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Goodbye South, Goodbye

1998 · 116 min

A drifting, observational mood piece that immerses you in the rhythms of small-time crooks, demanding patience but rewarding with quiet tension.

Directed by
Hou Hsiao-hsien
Genres
Crime, Drama
Starring
Jack Kao, Lim Giong, Vicky Wei
Tagline
Fast times, easy money, big trouble.
Overview
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.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
Directed by
Hou Hsiao-hsien
Genres
Crime, Drama
Starring
Jack Kao, Lim Giong, Vicky Wei
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • tensestrength 1 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 1 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • crime
  • ambition
  • betrayal
  • isolation
  • class
Places
  • big city
  • countryside
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror0
Humour3
Realism8
Romance3
Tension5
Darkness6
Complexity7
Emotional weight6

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
crime, drama
Directed by
Hou Hsiao-hsien
Written by
Chu Tien-wen
Starring
Jack Kao, Lim Giong, Vicky Wei, Annie Shizuka Inoh, Hsu Kuei-ying, Lien Pi-tung, Lui Ming, Go Ming
Cinematography
Chen Hwai-en, Mark Lee Ping-Bing
Runtime
116 min
Country
Taiwan, Japan
Languages
Mandarin

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