Drawing on a variety of film semiotic theories, this book sheds light on works by four generations of mainland Chinese directors, Hong Kong New Wave directors, Taiwan New Cinema directors, and overseas Chinese directors. The cultural and historical implications of exile are examined through the detailed analysis of film language and theoretical exploration balanced by insightful close reading. Zeng establishes a semiotics of exile film as reflected in genre-upsetting, semiotics of photography, displaced film codes, Taoist pitfalls, postmodernism, and the symbol of female doubling.