Chu Ching-Man

In this drama, the harsh treatment of women in Chinese society is examined and subtly commented upon as it tells the tale of an impoverished woman living in Shanghai, circa 1910 who tries to support her brother and sister-in-law. A marriage to a wealthy man is arranged for her, and reluctantly she endures it, even though she does not love the man who is as cruel as he is wealthy. His mother is also brutally unkind to her. She then has a son, but her struggles are not over when her husband dies and only leaves her a modest inheritance. Her wretched life has made her bitter, and so she begins making her son suffer as she die; she also becomes addicted to opium.

A-yuan and A-yun are both from the small mining town of Jio-fen. They move to Taipei, where A-yuan is an apprentice by day and goes to night school, and A-yun works as a helper at a tailors. Everyone thinks they are meant for each other, and so do they. They fail to see time and fate are beyond their control.

The semi-autobiographical film on director Hou Hsiao-Hsien's childhood and adolescence, when he was growing up in Taiwan.

A substitute teacher from Taipei arrives in a country village to teach a class of mischievous students. He soon falls in love with nature, country life and a fellow teacher at the school.

The plot is a standard revenge tale told in a concise manner that involves a boy witnessing his parents' murder at the hands of corrupt officials and growing up to achieve vengeance. The boy goes to Shaolin Temple to learn kung fu in a superb training sequence that ranks with some of the better-known Shaolin Temple scenes in kung fu cinema. By the time the boy has completed his training, he has grown up to be Carter Wong and soon sets out on his mission. He meets Polly Shang Kwan along the way and, after some initial antagonism, the two become allies and confront the villains. The bad guys employ a particularly clever maneuver involving dozens of imperial guardsmen performing a variety of formations on cue (including standing on each other's shoulders, three men high) as Sammo Hung bangs out different drumbeats. Sammo and Carter engage in a particularly exciting bout against the backdrop of a mountainous landscape midway through the film.

Martial arts film from Taiwan