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Goodbye South, Goodbye

Goodbye South, Goodbye

Crime · Drama · 1998

In this portrait of small-time hoods rendered in rhythm-of-life anecdotal detail, Gao is the leader of a circle of layabouts including his sidekick, Flathead, and their girlfriends, Pretzel and Ling. He is also the originator of petty crime schemes, which promise to get the gang nowhere fast.

Movie details

Goodbye South, Goodbye

“Fast times, easy money, big trouble.”

1998 Crime · Drama 1h 56m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

In this portrait of small-time hoods rendered in rhythm-of-life anecdotal detail, Gao is the leader of a circle of layabouts including his sidekick, Flathead, and their girlfriends, Pretzel and Ling. He is also the originator of petty crime schemes, which promise to get the gang nowhere fast.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Goodbye South, Goodbye?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Hou Hsiao-hsien

Written by

Jack Kao · Chu Tien-Wen · King Jieh-wen

Jack Kao

Jack Kao

Kao

Lim Giong

Lim Giong

Flatty

Vicky Wei

Vicky Wei

Hui

Annie Shizuka Inoh

Annie Shizuka Inoh

Pretzel

Hsu Kuei-ying

Hsu Kuei-ying

Ying

Lien Pi-tung

Lien Pi-tung

Tung

Lui Ming

Lui Ming

Hsing's Father

Court is in session

Put Goodbye South, Goodbye on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.