A City of Sadness

The film opens with Emperor Hirohito's surrender on August 15, 1945, as his voice crackles from radios across Taiwan. In the coastal town near Taipei, people celebrate the end of fifty years of Japanese rule and the arrival of a new wave of mainland migrants, including KMT troops, gangsters, and idealists. The Lin family stands at the heart of these changes as they await births and adapt to the unsettled new normal.

Lin Wen-hsiung, patriarch of the Lin family, runs a bar called Little Shanghai and remains the central figure in the household. The family eagerly anticipates the birth of his youngest child while the town buzzes with postwar energy and tension. His bar serves as a social hub that mirrors the era’s shifts and loyalties.

The second son served as a military doctor but disappeared in the Philippines during the war, leaving the family with unresolved fears and a sense of loss. This wartime backdrop casts a long shadow over the postwar period as veterans, refugees, and shifting loyalties reshape Taiwan’s streets. The absence of news gnaws at the family’s sense of security.

The youngest son Wen-ching is a photographer with leftist leanings and a childhood accident left him deaf. He remains close to Hiroe and Hiroe's sister Hiromi, navigating a town in turmoil. His disability heightens his empathy and makes him particularly attuned to the era’s social divides.

Lin Wen-liang had been recruited by the Japanese to Shanghai as an interpreter. After the defeat, he is arrested by the Kuomintang on charges of treason, triggering mental distress and a long hospital stay. His imprisonment underscores the precarious fate of people with controversial pasts in the postwar climate.

When Wen-hsiung learns of his brother’s illegal activities, he tries to intervene to prevent further trouble. The Shanghainese mob retaliates by arranging Wen-liang’s imprisonment on false charges of collaboration with the Japanese. In prison, he is tortured and sustains brain damage, deepening the family’s wounds.

The February 28 Incident of 1947 erupts, with thousands of Taiwanese people massacred by Kuomintang troops. The Lin family follows radio broadcasts, including Chen Yi’s declaration of martial law to crush dissent. The atmosphere of fear reshapes daily life and future choices.

After the massacre, the wounded pour into the neighborhood clinic for treatment. Wen-ching is arrested at one point during the crackdown but is eventually released, reflecting the precarious and sometimes arbitrary nature of postwar justice. The episode shows ordinary lives caught in political violence.

Hiroe heads for the mountains to join leftist guerrillas, embracing the resistance against the authorities. Wen-ching wrestles with whether to join the struggle or protect his new family. The rugged terrain and clandestine meetings highlight the era’s dangerous politics.

Wen-ching expresses his desire to join Hiroe’s guerrilla band, but Hiroe persuades him to return home and marry Hiromi, who loves him. The decision marks a personal retreat from armed struggle in favor of family duty. The couple’s union becomes a fragile beacon amid ongoing turmoil.

In a gambling confrontation with the Shanghainese mob, Lin Wen-hsiung is shot and killed. The sudden death deepens the family’s grief and foreshadows more losses to come. The funeral deepens the sense that violence touches every generation.

After Wen-hsiung’s funeral, Wen-ching and Hiromi marry at home, and Hiromi soon bears a child. Their union embodies resilience amid political chaos and provides a fragile beacon of hope for the next generation. The new family stands together against uncertain times.

Hiroe’s guerrilla group is defeated and many members are executed, with survivors forced to abandon their posts. They inform Wen-ching of the fate and urge him to escape, illustrating the brutal crackdown on dissent. The episode underscores the era’s overwhelming suppression of opposition.

Following the guerrillas’ defeat, Wen-ching is arrested by the Kuomintang for his involvement with them, leaving Hiromi and their child at home. The arrest marks the closing note of the era of open resistance as authoritarian rule tightens its grip on daily life. The home becomes the last refuge for the family.