Good Men, Good Women
Intended as the concluding film in the trilogy on the modern history of Taiwan began with Beiqing Chengshi (1989), this film reveals the story through three levels: a film within a film as well as the past and present as linked by a young woman, Liang Ching. She is being persecuted by an anonymous man who calls her repeatedly but does not speak. He has stolen her diary and faxes her pages daily. Liang is also rehearsing for a new film that is due to go into production soon. The film, entitled Haonan Haonu, is about a couple Chiang Bi-yu and Chung Hao-tung who returns to China to participate in the anti-Japanese movement in China in the 1940s and are arrested as communists when they go back to Taiwan.
The film earned $10.1M at the global box office.
11 wins & 5 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Good Men, Good Women (1995) exemplifies precise plot construction, characteristic of Hou Hsiao-hsien's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 48 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.7, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Liang Ching in her apartment, living her routine life as an actress in contemporary Taipei, surrounded by the ordinary details of modern urban existence before disruption.. Significantly, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 13 minutes when Liang Ching discovers her diary has been stolen and begins receiving mysterious phone calls from someone who has read her intimate thoughts, violating her private world.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 27 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This demonstrates the protagonist's commitment to Liang Ching commits to the role and fully immerses herself in Chiang Bi-yu's historical narrative, crossing into a deeper exploration of identity and political trauma., moving from reaction to action.
At 54 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Significantly, this crucial beat In the historical timeline, Chiang Bi-yu and Chung Hao-tung face arrest and interrogation during the White Terror, while Liang Ching's identification with the role deepens dangerously., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 81 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Chung Hao-tung is executed by the Kuomintang regime; the death reverberates through both timelines as Liang Ching confronts the unbearable weight of historical trauma and personal violation., shows the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 86 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Liang Ching achieves synthesis between past and present, understanding how personal history and collective trauma interweave, finding clarity in the connection between her story and Chiang Bi-yu's., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Good Men, Good Women's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping Good Men, Good Women against these established plot points, we can identify how Hou Hsiao-hsien utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Good Men, Good Women within the drama genre.
Hou Hsiao-hsien's Structural Approach
Among the 2 Hou Hsiao-hsien films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.2, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Good Men, Good Women takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Hou Hsiao-hsien filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include Eye for an Eye, South Pacific and Kiss of the Spider Woman. For more Hou Hsiao-hsien analyses, see The Assassin.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Liang Ching in her apartment, living her routine life as an actress in contemporary Taipei, surrounded by the ordinary details of modern urban existence before disruption.
Theme
A colleague or director discusses the historical material about Chiang Bi-yu, touching on themes of sacrifice, identity, and how personal history becomes intertwined with political trauma.
Worldbuilding
Establishing Liang Ching's world as an actress preparing for a role, her relationships, and the beginning of the film-within-a-film structure about the historical resistance fighters.
Disruption
Liang Ching discovers her diary has been stolen and begins receiving mysterious phone calls from someone who has read her intimate thoughts, violating her private world.
Resistance
Liang Ching grapples with the stalker situation while deepening her research into Chiang Bi-yu's story, the two narratives beginning to mirror each other as she debates how to respond.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Liang Ching commits to the role and fully immerses herself in Chiang Bi-yu's historical narrative, crossing into a deeper exploration of identity and political trauma.
Mirror World
The historical narrative fully emerges: Chiang Bi-yu and Chung Hao-tung's story of resistance, love, and persecution becomes the thematic mirror exploring sacrifice and the cost of political commitment.
Premise
The film explores its central premise: the parallel between Liang Ching's violated privacy and Chiang Bi-yu's persecution, as past and present narratives interweave, examining trauma and memory.
Midpoint
In the historical timeline, Chiang Bi-yu and Chung Hao-tung face arrest and interrogation during the White Terror, while Liang Ching's identification with the role deepens dangerously.
Opposition
Pressure intensifies on both timelines: the historical persecution escalates while Liang Ching's stalker situation worsens, and the boundaries between performance and reality blur.
Collapse
Chung Hao-tung is executed by the Kuomintang regime; the death reverberates through both timelines as Liang Ching confronts the unbearable weight of historical trauma and personal violation.
Crisis
Liang Ching processes the emotional devastation, dwelling in the darkness of both her character's loss and her own violated sense of self, seeking meaning in the parallel traumas.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Liang Ching achieves synthesis between past and present, understanding how personal history and collective trauma interweave, finding clarity in the connection between her story and Chiang Bi-yu's.
Synthesis
The final sequences resolve both narratives: Chiang Bi-yu's survival and continued resistance, and Liang Ching's navigation of her contemporary reality with new understanding of identity and memory.
Transformation
Liang Ching, transformed by the experience of inhabiting Chiang Bi-yu's story, exists in a state of quiet reflection, carrying the weight of historical memory into the present.