''Dust of Angels'' () is a 1992 Taiwanese crime film directed by Hsu Hsiao-ming, executive produced by Taiwanese filmmaker

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 ...

. It was entered into

Directors' Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (french: Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) is an independent selection of the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festiv ...

at the 1992

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 ...

. "''An lah''" () is a

Taiwanese Hokkien Taiwanese Hokkien () (; Tâi-lô: ''Tâi-uân-uē''), also known as Taigi/Taigu (; Pe̍h-ōe-jī/ Tâi-lô: ''Tâi-gí / Tâi-gú''), Taiwanese, Taiwanese Minnan, Hoklo and Holo, is a variety of the Hokkien language spoken natively by about ...

colloquialism; the title in full roughly translates to "take it easy, lad" or "cool it, kid."

Plot

The story depicts the changes in Taiwanese society under the influence of economic growth, particularly portraying the rapid increase of youth violence. The setting ranges from Beigang-zhen,

Yunlin County Yunlin County ( Mandarin pinyin: ''Yúnlín Xiàn''; Taigi POJ: ''Hûn-lîm-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Yùn-lìm-yen'') is a county in western Taiwan. Yunlin County borders the Taiwan Strait to the west, Nantou County to the east, Changhua County ...

, to Taipei,

Wanhua District Wanhua District, known in Taiwanese Hokkien as Báng-kah khu and historically as "Monga" or "Monka", is a district in Taipei, Taiwan. It is Taipei's oldest district. The district is home to historic buildings such as the Bangka Lungshan Temple, ...

Ximending Ximending (sometimes Hsimenting, ; Tâi-lô: Se-mn̂g-ting; Japanese Romaji: ) is a neighborhood and shopping district in the Wanhua District of Taipei, Taiwan, along with its main rival, the Eastern District of Taipei. Overview Ximending ha ...

. The simple town is compared with the bustling metropolis as a metaphor of the erosion of society and its changing values. Beigang teenagers A-guo and A-douzi spend their days fighting and causing trouble in karaoke joints, hanging around in the billiard rooms, taking drugs, and generally loafing and playing all day. Little Gao, bro Jie, their friend from Beigang, has made something of a name for himself in Taipei, and brings his girl Meimei back to Beigang. A-guo and A-douzi accidentally grab a bag with guns and drugs, and head for Taipei looking for brother Jie.

Cast

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' ...

as Little Kao, bro Jie (小高／捷哥) * Yen Zhenguo as A-Guo * Tan Zhigang ( zh) as A-Douzi * Vicky Wei as Mei-Mei * Chen Sung-young as Guo's brother-in-law * Lee Hsing-wen as A-Wen *

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 ef ...

as A-Nan * Chang Shih as Killer *

Blackie Ko Blackie Ko () (February 22, 1953 – December 9, 2003) was a Taiwanese film director, producer, stuntman, singer and actor. Blackie was considered to be the greatest automotive stunt choreographer in Asia. Personal life In 1956, his family moved ...

* Lim Giong as Club Singer (cameo appearance) *

Lo Ta-yu Lo Ta-yu (; born 20 July 1954), also known as Luo Dayou and Law Tai-yau, is a Taiwanese singer and songwriter. During the 1980s, Lo became one of the most influential Mandopop singer-songwriters with his melodic lyrics and love songs, and his ...

as Club Singer (cameo appearance)

Soundtrack

The soundtrack features ten Taiwanese,

instrumental rock Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes musical instruments and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental rock can be found in practically every subgenre of rock, often from musicians who specialize in the style. Instr ...

and ambient music songs by performers considered to be alternative or ''avant-garde'' in the Taiwanese music scene at the time. Some of the contributors to the album united in the mid-2000s for the series of ''Taike'' Rock Concerts (台客搖滾演唱會). Popular singer Lim Giong's "A Soundless Place" (無聲的所在) performed with

(the movie's producer) became a popular Taiwanese staple. Rock singer-songwriter

Wu Bai Wu Chun-lin (; born 14 January 1968), better known by his stage name Wu Bai (), is a Taiwanese rock singer, songwriter and actor. He formed the band Wu Bai & China Blue with Dean Zavolta (drums), Yu Ta-hao (keyboards) and Chu Chien-hui (bass gu ...

who achieved immense popularity in East Asia the late 1990s and 2000s, contributed two songs including the title track under his given name of Wu Chun-lin. These songs represented Wu Bai's first major commercial music release and featured two of the three members of his band, China Blue. Fellow ''Taike'' performers Baboo contributed three songs and had backing roles on several of the others on the album. Chinese

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

saxophonist Liu Yuan also performed one of the album's songs. For the 29th

Golden Horse Awards The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards () is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan. The awards ceremony is u ...

in 1992, the soundtrack was nominated for a Golden Horse in the category of Best Original Film Music, losing to the soundtrack for '' Rebels of the Neon God''. The song "Dust of Angels" was also nominated for the Best Original Film Song award the same year.The 29th Gold Horse Awards
# "A Soundless Place" (無聲的所在 ''Bô-siaⁿ ê só·-chāi'') by Lim Giong &

(林強&侯孝賢) #: Also translated as "A Place of Silence" # "Lighting a Cigarette" (點煙 ''Tiám ian'') by

Wu Chun-lin Wu Chun-lin (; born 14 January 1968), better known by his stage name Wu Bai (), is a Taiwanese rock singer, songwriter and actor. He formed the band Wu Bai & China Blue with Dean Zavolta (drums), Yu Ta-hao (keyboards) and Chu Chien-hui (bass g ...

(吳俊霖) # "You're the Meanest" (你真正上厲害 ''Lí chin-chiàⁿ siong lī-hāi'') by Lim Giong (林強) # "Cool It, Boy" (少年安 ''Siàu-liān an'') by Baboo # "Dreaming Peach Flowers" (Instrumental) (夢桃花 ''Bāng thô-hoe'') by Liu Yuan (劉元) # "Dust of Angels" (少年也，安啦！''Siàu-liān-ê àn-la'') by Wu Chun-lin (吳俊霖) # "All the Lamp-posts" (電火柱仔 ''Tiān-hé thiāu-á'') by Baboo # "Come Get Money, Everybody" (赶緊來賺錢 ''Koáⁿ-kín lâi thàn-chîⁿ'') by Lim Giong (林強) # "Instrumental" (演奏曲 ''Ián-chàu khek'') by Baboo # "The One in My Dream" (夢中人 ''Bāng-tiong lâng'') by Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢)

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0105382 1992 films Taiwanese crime drama films 1990s Mandarin-language films 1992 crime drama films Films directed by Hsu Hsiao-ming

Plot

Cast

Soundtrack

References

Further reading

External links