Goodbye South, Goodbye (1996)
Fast times, easy money, big trouble.
Genre : Crime, Drama
Runtime : 1H 56M
Director : Hou Hsiao-hsien
Writer : Chu Tien-wen
Synopsis
In this portrait of small-time hoods rendered in rhythm-of-life anecdotal detail, Gao is the leader of a circle of layabouts including his sidekick, Flathead, and their girlfriends, Pretzel and Ling. He is also the originator of petty crime schemes, which promise to get the gang nowhere fast.
A retired and widowed Chinese master chef Chu and his family live in modern day Taipei, Taiwan. He lives with his three attractive daughters, all of whom are unattached. Soon, each of the daughters encounter new men in their lives. When these new relationships blossom, stereotypes are broken and the living situation within the family changes. Since the family has difficulty expressing their love for each other, the intricate preparation of banquet quality dishes for their Sunday dinners is the surrogate for their familial feelings.
Each member of a family in Taipei asks hard questions about life's meaning as they live through everyday quandaries. NJ is morose: his brother owes him money, his mother is in a coma, his wife suffers a spiritual crisis when she finds her life a blank and his business partners make bad decisions.
May, a woman singer from the mainland of China, suddenly loses her voice and has conflicts with Ah Lei, her producer and secret lover. In anger she goes to Old Town of Jingtong where she meets Xiao Mo, a warmhearted man. Xia Mo helps May find a place to stay, and finds her work at local restaurant. May finds happiness and consolation in the old streets of the small town, and her voice gets better and better.
An aging gangster, Fernand Naudin is hoping for a quiet retirement when he suddenly inherits a fortune from an old friend, a former gangster supremo known as the Mexican. If he is ambivalent about his new found wealth, Fernand is positively nonplussed to discover that he has also inherited his benefactor’s daughter, Patricia. Unfortunately, not only does Fernand have to put up with the thoroughly modern Patricia and her nauseating boyfriend, but he also had to contend with the Mexican’s trigger-happy former employees, who are determined to make a claim.
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Muraki, a hardboiled Yakuza gangster, has just been released from prison after serving a sentence for murder. Revisiting his old gambling haunts, he meets Saeko, a striking young upper-class woman who is out seeking thrills, and whose presence adds spice to the staid masculine underworld rituals. Muraki becomes her mentor while simultaneously coping with the shifts of power that have affected the gangs while he was interred. When he notices a rogue, drug-addicted young punk hanging around the gambling dens, he realizes that Saeko's insatiable lust for intense pleasures may be leading her to self-destruction.
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Defying his parents, disaffected youth Hsiao Kang drops out of the local cram school to head for the bright lights of downtown Taipei. He falls in with Ah Tze, a young hoodlum, and their relationship is a confused mixture of hero-worship and rivalry that soon leads to trouble.
Winston Chen, a prominent businessman, goes missing after racking up $100 million in debts to the Taipei underworld. Two enforcers sent to find him, and they track down his son, Red Fish, the leader of a street gang.
Tang goes on a trip to Taitung to record the sounds of nature, hoping the tape may save his relationship with his girlfriend who is leaving him. What he does not know, is that she has already moved away and another girl, Yun, has moved into that apartment. Yun is trapped in a hopeless love triangle, and troubled by all the issues she faces in life. After listening to the tape that Tang sent, she feels as if the kindness of nature is calling her, and travels to Taitung to find the mysterious man who sends her the tape.
Maximillian (Max) has a serious addiction his family knows nothing about. He places bets with his friend Charlie, but Charlie has become disappointed with Max's lack of control. Max starts to beg family and friends for large sums of money, but no one's willing to help. Even his successful older brother has doubts about why he needs the money. His younger brother Kyle might be his only hope, but he's in a little bit of trouble pocketing money from his "side" gig. With bank letters threatening to take his house, he becomes more desperate for quick money. He thinks all he needs is just one more sure bet to keep him above water, but luck plays a wicked game.
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