The Boys from Fengkuei
The Boys from Fengkuei | |
---|---|
Hanyu Pinyin | Fēngguì lái de rén |
Directed by | Hou Hsiao-hsien |
Written by | Chu Tʽien-wen |
Produced by |
|
Starring | Chen Kunhou |
Edited by | Liao Ching-song |
Music by |
|
Release date | 1983 |
Running time | 102 minutes |
Country | Taiwan |
Languages | Taiwanese Minnan |
The Boys from Fengkuei (Chinese: 風櫃來的人), also known as All the Youthful Days, is a 1983 Taiwanese film directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien. The movie is about a group of impulsive teenagers with nothing to do and high energy. While waiting to be enlisted in the army, they cause trouble in their hometown, Fengkuei, and run away from Penghu to Kaohsiung. From a small town to a big city, through the depression and turmoil of youth they experience unforgettable life scenery and gradually recede from their original youthfulness.[1] It was Hou Hsiao-hsien's first art film after he directed three light comedies in the early eighties and a representative work of the Taiwan New Cinema at its inception.
Plot
Ah-ching, whose father is disabled due to a brain injury, fools around with his friends Ah-rong, Kuo-zai, and Ah-yu in their island fishing village, Fengkuei (風櫃). One day, they get into trouble with the local gangsters, and Ah-ching smashes one's head with a brick, causing the police to look for Ah-ching. They go to Kuo-zai's uncle's house on the sea shore in Neipo (內坡) to hide and have a good time, but they are eventually brought to the police station for their crimes. Bailed out by his brother, Ah-ching does not want to stay in Fengkuei any more. He steals some money from home and goes to the port city of Kaohsiung together with Ah-rong and Kuo-zai to look for work.
With the help of Ah-rong's sister, they rent a room on the island of
One day Ah-rong's sister gives them money to have fun in Kaohsiung. They get scammed and are tricked into going up an empty building to watch a porn film, but instead find that there is only the landscape of Kaohsiung to see. The view prompts Ah-ching to start working hard by learning Japanese. Meanwhile, Ah-rong gets involved with a group of hoodlums. Jin-he is fired because the factory finds out that he had been stealing factory materials. Jin-he decides to take a seaman's job and go seafaring.
Ah-ching is worried about Hsiao-hsing, who is sad after breaking up with Jin-he. In his heaving mood, Ah-ching starts to have friction with Ah-rong and even pushes him into the sea. Ah-ching receives news of his father's death and returns to Penghu to attend the funeral. Hsiao-hsing also comes along to Fengkuei to visit Jin-he's family.
Back in Kaohsiung, Ah-rong sets up a stall in the market to sell pirated compact
Depressed, Ah-ching goes to Ah-rong's stall in the market. Ah-rong asks him to brighten up because Kuo-zai was drafted and has to leave for Fengkuei the next day and report to the army the day afterwards. The news and the words "military service" written on the sale board give Ah-ching a shakeup. He jumps up on a chair and begins to shout "Military service big sale! Three for 50 bucks!" When Ah-rong tries to stop him because the price is too lower to make a profit, Ah-ching tells him not to have any reservations because "Kuo-zai is going to do military service in two days! Let's just do it!"
Cast
Actor/Actress | Character | Notes |
---|---|---|
Doze Niu | Ah-ching | |
Chang Shih | Ah-rong | |
Chao Peng-chue | Kuo-zai | It is pronounced in Taiwanese in the film as “Kuei-e.” |
Lin Hsiu-ling | Hsiao-hsing | Huang Jin-he’s girlfriend |
Chen Shu-fang | Ah-ching’s mother | |
Jang Chuen-fang | Ah-rong’s sister | |
Tuo Tsung-hua | Huang Jin-he | |
Hou Hsiao-hsien | Ah-rong’s sister's boyfriend | Hou Hsiao-hsien is also the director of the film |
Yang Li-yin | Yang Jin-hua |
Production
Thanks to screenwriter
This soundtrack of the film was originally a namesake song in rock-n-roll style composed and sung by popular singer
Jang Chuen-fang (張純芳), who played Ah rong's sister, starred in many films of Taiwan New Wave Cinema, including Growing Up (小畢的故事) directed by Chen Kun-hou (陳坤厚), Nature is Quietly Beautiful (霧裡的笛聲) directed by Tseng Chuang-hsiang, and Second Spring of Mr. Muo (老莫的第二個春天) directed by You-Ning Li (李祐寧). She was one of the most important actresses of the Taiwan New Cinema era in the 1980s.
Hou Hsiao-hsien plays the role of Ah-rong's sister's boyfriend in this film. He also dubbed the voice of the peddler on the motorbike who tricked Ah-ching and his friends to go up the building for the porn film.
The Korean film
The film was digitally restored in 2015 by
Awards
The film won the
Awards | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|
21st Golden Horse Awards | Best Narrative Feature | Wan Nian Qing Film Company | Nominated |
Best Director | Hou Hsiao-hsien | Nominated | |
Best Film Editing | Liao Ching-song | Nominated | |
Best Cinematography | Chen Kun-Hou | Nominated |
References
- ^ a b "公共電視_風櫃來的人". www.pts.org.tw. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
- ^ "風櫃來的人". 開眼電影網.
- ^ 孫, 伊萱 (2021-05-11). "受侯孝賢《風櫃來的人》啟發 《薄荷糖》李滄東成國際名導 - 娛樂". 中時新聞網 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2023-06-27.
- ^ Linnarz, Rouven (2022-07-28). "Film Review: The Boys from Fengkuei (1983) by Hou Hsiao-hsien". Asian Movie Pulse. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
External links
- The Boys from Fengkuei at IMDb