based on the true story of a crime that gripped Taiwan in the 1960s, Edward Yang’s epic explores the heartache and loneliness of adolescence amid the country’s political unrest.

Drama 1991 237 mins

Director: Edward Yang

CC

Overview

As American pop culture seeps into classrooms, failing student Xiao Si’r (Zhang Zhen in his first acting role) grows distracted by girls, local gangs and the bustling movie studio next door to his Taipei school. His disappointed parents meanwhile, refugees from Communist China, are dealing with suspicions from the oppressive military authorities. Selected as the Taiwanese entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1992 Academy Awards, Edward Yang’s coming-of-age epic is widely considered to be one of the masterpieces of the Taiwanese New Wave.

Ranked joint 78th in the 2022 Sight and Sound Great Films of All Time poll.

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