Good Morning, Taipei

Dir: Lee Hsing
Scr: Hou Hsiao-hsien
DP: Chen Kun-hou
Cast: Joan Lin Feng-jiao, Kenny Bee, Chiang Ming, Lung Sihung, Ou Di, Lee Lieh

Another morning in Taipei, Bee listens Joan Lin Feng-jiao’s radio broadcast as he pretends to go to school without letting his strict father know that he has quitted school to become a singer-songwriter. His best friend Chiang Ming works many jobs to make a living. Like other young people, they march to the beat of their own drum. Master filmmaker Lee Hsing had reached many heights since the 1960s and still would not back down even as the 80s came knocking. Based on a script written by Hou Hsiao-hsien, the film illustrates the life experiences of young people as they work hard to realise their dreams in the commercialised city. Their vague and uncontrollable feelings are depicted with honesty and affection. Lee, who had long adhered to Confucian philosophy, challenged himself to humbly seek the goodness in the hearts of the youth. Between youth and eternity, Lee found his ‘middle way’ and walked towards a new phase of his career—calling for the New Taiwanese Cinema to come. This film is the winner of Golden Horse Awards’ Best Feature Film in 1980.

This screening commemorates the one-year anniversary of director Lee Hsing’s passing.

Lee Hsing (1930-2021)
Born in Shanghai, Lee Hsing started to make Taiwanese-language films in the late 1950s. Our Neighbor (1963) was the origin of Taiwan’s ‘Healthy Realism’. Lee had the ability to make classics out of local comedies, Healthy Realist films, family dramas, and Chiung Yao adaptations. His oeuvre built a Confucian style that valued prudent sensibilities and self-improvement. He was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at Golden Horse Awards in 1995.