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The Time to Live and the Time to Die

1985 · 136 min

A slow, quietly devastating memory piece that drifts through childhood and loss with tender, unhurried observation.

Overview
An autobiographical film based on Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien's memories of his youth growing up in Taiwan after emigrating from mainland China.
In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • melancholicstrength 3 of 3
  • warmstrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
  • darkstrength 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
  • family
  • grief
  • coming-of-age
  • memory
  • isolation
Places
  • small town
  • home
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror1
Humour2
Realism9
Romance2
Tension3
Darkness6
Complexity6
Emotional weight8

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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
drama
Directed by
Hou Hsiao-hsien
Written by
Hou Hsiao-hsien, Chu Tien-wen
Starring
Yu An-shun, Tien Feng, Mei Fang, Tang Ru-Yun, Hsin Shu-Fen, Hsiao Ai, Ng Siu-Ying, Grace Chen Shu-Fang
Music
Ng Choh-Choh, Chang Hung-Yi
Cinematography
Mark Lee Ping-Bing
Runtime
136 min
Country
Taiwan
Languages
Mandarin

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