Chu Tien-Wen (Chinese: 朱天文, born August 24, 1956 in Taipei, Taiwan) is one of Taiwan's most prominent writers. She is the daughter of Chu Hsi-Ning and the older sister of Chu Tien-Hsin. Some of her literary works include "Fin-de-Siècle Splendour" (1990) and Notes of a Desolate Man (1994). She wrote many of the scripts for the famous Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien. Her screenwriting credits include movies like Taipei Story, The Puppetmaster, Goodbye South, Goodbye, Millenium Mambo, A City of Sadness and many more. Description above from the Wikipedia article Chu Tien-Wen, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
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Biography from TMDB.
- August 24, 1956 (70)
- Taipei, Taiwan
- Writer, also producer
- 9 on MovieCove · 22 credits in all
What are T'ien-wen Chu's films like?
Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Survival.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 9
A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 1 · Dark 5
A split, not a type: Grounded 6 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 2
A split, not a type: Gentle 5 · Charged 4 · Intense 0
Steady 9 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 9 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
Slow burn 9 · Even-paced 0 · Relentless 0
Casual 1 · Engaged 7 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 5
Resolved 2 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 3
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet5
- Tragic2
- Ambiguous2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch T'ien-wen Chu's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 9 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on The Criterion Channel (4).
Subscription and free streaming for T'ien-wen Chu's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
22 credits, 9 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
The Inspired Island: Unfulfilled Dreams (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
The Assassin(2015)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
Three Times(2005)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films
Café Lumière (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Millennium Mambo(2001)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
HHH: A Portrait of Hou Hsiao-Hsien (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Flowers of Shanghai(1998)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Goodbye South, Goodbye (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Good Men, Good Women (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
The Puppetmaster (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)
A City of Sadness(1989)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Daughter of the Nile (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
Drifters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
Dust in the Wind (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
His Matrimony (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
Taipei Story(1985)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
My Favorite Season (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
A Summer at Grandpa's(1984)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Out of the Blue (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)
The Boys from Fengkuei(1983)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Growing Up (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)
Career shape
A full career of 22 titles from 1983 to 2020.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do T'ien-wen Chu's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 90th percentile, the median of all 9; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 88th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up8
- 50th to 74th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 9 titles divides audiences: 5 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved3
- Crowd Pleaser5
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the dialogue 44/100 and the plot and story 46/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does T'ien-wen Chu work with?
People who share at least 2 of T'ien-wen Chu's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Hsiao-Hsien Hou shares the most, 9.
Directors
- Hsiao-Hsien HouShared titles: The Assassin (2015), Three Times (2005), Millennium Mambo (2001), Flowers of Shanghai (1998), A City of Sadness (1989), A Time to Live and a Time to Die (1985), Taipei Story (1985), A Summer at Grandpa's (1984), The Boys from Fengkuei (1983)See all 9 shared titles with Hsiao-Hsien Hou
Writers
- Nien-Jen WuShared titles: A City of Sadness (1989), A Time to Live and a Time to Die (1985), Taipei Story (1985)See all 3 shared titles with Nien-Jen Wu
Actors
- Li-Yin YangShared titles: A Time to Live and a Time to Die (1985), Taipei Story (1985), A Summer at Grandpa's (1984), The Boys from Fengkuei (1983)See all 4 shared titles with Li-Yin Yang
- Shu QiShared titles: The Assassin (2015), Three Times (2005), Millennium Mambo (2001)See all 3 shared titles with Shu Qi
- Fang MeiShared titles: Three Times (2005), A Time to Live and a Time to Die (1985), Taipei Story (1985)See all 3 shared titles with Fang Mei
- Jack KaoShared titles: Millennium Mambo (2001), Flowers of Shanghai (1998), A City of Sadness (1989)See all 3 shared titles with Jack Kao
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Ching-Sung LiaoShared titles: The Assassin (2015), Three Times (2005), Millennium Mambo (2001), Flowers of Shanghai (1998), A City of Sadness (1989), A Time to Live and a Time to Die (1985), The Boys from Fengkuei (1983)See all 7 shared titles with Ching-Sung Liao
- Ping Bin LeeShared titles: The Assassin (2015), Three Times (2005), Millennium Mambo (2001), Flowers of Shanghai (1998), A Time to Live and a Time to Die (1985)See all 5 shared titles with Ping Bin Lee
- Giong LimShared titles: The Assassin (2015), Three Times (2005), Millennium Mambo (2001)See all 3 shared titles with Giong Lim
- Ju-kuan HsiaoShared titles: Three Times (2005), Millennium Mambo (2001)See all 2 shared titles with Ju-kuan Hsiao
Producers
- Wen-Ying HuangShared titles: The Assassin (2015), Three Times (2005), Millennium Mambo (2001)See all 3 shared titles with Wen-Ying Huang
- Gilles CimentShared titles: Three Times (2005), Millennium Mambo (2001)See all 2 shared titles with Gilles Ciment