A City of Sadness (1989) poster
Poster: TMDB
FilmNR1989

A City of Sadness

DramaHistory

The story of a family embroiled in the "White Terror," the Kuomintang government's anti-communist political repression that was wrought on the Taiwanese people from 1947-1987. From TMDB

23 reactions from 3 sources (Bluesky, TMDB reviews, Mastodon) · newest Jun 8, 2026 · last updated Oct 16, 2026 · How this works

Audience score

—
No Data

Sentiment labels for these sources are still being hand-checked; no score yet.

Source+−=
Bluesky *000
TMDB reviews *100
Mastodon *000

* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).

22 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.

What people are saying

A written summary appears once the title has a score.

The Experts
89%
avg of 2 sources
The People
—
audience score

Reactions

23 of 23 · most liked first
  • Elena Existing @elenaexisting.bsky.socialBluesky · Aug 15, 2025

    #LetterboxdFriday #LastFourWatched A City of Sadness, Taiwan, 1989 As Tears Go By, HK, 1988 Love in a Fallen City, HK, 1984 Banana Paradise, Taiwan, 1989 Not shown, but also watched last weekend: Millionaire's Express, HK, 1986 Wrapping up the 1980s and heading off into the 1990s soon!

    unlabelledView post →
  • Fisty @fisty.bsky.socialBluesky · Apr 3, 2026

    Twisted fairy tale theme? Cruella was an unexpected hoot; A City of Sadness needs to be rewatched when it's not a blurry mess on Youtube :( ; The Legend of Billie Jean delivered Intense 80ism; Secret of Kells was ok, watched for Hater Club Challenge. #LetterboxdFriday #LastFourWatched #FilmSky

    unlabelledView post →
  • multiburst @multiburst.bsky.socialBluesky · Aug 23, 2025

    "A City of Sadness" is an incredible movie. Working on so many levels, highly coded with historical details. But I guess, even without the historical knowledge, you can still enjoy the story and slow images. Definitely want to watch this again for more than once.

    unlabelledView post →
  • Sean Gilman @theendofcinema.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 16, 2025

    The Alula Film Festival, highlighting Chinese language film past and present, kicks of tonight in Los Angeles with the restoration of Hou Hsiao-hsien's A City of Sadness www.alulafilm.org/a-city-of-sa...

    unlabelledView post →
  • Finn @sconesaregood.bsky.socialBluesky · Aug 3, 2024

    best of 80s: 1980 The Shining 1981 Possession 1982 Toute une nuit 1983 Sans Soleil 1984 Stranger than Paradise 1985 Vagabond/Ran 1986 Landscape Suicide 1987 Wings of Desire 1988 A Short Film about Killing 1989 A City of Sadness/Histoire(s) du cinéma

    unlabelledView post →
  • Zizi Li, Ph.D. @zizilizizi.bsky.socialBluesky · Feb 17, 2025

    Week 3, we watched Hou Hsiao-Hsien's "A City of Sadness" (1989) to discuss national cinema, portrayals of national trauma, and the history of a small island nation caught in between different colonial powers. It was a challenging film, and I was pleasantly surprised by the lively discussions.

    unlabelledView post →
  • Bryan Loomis @bryanwhatapic.bsky.socialBluesky · Aug 27, 2023

    Movie years project Year 1989 (34/122) Now Watching Movie #8/10 A City of Sadness dir. Hou Hsiao-hsien

    unlabelledView post →
  • 아티/Artie 💖💜💙🇰🇷 @soapycinema123.bsky.socialBluesky · Dec 22, 2025

    Picking a random film from my collection to show off for no reason reason #filmsky #physicalmedia Day 6 A City of Sadness

    unlabelledView post →
  • Jan-Willem Bult® @janwillembult.bsky.socialBluesky · Dec 4, 2025

    Last week in #Taiwan 🇹🇼 we visited historical ground. The Shengping Theater (cinema) in Jiufen, a gold mine mountain city an hour drive from #Taipei. Here is where in 1989 the #NewWave of Taiwanese #cinema was born, with the screening of revolutionary film ‘A City of Sadness’…

    unlabelledView post →
  • Tony Paley @tpaleyfilm.bsky.socialBluesky · Sep 29, 2025

    #bestfilminlondontoday Sep 29 at capitalcelluloid.blogspot.com guide to London films. ‘one of the supreme masterworks of the contemporary cinema’ A CITY OF SADNESS with Tony Rayns intro at the Garden Cinema capitalcelluloid.blogspot.com/2025/09/capi...

    unlabelledView post →
  • Abe El-Raheb / Editor & Writer @eldashraheb.bsky.socialBluesky · Jul 21, 2025

    Watched A City of Sadness (1989) tonight for movie club. Very good - felt like the Taiwanese New Wave’s version of The Godfather. Sadly, the best option was the 480p internet archive upload, but it still did the trick. m.youtube.com/watch?v=caU7...

    unlabelledView post →
  • L. Acadia @acadialogue.bsky.socialBluesky · Dec 9, 2025

    Literary/theory salon in Changhua Friday, 19th Dec! After a screening of A City of Sadness, Tzuchien Tho will speak about the film, then I will speak about the Unbecoming Trope of Suicide in Taiwanese Queer Literature (a project with Lainey Hsu). RSVP/more info: www.instagram.com/nice.h0use247/

    unlabelledView post →
  • 아티/Artie 💖💜💙🇰🇷 @soapycinema123.bsky.socialBluesky · Aug 11, 2025

    Recommend a film. Just a poster, with title Day 19 #filmsky A City of Sadness

    unlabelledView post →
  • Cheezy @cheezyatstake.bsky.socialBluesky · Jun 8, 2025

    Reminds me of Taiwanese film A City of Sadness a scene where a group of chinese refugee speaks cantonese and shanghainese-wu in one room and someone has to translate all in hokkien

    unlabelledView post →
  • Cheburashka @leshij.bsky.socialBluesky · Dec 25, 2024

    “Chu T’-ien-wen is appealing in part because her literary fiction is underappreciated, at least compared to the acclaim she has won for her film work. She co-wrote A City of Sadness for Hou Hsiao-hsien. That should be enough. She adapted Flowers of Shanghai for him.“

    unlabelledView post →
  • Landscape Artist in Retreat @vailalamadness.bsky.socialBluesky · Dec 3, 2024

    The problem with recommending this film is the specificity of time and location in Taiwan. It helps to know something of the complex history of Taiwan, just like Hsiao-Hsien Hou's films, such as A City of Sadness.

    unlabelledView post →
  • hinesd24.bsky.social @hinesd24.bsky.socialBluesky · Jun 8, 2026

    2026 Film Reviews 391. Decision To Leave (2022) - 5.0 392. A City Of Sadness (1989) - 4.0 393. The Furious (2026) - 4.0 394. Go West (1925) - 5.0 395. Seven Chances (1925) - 5.0 #2026FilmsDH

    unlabelledView post →
  • Democratic anonymity @comradebotany.bsky.socialBluesky · Jan 12, 2026

    I see you're going from china watcher to film watcher. What's your take on A City of Sadness (悲情城市)? Didn't manage to finish it. Wasn't able to follow the plot I think (language issues?)? Any China or Taiwan recommendations?

    unlabelledView post →
  • Jan-Willem Bult @[email protected]Mastodon · Dec 4, 2025

    Last week in #Taiwan 🇹🇼 visiting historical ground. The Shengping Theater (cinema) in Jiufen, a gold mine mountain city an hour drive from Taipei. Here in 1989 the ‘New Wave of Taiwan cinema’ was born, with the screening of revolutionary film ‘A City of Sadness’ by Hsiao-Hsien Hou, son of a gold miner. People were called to the cinema by 2 children who walked the city with a banner, still hanging in the cinema. As is the window with the stills of the film. #acityofsadness #cinema #newwave…

    unlabelledView post →
  • Charlie Panayiotou @charliepanayi.bsky.socialBluesky · Aug 26, 2025

    I thought A City of Sadness would easily be the most depressing film I saw this month and then I watched The Man Who Fell to Earth

    unlabelledView post →
  • Ducky Krup @duckykrup.bsky.socialBluesky · Jul 7, 2025

    How does Criterion only have one Hou Hsiao-Hsien movie? And why can I not find A City of Sadness anywhere?

    unlabelledView post →
  • Kai Bosworth @kaibosworth.bsky.socialBluesky · Jan 2, 2025

    Wu's movie is a loose account of his father's life as a coal miner, and eventual silicosis. it's pretty much his only directorial movie but he was a writer for many of the best Taiwanese new wave films, most notably Hou's "Dust in the Wind" and "A City of Sadness," Yang's "That Day, on the Beach"

    unlabelledView post →
  • badelf @badelfTMDB reviews · Nov 15, 2021

    This film, even at 20 years old, may be the strongest cinematic statement I've ever seen against country "boundaries" and "imperialism". Between the beginning of the 20th century, Chinese people lived in Taiwan under Japanese rule for two generations. By WW II, they were living alongside the Japanese and the remaining (that's another story) indigenous peoples more or less peacefully. The Taiwanese, after two generations, were neither Chinese, nor Japanese, nor indigenous. When Japan lost the…

    positive · AI labelView post →

Posts are quoted from public profiles with links to the original. Want yours removed? Contact us.

Official Trailer

Top Cast

Tony Leung Chiu-wai actor profile photo
Tony Leung Chiu-wai
Wen-Ching
Hsin Shu-Fen actor profile photo
Hsin Shu-Fen
Wu Kuan Mei / Hinome
Chan Chung-Yung actor profile photo
Chan Chung-Yung
Wen-Heung
Jack Kao actor profile photo
Jack Kao
Wen Leung
Tai Bo actor profile photo
Tai Bo
Ah Jia
Li Tian-Lu actor profile photo
Li Tian-Lu
Ah Lu
Grace Chen Shu-Fang actor profile photo
Grace Chen Shu-Fang
Meidai
Tsai Chen-nan actor profile photo
Tsai Chen-nan
Singer

Cast from TMDB.

TMDBThis product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.