- "This movie does not take sides. It merely asks questions. It probes into the problems of youth, the generation gap, the stark naked truth of the establishment and the struggle between the youth of today and the establishment. This movie does not pretend to provide any answers. After viewing this movie, it is for the cinema-goers to find out the answers by themselves."The Opening Scroll-slash-commentary of the movie being an in-depth case study of 1970s youth culture
The Generation Gap is a 1973 drama film released by Shaw Brothers, being one of the few contemporary drama films set in the present directed by Chang Cheh, starring Chang's golden boy, David Chiang in the leading role.
The movie revolves around the forbidden relationship between Ling Hsi (Chiang), a biker punk and school dropout, and his teenage lover, Cindy Xin (Agnes Chan, in one of her last acting roles before she moved on to becoming a singer instead); their families reject their coupling for multiple reasons, but when Cindy's father goes too far as to threatening Ling's family with a lawsuit, eventually Ling Hsi and Cindy decide to flee from their homes and elope together as lovers. Naturally it all goes to hell in the end.
Chang Cheh, in his interviews, had expressed his opinions on the film being a commentary on youth culture in the 70s, being a follow-up to one of his other film dabbling on youth, Young People (1972). (See the opening quote)
Not to be confused with the trope, The Generation Gap. Yeah, the movie involves the trope, but still.
The Troperation Gap:
- Advertised Extra: For the 1990s DVD re-release, anyway. For some reason, the cover art feels the need to put Chiang's co-star, Ti Lung, to dominate most of the cover's upper half
despite the fact that Lung was in the movie for barely 7 minutes, his role being a glorified cameo telling Chiang (his onscreen younger brother who is the film's true protagonist) to just go home and that his elopement isn't worth it. Lung is absent for the entirety of the film's second half, in fact. - All Girls Want Bad Boys: The reason behind why Cindy, the only daughter of a rich tycoon, would want to date Ling Hsi, a biker punk, high-school dropout, and teen rebel who constantly get himself into fights. That and also how she's being pressured by her father who refuse their meeting at all costs...
- Badass Biker: Ling Hsi's preferred transport is his own trusty motorbike, with the opening credits being superimposed over him taking Cindy who's sitting behind him for a ride.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Ling Hsi is a Nice Guy (albeit a hotheaded rebel) who genuinely cares for his girlfriend, and still loves his family after becoming a rejected outcast, but when he snaps after being pressured too far by society and sees himself being branded a "kidnapper" by the news.
- Dating What Daddy Hates: Cindy is madly in love with Ling Hsi, a biker punk, even though her family — especially her father — rejects their relationship, with the father strictly forbidding them from even meeting each other. Which ultimately leads to her decision to elope with him.
- Die, Chair, Die!: In their first night together, after Ling Hsi shows Cindy his new martial arts gi for the first time, he then strikes a kung-fu pose and thumps on a table for practice, only to unintentionally smash through the table's top, since it's cheap furniture and destroying the table in the process. Cindy then reminds him that they're too poor to afford another table because they just spent whatever little amount of cash they have on rent and electricity.
- Doomed Protagonist: Ling Hsi is pretty much this trope the moment he chose to ditch his wealthy, but overly-controlling family behind to start a new life with Cindy, with the rumors being started from both his and her families that he is a kidnapper who abducted her turning him into a societal outcast, which spirals out of control when he's branded a criminal by the local news. And then he decides to join the triads...
- Downer Ending: Ling Hsi, the film's protagonist who ultimately becomes an outcast of society, finds himself unable to follow a life of crime after all. He died fighting off the gangsters, and while Cindy's fate is unknown she will likely be either forced back to her family or, in the worse possible scenario, choose to die so that she can be with Ling Hsi... there are multiple possible outcomes to the film's aftermath, but none of them looks optimistic.
- Duet Bonding: In their first night all alone together, Cindy and Ling Hsi shares an intimate moment in their small, cramped rented bedroom, with Cindy playing the guitar Ling Hsi bought for her as the two lovers leans on each other.
- Elopement: Ling Hsi and Cindy, after fleeing their homes and spending their money on a cramped, rented bedroom.
- Enter Stage Window: Early in the film before things go really bleak, Ling Hsi sneaks into Cindy's bedroom by climbing up a balcony and entering via window.
- Finishing Stomp: The final fight at the docks have Ling Hsi beating down and killing Zhou's gangsters, one which he stomped through the wooden ground of the pier.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The protagonist Ling Hsi, a rebellious hothead, high-school dropout and slacker, compared to his elder brother Ling Zhao who is a graduate and entrusted by the siblings' father to run the family business.
- The Generation Gap: Pretty much what the whole movie is about. It's right in the title!
- Hate Sink: Mr. Xin, Cindy's father, a wealthy, self-centered and irresponsible father that cares only about his own self-image, who pretty much fulfils the role of being the one character audiences can despise with his sheer irresponsibility and neglection as a parent. He repeatedly jams a wedge between Cindy and Ling Hsi's relationship even though their love for each other is genuine, and smashes her beloved guitar because he looked down on Cindy's beliefs that a musical career is what suits her best in her future. After his overly-controlling nature results in Cindy fleeing from home, Mr. Xin's follow-up action is to force the media to brand Ling Hsi as "a kidnapper"; at at no point in the film did he actually sees the error of his ways as a terrible parent, or acknowledge that his awful parenting methods is a catalyst for ruining the life of his only child.
- The Hero Dies: Refusing to follow-up on Zhou's criminal activity, Ling Hsi ends up getting into a massive fight, sustaining a mortal injury in the process, which he succumbed to after killing Zhou and the other four mobsters.
- Knight Templar Parent: Cindy's parents, but especially her father, who is willing to emotionally ruin his only child just because he doesn't see Ling Hsi as suitable boyfriend material.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Mr. Xin, Cindy's father, have this expression after he smashed his daughter's guitar and snapping at her... for about ten seconds. Turns out he's more pissed off that his daughter disobeys him, than being genuinely upset that he destroyed his only child's feelings and sent her crying.
- The Runaway: Ling Hsi and Cindy fled their homes to get away from their families who actively reject their relationships.
- Then Let Me Be Evil: The reason for Ling Hsi joining the triads at the end of the film, although he turned against them before he could actually commit any crimes in the last minute.
- Oddball in the Series: David Chiang made 5 movies in 1973, and this is the only one which is a contemporary drama set in the present (the other four — Blood Brothers (1973), The Savage Five, The Pirate (1973) and All Men Are Brothers are kung-fu period films) where the movie is mostly about the struggle of a misunderstood youth becoming an outcast after being rejected by his overly-demanding parents and deciding to rebel against society. While there is action, it doesn't occur until the last few minutes of the film and the fight scenes doesn't really drive the story forward, with majority of the emphasis being on the drama aspects.
- Rebellious Spirit: For both Ling Hsi and Cindy, who openly rebels from being controlled by their families, to the point of fleeing their homes and swearing off ties to their respective parents.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Ling Hsi and Cindy, both of them having fled their respective families and becoming outcasts after they're branded as runaways. It doesn't end happily.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Ling Hsi and Cindy are young lovers fleeing their families so that they can be together, but once they're away from their wealthy parents, they started feeling the hardships of living by themselves. Considering he's a school dropout and she haven;t even graduated, they immediately begin having financial problems, unable to pay their rent, and are repeatedly harassed by reporters and media watchdogs sent by their families... their love may be genuine, but love isn't enough to allow them to survive on their own, after all.
- Was Too Hard on Him / Was Too Hard on Her: The families of Ling Hsi and Cindy both have this expression after realizing their overly-tight control and strict demands on their relationship had resulted in both the lovers eloping and fleeing from home. Especially for the former, but not so much for the latter's father who instead decide to brand the hero as a "kidnapper".
