The Strait Story (2005): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 2005, The Strait Story is a romance and history film directed by Huang Yu-Shan, running about 106 minutes.

What it’s about. The year is 1943 and Taiwan is under Japanese colonization. After finishing his studies in Japan, famous Taiwanese sculptor and painter Ching-Cheng Huang receives an offer to teach in Beiping Art School. He decides to visit friends and family back home before leaving for China. He boards the passenger liner "Takachiho Maru" in Kobe, Japan, with his girlfriend, a pianist. Tragically, the luxurious liner is torpedoed by an American submarine and sinks off the coast of Keelung, Taiwan. Decades later, Shou-shou, a fine art restorer with a crippling illness, finds one of Huang's paintings in an exhibition. As she restores the painting, Shou-shou learns about the artist, the stories behind his work and his death at sea. She recreates the story of the painting "Woman in Black", and romantically imagines the ways the artist painted his girlfriend. The more she studies, the more she was inspired by Huang's value of art and of life. Restoring Huang's painting thus becomes Shou-shou's way of ...

Who’s in it. The Strait Story stars Freddy Lim, Janine Chang, Huai-yu Xu and Jag Huang, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 4.0/10, The Strait Story has proved divisive with audiences.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch The Strait Story page.

If you liked it. Fans of The Strait Story tend to enjoy Forrest Gump, Your Name., Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Cinema Paradiso.