History Film / ABrighterSummerDay

''A Brighter Summer Day'' is a 1991 Taiwanese film directed by Edward Yang and starring Creator/ChangChen.

* FilleFatale: Played with. Ming is deliberately played as an unknowable character. How genuine her affections are for Si'r or the other men in her life is left ambiguous and its assumed by a few others that she's playing them for her own ends. Its ultimately deconstructed when she lashes out at Si'r. The perception of her as a seductress or an innocent maiden are imposed on her by others. She's ultimately just a normal girl trying to find friendship, only to be controlled or encouraged to change by men. [[spoiler: Si'r's inability to understand this leads to Ming's death.]]

* PoorCommunicationKills: Played with. Much of the conflict emerges from the inability of young teens able to communicate accurately, which Taiwan's restrictive society only exacerbates. In particular, Ming tries to explain to Si'r that his promises of returning to her after his expulsion only reminds her of Honey's broken promises to stay with her. Unfortunately, Si'r ''wants'' to be like Honey and can't see the stress this puts on Ming. Examples such as these indicate that Si'r can't understand the true feelings people try to convey to him. [[spoiler: This conversation, among many, is what results in Ming's stabbing.]]
* RealityHasNoSoundtrack: All of the music in the film is music that the characters play.

* SmartPeopleWearGlasses: Inverted. Si'r is noted to have poor eyesight, which may be why he ended up in the night classes to being with. [[{{Symbolism}} It also indicates that he can't see situations clearly as he thinks he can.]]
* ShoutOut: Honey mentions that he read ''Literature/WarAndPeace'' while in hiding, and he compares the gang war to the events in the book.

* {{Yandere}}: [[spoiler:Si'r can't handle Ming's flirtations with other boys, especially is old friend Ma; he attempts to ambush Ma with a knife after school, only to encounter Ming, who dies instead.]]

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: The film features dozens of characters, many of whom are only known by nicknames (if they get [[NoNameGiven any name at all]]).

* NotSoDifferent: Si'r and his father are both quiet men, but Si'r is a rebel while his father is a dutiful worker. Yet their narrative arcs end up following the same path. Both try to associate themselves with successful people they admire (Honey for Si'r, Wang for his father), only for those idols to bring them into more danger. Both have their futures destroyed as they descend into violent paranoia.

* PoorCommunicationKills: Played with. Much of the conflict emerges from the inability of young teens able to communicate accurately, which Taiwan's restrictive society only exacerbates. In particular, Ming tries to explain to Si'r that his promises of returning to her after his expulsion only reminds her of Honey's broken promises to stay with her. Unfortunately, Si'r ''wants'' to be like Honey and can't see the stress this puts on Ming. Examples such as these indicate that Si'r ''can't'' understand hammers home that, [[spoiler: This conversation, among many, is what results in Ming's stabbing.]]

* FilleFatale: Played with. Ming is deliberately played as an unknowable character. How genuine her affections are for Si'r or the other men in her life is left ambiguous and its assumed by a few others that she's playing them for her own ends. [[spoiler: Its ultimately deconstructed when she lashes out at Si'r. The perception of her as a seductress or an innocent maiden are imposed on her by others. She's ultimately just a normal girl trying to find friendship, only to be controlled or encouraged to change by men. Si'r's inability to understand this leads to Ming's death.]]

* Irony: Wang is introduced as person of high class and means who can help others (such as Si'r's father) rise up in society. [[spoiler: Its suggested that its precisely because of Mr. Zhang's relationship with Wang that he's arrested by the secret police, which leads to the destruction of his life.]]

* NotSoDifferent: Si'r and his father are both quiet men, but Si'r is a rebel while his father is a dutiful worker. Yet their narrative arcs end up following the same path. Both associate themselves with local "gangs" for the sake of social protection, only for those gangs to bring them into more danger. [[spoiler: Both have their futures destroyed as they descend into violent paranoia.]]

* PoorCommunicationKills: Much of the conflict emerges from the inability of young teens able to communicate accurately, which Taiwan's restrictive society only exacerbates. In particular, Ming tries to explain to Si'r that his promises of returning to her after his expulsion only reminds her of Honey's broken promises to stay with her. Unfortunately, Si'r ''wants'' to be like Honey and can't see the stress this puts on Ming. [[spoiler: This conversation, among many, is what results in Ming's stabbing.]]

* YourCheatingHeart: Ming gets involved with Si'r while she's dating Honey. [[spoiler: Ming later cheats on Si'r with multiple other characters.]]

* ShoutOut: Honey mentions that he read Literature/WarAndPeace while in hiding, and he compares the gang war to the events in the book.
** At one point the characters go to see Film/RioBravo.

* WhamLine: Jade reveals that the girl Sly was kissing at the start of the film was Ming, not herself.

* YourCheatingHeart: Ming gets involved with Si'r while she's dating Honey. [[spoiler: Ming later cheats on Si'r with multiple other characters.]]

* EpicMovie: Known as more of an "intimate epic," the film was an unprecedented production made over four years, employing dozens upon dozens of unknown actors in a large-scope film that lasts nearly four hours.

* CompletelyDifferentTitle: The original Chinese title translates to "The Homicide Incident of the Youth on Guling Street," itself something of a SpoilerTitle [[spoiler:(referencing Si'r's murder of Ming at the end of the film, or at the very least the 217s massacre)]], but it's best known by the more oblique, poignant English title.

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: Si'r kills Ming when he learns that she is cheating on him and faces fifteen years in prison for it.]]

* YourCheatingHeart: Ming gets involved with Si'r while she's dating Honey. [[spoiler: Ming later cheats on Si'r with multiple other characters.]]
* WeHardlyKnewYe: After being built up for more than an hour off-screen, [[spoiler:Honey is murdered by Shandong after only being developed onscreen for a few minutes.]]

* YourCheatingHeart: Ming gets involved with Si'r while she's dating Honey. [[spoiler: Ming later cheats on Si'r with multiple other characters.]]

* NothingButHits: Popular 50's music, especially Creator/ElvisPresley, is used to great effect.

A Brighter Summer Day is a 1991 Taiwanese film directed by Edward Yang and starring Creator/ChangChen.

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: Si'r kills Ming and faces fifteen years in prison for it.]]
* ForWantOfANail: The film begins with Si'r failing to get into the day school and being forced to attend the night school. As the night school is full of delinquents, Si'r gets involved with the two gangs and Ming. This causes his downward spiral throughout the rest of the film.