- English name：The Time to Live and Time to Die
- Broadcast time：February 1, 1986
- Starring：游安顺、田丰（Feng Tien）、梅芳、唐如韫（Ru-Yun Tang）、辛树芬
- director：侯孝贤（Hou Hsiao-hsien）
Introduction
Today, I will introduce a Chinese film which called The Time to Live and the Time to Die (童年往事tóng nián wǎng shì). So let us have a brief introduction.
The Time to Live and the Time to Die is a 1985 film directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien (侯孝贤Hóu Xiàoxián). This film is inspired by screenwriter-turned-director Hou’s own coming-of-age story.
This film is the second part of Hou’s coming-of-age trilogy, preceded by A Summer at Grandpa’s (1984) and followed by Dust in the Wind (1986).
Synopsis
Spanning the years 1947-1960, the film follows the maturation of Ah-ha as he and his family cope with the shock of leaving their homeland. Having been only a child during the move, Ah-ha quickly acclimates himself to the new country, often putting him at odds with his more traditional family.
This is a very fabulous film
Plot
Ah Xiao (played by You Anshun) was born in Meixian County, Guangdong Province, and moved to Taiwan with his family when he was young. He has an older brother, an older sister and two younger brothers. His parents, who had just arrived in Taiwan a few years ago, often told their children about their past experiences in the mainland. And his grandmother (played by Tang Ruyun) kept asking Ah Xiao to accompany her back to her hometown in the mainland.
The year Ah Xiao graduated from elementary school, his father (played by Tian Feng) passed away. After entering middle school, Ah Xiao, like his peers around him, began to have a youthful but rebellious life experience. He mixed with gangs, dated girls, played billiards, clashed with veterans because of Vice President Chen Cheng’s big collection, and secretly smashed people’s glass, all of which showed the blood and innocence of adolescence; after that, Ah Xiao’s eldest sister (played by Xiao Ai) went north to get married, and his eldest brother (played by Yan Shenghua) Ah Zhong also left home to study at a teachers’ college, and his mother (played by Mei Fang) also contracted a serious illness. These were all signs that he should mature as soon as possible and work hard to manage the family, but he continued to fight, play hooligan, and secretly love the girl next door. Soon after, his mother also passed away.
The death of his mother made Ah Xiao realize the taste of life and death. Ah Xiao, who was originally recommended by the school and wanted to go to the military academy for further studies, finally decided to take the college entrance examination because of the words of his favorite classmate from Kaohsiung Girls’ High School, “Wait until you get into college first”, but he also changed his life because of this momentary youthful spirit. After failing the joint entrance examination, his girlfriend also left him indifferently. Soon, his grandmother also left the world silently, and died inadvertently on the tatami, which seemed to symbolize the end of an old era, and also symbolized the disintegration of the family and the collapse of ideals, which forced the boy to wake up from all his dreams. After paying many life prices, growth is inevitable.
