''Goodbye South, Goodbye'' is a 1996

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Hou Hsiao-hsien Hou Hsiao-hsien (; born 8 April 1947) is a Mainland Chinese-born Taiwanese film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is a leading figure in world cinema and in Taiwan's New Wave cinema movement. He won the Golden Lion at the Venice ...

. The film had its premiere at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

on 12 May 1996.

Plot

Gao (

Jack Kao Jack Kao (, born 23 April 1958) is a Taiwanese actor. Career He began his career in the late 1980s films of Hou Hsiao-hsien. Kao credits his success to the many real-life gangsters he knew when he was young. He appeared in '' City of Sadness'' ...

) rides the train to Pinghsi to set up a 10-day gambling den with his friend Hsi (Hsi Hsiang). He takes his acolyte Flatty (

Lim Giong Lim Giong (; born 7 June 1964) is a Taiwanese musician, DJ, actor, and an active figure in the Taiwanese experimental electronic music scene. He is known for recording rock songs in Taiwanese Hokkien, starting with his first hit song "Marching F ...

) and Pretzel (

Annie Shizuka Inoh Wu Chin-yi (; born March 4, 1968), better known as Annie Yi () or Annie Shizuka Inoh ( ja, 伊能静, Inō Shizuka), is a Taiwanese singer, actress, and writer. Early life and education Wu Chin-yi () was born on March 4, 1968 in Taipei, Taiwan ...

), Flatty's girlfriend, who works part-time in a night club. Gao's girlfriend Ying (Hsu Kuei-Ying) works in the same night club as Pretzel and doesn't like the people around Gao, finding them dangerous. Gao has already made a deal with Hsi to invest in a nightclub in Shanghai, but Ying doesn't want him to go. Instead, she wants him to stay in Taiwan to open a restaurant. A succession of

get-rich-quick scheme A get-rich-quick scheme is a plan to obtain high rates of return for a small investment. The term "get rich quick" has been used to describe shady investments since at least the early 20th century. Most schemes create an impression that partic ...

s leads them to the brink of disaster. Throughout the course of the film the unsavory alliance between the underworld and the political elite emerges.

Cast

as Gao *

as Flat Head *

as Pretzel *Hsi Hsiang as Hsi *Hsu Kuei-Ying as Ying *Lei Ming as Gao's father *Lien Pi-tung as Tung *Kao Ming as Ming *

Vicky Wei Vicky, Vicko, Vick, Vickie or Vicki is a feminine given name, often a hypocorism of Victoria. The feminine name Vicky in Greece comes from the name Vasiliki. Women * Family nickname of Victoria, Princess Royal (1840–1901), wife of German ...

as Hui

Production

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack was released in Taiwan by Magic Stone in 1996, as well as in Japan by Soundtrack Listeners Communications on March 21, 1997.

Reception

''Goodbye South, Goodbye'' was entered into the

1996 Cannes Film Festival The 49th Cannes Film Festival was held from 9 to 20 May 1996. The Palme d'Or went to '' Secrets & Lies'' by Mike Leigh. The festival opened with ''Ridicule'', directed by Patrice Leconte and closed with '' Flirting with Disaster'', directed by ...

, but lost to '' Secrets & Lies''.

Critical response

The film was chosen along with ''

The Bridges of Madison County ''The Bridges of Madison County'' (also published as ''Love in Black and White'') is a 1992 best-selling romance novel by American writer Robert James Waller that tells the story of a married Italian-American woman (WWII war bride) living on a ...

'' and ''

Carlito's Way ''Carlito's Way'' is a 1993 American crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma, based on the novels ''Carlito's Way'' (1975) and '' After Hours'' (1979) by Judge Edwin Torres. The film adaptation was scripted by David Koepp. It stars Al Pacin ...

'' as the best film of the 1990s by ''

Cahiers du cinéma ''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab, Ge ...

''. Director

Luca Guadagnino Luca Guadagnino (; born 10 August 1971) is an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. His films are often characterized by their emotional complexities, sensuality and sumptuous visuals. He is also known for his frequent collaboration ...

also listed it as one of his 10 favorite films in the 2012 ''

Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...

'' poll.

References

External links

* * * 1996 films 1996 crime drama films Taiwanese crime drama films Hokkien-language films 1990s Mandarin-language films Films directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien Films with screenplays by Chu T’ien-wen {{1990s-crime-drama-film-stub