Golden Horse Awards
As the Golden Horse Awards draw near, we present a slate of films from the Taiwanese New Wave that were nominated for or won the award for Best Feature Film. Together, they represent an era of cinema known for its realistic portrayals of quotidian life in Taiwan.
Three Times
(最好的時光)
There's a time for love, a time for freedom, and a time for youth.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Taiwan • 2005
- Director Hou Hsiao-hsien
- Cast Shu Qi, Chang Chen, Mei Fang, Su-jen Liao, Mei Di, Chen Shi-Zheng
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Amazon Video
Flowers of Shanghai
(海上花)
The lives of four "flower girls" in an upscale brothel in 19th century Shanghai
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Taiwan, Japan • 1998
- Director Hou Hsiao-hsien
- Cast Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Michiko Hada, Carina Lau, Michelle Reis, Jack Kao, Rebecca Pan
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Tropical Fish
(熱帶魚)
A junior high student with a vivid imagination goes on an unusual adventure when he is accidentally kidnapped
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Taiwan • 1995
- Director Chen Yu-Hsun
- Cast Yi-fan Chen, Wen Ying, Akio Chen, Lin Cheng-sheng, Lien Pi-tung
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Eat Drink Man Woman
(飲食男女)
Food unites the diverging lives of a widowed chef and his four daughters
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Taiwan, China • 1994
- Director Ang Lee
- Cast Sihung Lung, Yu-Wen Wang, Wu Chien-Lien, Yang Kuei-Mei, Winston Chao, Sylvia Chang
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Vive L'Amour
(愛情萬歲)
Three lonely people unknowingly share an apartment in Taipei.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Taiwan • 1994
- Director Tsai Ming-liang
- Cast Lee Kang-Sheng, Yang Kuei-Mei, Chen Chao-jung, Lu Yi-Ching
- Genre Drama
- Available on Film Movement Plus, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
The Wedding Banquet
(喜宴)
A gay Taiwanese American man plans a marriage of convenience to a Chinese woman in order to appease his parents
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Taiwan, United States • 1993
- Director Ang Lee
- Cast Winston Chao, May Chin, Gua Ah-leh, Sihung Lung, Mitchell Lichtenstein, Dion Birney
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Available on Kanopy
A Brighter Summer Day
(牯嶺街少年殺人事件)
A colorful coming of age odyssey set against the backdrop of 1960s Taiwan.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Taiwan • 1991
- Director Edward Yang
- Cast Chang Chen, Lisa Yang, Elaine Jin, Chen Shiang-Chyi
- Genre Crime, Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Reunion
(我們都是這樣長大的)
The reunions of an elementary school class over a span of nearly 40 years
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Taiwan • 1986
- Director Ko I-Chen
- Cast Terry Hu, Hsu Ming, Chang Fu-Mei
- Genre Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Terrorizers
(恐怖分子)
The intertwining lives of three groups of people cause a butterfly effect that leads to a tragic event.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Taiwan • 1986
- Director Edward Yang
- Cast Cora Miao, Lee Lichun, Chin Shih-Chieh, Wang An, Shaojun Ma, Gu Bao-Ming
- Genre Crime, Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Kuei-mei, a Woman
(我這樣過了一生)
The story of how a girl from mainland China raised a family from poverty to stability in Taiwan
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Taiwan • 1985
- Director Chang Yi
- Cast Yang Hui-shan, Lee Lichun, Elten Ting, Wen Ying, Hu Hsiang-Ping
- Genre Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
The Time to Live and the Time to Die
(童年往事)
Born in mainland China and raised in Taiwan, a young boy grapples with generational differences and conflicting cultural identities.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Taiwan • 1985
- Director Hou Hsiao-hsien
- Cast Tien Feng, Mei Fang, Tang Ru-Yun, Hsiao Ai, Yu An-Shun
- Genre Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Growing Up
(小畢的故事)
A mischievous boy's journey from childhood to adulthood.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Taiwan • 1983
- Director Chen Kun-Hou
- Cast Doze Niu Cheng-Tse, Fanny Chang Chun-Fang, Yen Cheng-kuo, Hsi Chang, Chang Ping-Yu
- Genre Drama, Family, Romance
- Available on No streaming locations found.