BEFORE THE BRIGHT DAY

Nan Fang Shi Guang

BEFORE THE BRIGHT DAY, the poignant directorial debut of emerging Taiwanese filmmaker Shih-Han Tsao, captures a young man’s turbulent coming-of-age against the backdrop of the 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis. Chou, labeled a “B-class loser” by his teacher, yearns for more than his uneventful adolescence—especially with Min, the girl he likes, placed in the elite A-class. Disillusioned by his bleak home life and drawn to rebellion, Chou idolizes a small-time gang leader named Button. But as political tensions rise and his family’s financial stability crumbles, Chou’s world begins to fall apart. Button leaves for the military, his high school crush’s family may emigrate from the threat of impending war, and Chou is caught smoking, which is cause for expulsion. Drifting without direction, he must navigate a society on edge, where youthful dreams and harsh realities collide.

With raw emotion and historical resonance, BEFORE THE BRIGHT DAY explores identity, class, and disillusionment during a pivotal moment in Taiwan’s modern history.

 

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