''A Borrowed Life'' () is a 1994 Taiwanese film and the directorial debut of

Wu Nien-jen Wu Nien-jen (; born ; 5 August 1952) is a Taiwanese screenwriter, Film director, director, and writer. He is one of the most prolific and highly regarded scriptwriters in Taiwan and a leading member of the New Taiwanese Cinema, although he has als ...

. The film depicts cultural and regime change in Taiwan. The film's running time is 167 minutes. Reviews by Ken Eisner in ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' and

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' noted that the film was autobiographical and told largely from the perspective of director

as a child. Eisner was critical of the film for its excessive focus on the father-son relationship, which left other characters' viewpoints unexplored. Chen Kuan-Hsing examined languages and dialects used in the film, linking differences to the cultural changes portrayed within, as Japanese rule was lifted and the Kuomintang assumed control of Taiwan.

Selected cast

Tsai Chen-nan Tsai Chen-nan (; born 26 July 1954) is a Taiwanese actor and singer. Tsai was invited by the Hsinkang Foundation of Culture and Education to perform in Xingang, Chiayi, by the organization founder Chen Chin-huang, who sought to mitigate the eff ...

as Sega *

Kerris Tsai Kerris Tsai (; born 20 April 1967) is a Taiwanese Hokkien pop singer. Discography * July 1979: 姐妹情深; ''Sisterhood'' * 1981: 少女的心聲; ''Girl's Voice'' * 1982: 行船人的夢; ''Boatman's Dream'' * June 1983: 大姊頭仔的心 ...

as Sega's wife *Chung Yo-hong, Cheng Kwei-chung and Fu Jun as Wen Jian *Peng Wan-chun as sister *Lee Chuo-liang as brother *

Akio Chen Akio Chen (; born 29 September 1956) is a Taiwanese actor. He won the Golden Bell Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film in 2006. He played the role of Lih in the 2004 film ''Come the Black Dog'' directed by Stan Yin. In 2009, C ...

as Nomu, Sega's neighbor * as Sega's mother * as Sega's father *, Akiko, Nomu's wife *, Akiko's mother

Awards and reception

The film won the Grand Prize (Prize of the City of Torino for Best Film - International Feature Film Competition) at the

Torino Film Festival The Torino Film Festival (also called the Turin Film Festival, TFF) is an international film festival held annually in Turin, Italy. Held every November, it is the second largest film festival in Italy, following the Venice Film Festival. It was f ...

in Italy, a FIPRESCI/NETPAC Award at the 1995

Singapore International Film Festival The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) (Chinese: 新加坡国际电影节) is the longest-running film festival in Singapore. Founded in 1987, the festival has a focus on showcasing international films and providing a global platform for ...

and the Silver Alexander Award as well as the

FIPRESCI Prize The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

(International Federation of Film Critics Award) at the 1994

Thessaloniki Film Festival The Thessaloniki Film Festival is a Thessaloniki-based cultural institution focusing on cinema. The Institution organizes the Thessaloniki International Film Festival every November and the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival every March, while its y ...

in Greece. It also received the Golden Horse Audience Choice Award.

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...

considered ''A Borrowed Life'' the third best movie of the decade.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Borrowed Life 1994 films 1990s biographical drama films 1990s Japanese-language films 1990s Mandarin-language films Taiwanese biographical films Hokkien-language films Films with screenplays by Wu Nien-jen Films about father–son relationships Taiwanese drama films 1994 directorial debut films 1994 drama films