It's a Taiwanese coming-of-age story set around 1980 on the Taiwanese island of Fengkuei and the large city of Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan, with a population of over 2,000,000. Ah-ching (Doze Niu), Ah-rong (CHang Shih), and Kuo-zai (Chao Peng-chue) are high school friends on a small fishing island with no prospects. They're recent high school graduates waiting for the military draft and constantly get into trouble. Ah-ching has a sister (Chun-Fang Chang) in Kaohsiung, so the three guys head there. They get jobs in shipping at an electronics factory and a small apartment. Near their apartment is a young couple, also working at the factory, Huang Jin-he (Tuo Tsung-hua) and Hsiao-hsing (Lin Hsiu-ling). They become friends, but Ah-ching falls for Hsiao-hsing. However, when trouble arises for Huang Jin-he, Ah-ching's pursuit of Hsiao-hsing does not end as he hoped.
"The Boys from Fengkuei" is a bit odd. The English subtitles are not very good, making the dialogue sound awkward and overly simple. Ah-ching's maturation at some points seems clear, but at other points, the three guys seem as unfocused as ever. Seeing Taiwanese society through director Hou Hsiao-Hsien's eyes is engaging. This is an early effort, and the editing, sound, and flow are choppy at points.
"The Boys from Fengkuei" is a bit odd. The English subtitles are not very good, making the dialogue sound awkward and overly simple. Ah-ching's maturation at some points seems clear, but at other points, the three guys seem as unfocused as ever. Seeing Taiwanese society through director Hou Hsiao-Hsien's eyes is engaging. This is an early effort, and the editing, sound, and flow are choppy at points.