This film is inspired by screenwriter-turned-director Hou Hsiao-Hsien's coming-of-age story. It is the second installment of Hou Hsiao-Hsien's "Coming-of-Age Trilogy" that features three prominent Taiwanese screenwriters' coming-of-age stories - the other two are A Summer at Grandpa's (1984) (inspired by the childhood memories of Chu Tien-Wen) and Dust in the Wind (1986) (inspired by the coming-of-age story of Wu Nien-Jen).
This film has a 100% rating based on 6 critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.