The Boys from Fengkuei is currently streaming on The Criterion Channel

The Boys from Fengkuei (1983)DramaRating 58/100

THE BOYS FROM FENGKUEI was Hou Hsiao-hsien’s fourth film as director, but in many ways it can be viewed as his first mature work—the one in which he moved away from commercial comedies toward a more rigorous, naturalistic mode of storytelling. Four aimless friends from the small village of Fengkuei spend their days drinking, fighting, gambling and goofing off. When three of them head to the port city of Kaohsiung in search of urban adventure, they find themselves reckoning with the realities of work, love, and death in a world they’re not prepared to face.

Cast: Doze Niu Cheng-Tse, Chang Shih, Lin Hsiu-Ling, Grace Chen Shu-Fang, Tou Tsung-hua, Yang Li-yin, Fanny Chang Chun-Fang

Director: Hou Hsiao-hsien