Goodbye South, Goodbye
Hou Hsiao-hsien · 1996 · Taiwan / Japan · Mandarin · 116 min
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.