March of Happiness

March of Happiness
film poster
Traditional Chinese	天馬茶房
Simplified Chinese	天马茶房
Literal meaning	Tianma Tea House
Hanyu Pinyin	Tiān Mǎ Chá Fáng
Hokkien POJ	Thian-má Tê Pâng
Directed by	Lin Cheng-sheng
Written by	Yeh Chin-sheng Tseng Yu-wen
Screenplay by	Ko So-ching
Produced by	Yeh Chin-sheng
Starring	Hsiao Shu-shen Lim Giong Leon Dai Lung Shao-hua Doze Niu Chen Ming-chang
Cinematography	Tsai Cheng-hui
Edited by	Chen Hsiao-jing Hu Ju-sung
Music by	Chen Ming-chang
Production company	Green Apple Films
Release date	1999 (1999)
Running time	94 minutes
Country	Taiwan
Languages	Taiwanese Hokkien Japanese Mandarin Shanghainese

March of Happiness is a 1999 Taiwanese film directed by Lin Cheng-sheng. It tells the story of a teenage romance in a performing troupe set against the backdrop of the Japanese occupation and the 228 Massacre. Several characters are either historical or based on historical people.

The film was Taiwan's official Best Foreign Language Film submission at the 72nd Academy Awards, but did not manage to receive a nomination. The film was also screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.

There are two slightly different versions. In the TV version shown on Formosa Television, the film ends with both protagonists singing the theme song together, even though the male protagonist was already dead. In the cinema version, the film ends with the female protagonist singing the song by herself in a much slower tempo. The TV version is about 9 minutes longer.

Cast

• Lim Giong as A Jin
• Hsiao Shu-shen as A Yu
• Grace Chen as Cigarette woman
• Lung Shao-hua as Sea Dragon
• Chen Ming-chang as Hsian Ge
• Leon Dai as Zhan Tian-ma
• Doze Niu as A Bao

External links

• March of Happiness at IMDb
• [March of Happiness "March of Happiness,"] Review by Shelly Kraicer