TaiwansMasterTimekeeper

J.Hoberman

AlthoughtheTaiwanesedirectorHouHsiaohsienhas
beenmakingmoviessincetheearly1980s,Ifirst
becameconvincedofhisgeniuswhenIsawThe
Puppetmaster(1993)sometwentyyearsago.Untilthen
IthoughtofHouasthemakerofextraordinarilyfine,
essentiallycontemplative,quasiautobiographicalyouth
filmsmyfavoriteswereDustintheWind(1986)and
DaughteroftheNile(1987),bothofwhichimpressed
mewiththeirevocationoftheephemeral,theirhaunting
senseofsolitude,andtheeloquencewithwhichtheyleft
thingsunsaid.ThePuppetmasterwentmuchfurther,
demonstratingaprofoundandoriginalsenseofmotion
picturesasawayofexploringthepassageoftime.
TrigonFilms
LikemostofHousfilms,ThePuppetmasterwasnever AscenefromHouHsiaohsiensThePuppetmaster(1993)

commerciallyreleasedintheUnitedStatesandhasbeen
rarelyscreened.ItisaneventtohaveitanchoringthecomprehensiveHouHsiaoHsienretrospectivenowshowingat
theMuseumoftheMovingImageinNewYork,whichwillcontinueonaNorthAmericantourtocinemathequesand
museumsinCambridge,Berkeley,Washington,D.C.,Rochester,Toronto,Vancouver,Houston,andChicago.

Thisepicchamberpiece,whichsplittheJuryPrizeatCannesin1993,isneitherdocumentarynorfiction.(TheChinese
titleisDrama,Dream,Life.)ThemoviedramatizestheyouthandearlycareerofTaiwanesenationaltreasureLi
Tienluwho,bornin1910,becameanapprenticepuppeteeratageeight,performingtraditionalplaysfirstinremote
mountainvillagesandlaterforJapaneseofficialsinTapei.Duringthewartheseshowsbecamemoralebuilding
propaganda,dramatizingcombatagainstAmericanforces,completewithpuppetairplanesandsmokyspecialeffects.
Eveninpeacetime,though,Japanwasapresence.Lisstory,oneofcontinuousfamilyturmoil,isplayedoutduringthe
fiftyyearperiodduringwhichTaiwanwasaJapanesecolony,from1895totheendofWorldWarII.Heisone
protagonistandhistoryistheother.

EightyfourwhenThePuppetmasterwasmade,LiwasforHoualivingencyclopediaofChinesetraditionandthe
filmisacomparableanthologyofthevariouswaysastorycanbetold.Thereareahalfdozentheatricalperformances
ofvarioustypes,frompuppetshowstoTaiwaneseoperausuallyshownheadon,someinasinglelongtake,andat
timesrevealingtheyoungLi(playedbyLimGiong)andhiscolleaguesworkingbehindthestage.These,and
panoramicshotsofruralTaiwanpunctuatetheongoingmelodramaoftheyoungLismotherlessupbringingonethat,
amongotherthings,involveschildabuseanddrugaddictionsandlater,hisownlifeasanabsenteefather.
Intermittently,thereareshotsoftheoctogenarianLihimselfrecountinghisownlife.

Presentingthesedisparateelementsinstatelyalteration,HoumanagestosustainaninterplaybetweenLisbiography,
theimpersonalsocialforcesaroundhim,andtheimplacablemovementoftime.Alongsequencearoundakitchen
tableintroducingtheprostitutewhobecomesLismistressisfollowedbyashotinwhichsheishavingaherportrait
taken,acloseupofthephotograph,andthenareturntothekitchentablewherethephotoisbeingexaminedwithold
Lisvoiceoverpickingupthestory.

ThePuppetmasterwasoneofseveralfilmsinwhichHoumixedhistoricalmaterialwithadaringlycounterintuitive,
evenoblique,narrativestructure.CityofSadness(1989)isanautobiographysetduringthefilmmakersinfancythat
usesshiftingpointsofviewtorecountthepostwaroccupationofTaiwanbyChineseNationalists.Basedonhistorical
personages,GoodMen,GoodWomen(1995)usesthemakingamovietoexhumethetragicfateofTaiwans
progressiveintellectualsduringtheWhiteTerrorfortyyearsearlier.GoodbyeSouth,Goodbye(1996)isataleof
pettygangsterspredicatedonlongstretchesofemptinessalandscapewithoutalandscape,aroadfilmthatgoes
nowhere.

FlowersofShanghai(1998),thefirstofHousfilmtobesetoutsideTaiwan,adaptedfromHanBangqingsSingSong
Girls,anovelsomeconsiderthegreatestworkofnineteenthcenturyChinesefiction,consistsofonlyfortyshots,none
ofwhichareexteriorseventhoughthebookitselfismuchconcernedwiththetextureofChinasfirstmoderncity.For
Hou,itisthetextthatisbeingdocumented.Inthiscase,hesuggests,thehistoricalmomentandtheplaceinwhichit
takesplaceisbeyondourreach.
TaiwanshalfcenturyasaJapanesecolonywastime
enoughformanyaestheticconceptstolodgeinthe
islandsconsciousness,andtheearliestfilmsinwhich
Houfoundhisstyle(TheBoysfromFengkuei,1983,and
ASummeratGrandpas,1984)haveareservedJapanese
flavor.ButHouonlydiscoveredtheJapanesemaster
YasujiroOzu,soknownforhisseeminglydetached
familydramas,wellafterhebeganmakingmovies.Hou
hashisownwayoflooking.CafLumiere(2003)which
wasshotinTokyoanddedicatedtoOzu,issomething
likeOzuinreverseratherthanastorypunctuatedby
staticpillowshots,itisasuccessionofpillowshots

withbriefnarrativeinterludes. AscenefromHouHsiaoHsiensDustintheWind(1986)

Rarelyusingcloseups,Houisamasterofcameraplacementwhofrequentlyshootsanentirescenefromasinglepoint
ofview.AlthoughhischaracteristiclocationscourtyardsinGoodbyeSouth,Goodbye,kitchensinCityofSadnessand
DaughteroftheNile,nightclubsinMillenniumMambo(2001)tendtowardthemundane,hissenseoftheworldis
exalted.Asmuchastheyareanythingelse,thesedeeplymelancholymoviesarebeautifulobjectsofcontemplation.

WhenIinterviewedHoumanyyearsagoinTapeiwemetathispreferredspot,aJapanesestyleteahouseamarked
contrasttotheChicagostyleburgerjointchosenbyHousleadingcontemporaryEdwardYang.Unlikethe
gregariousYang,whosemasterpieceABrighterSummerDay(1991)concernsTaiwansAmericanperiod,immersed
inhighschoolturfwarsandimportedElvisworship,Houwasreservedandmodest,preferringtospeakthrougha
translatoralthoughheclearlyunderstoodEnglish.Hedislikedtravel,hetoldme,andwascriticalofTaiwanese
investorswho,ratherthansupportTaiwanesefilms,preferredtoputtheirmoneyinHongKongormainland
productions:Itstypical.Peopledontvaluetheirrootshere.Ratherthantalkmovies,hepreferredtoexplainthe
historyofColdWarTaiwan.

HouhimselfwasthechildofparentswholeftmainlandChinaforTaiwanwhenhewasababyin1948,anddiedwhile
hewasinhisteens.Perhapsasaresult,heoncecalledTaiwanatemporarycountry,andhasmadehomelessnesshis
greatsubjectalthoughIcantthinkofanotherfilmmakerwhosemoviesfeaturesomanyfamilymealsorscenesset
aroundthekitchentable.

Hisassured,innovativefilmmakingisadditionallyimpressiveinthathecametofilmthroughTaiwanscommercial
cinema.HougrewupinruralFengshan,atropicalregionalongtheislandssouthwestcoast.Aftercompletinghistwo
yearsofmilitaryservice,hestudiedfilmanddramaattheTaiwanAcademyoftheArtsand,followingastintselling
electroniccalculators,becameanapprenticewiththeCentralMotionPictureCorporation.Hisfirsttwofilms,CuteGirl
(1980)andCheerfulWind(1981),wereconventionalvehiclesforlocalpopstarshisthirdfeature,TheGreen,Green
GrassofHome(1982),wasnamedforasongmadefamousbyTomJones.Hethereaftermadeaseriesoffilmsdrawing
onhisownyouthorthatofhiscollaborators,moviescharacterizedbytheirhistoricalconsciousnessandpervasive
senseofloss.(HewasalsothefirstTaiwanesefilmmakertousetheislandsindigenousdialect.)

Housmatureworkhasanunderstatedrigor.Oncehedevisestherulesforaparticularmovie,hesextremelyrigorous
althoughthoserulesareoftennotimmediatelyapparent:ThreeTimes(2005)presentsthesameromanticcoupleina
successionofpsychologicallyfraughtsettingsandhistoricallychargedsituations.(ThefirsttimeIsawit,themovie
seemedtofallapartinitsfinalmovement.But,onsecondviewing,thatdisintegrationseemedacarefullyedited
contrivancesuchisHousinventiveuseoftime.)

Inacertainsense,Houisanartistoutoftimeareminderofourbelatednessmorethanhis.WhenFlightoftheRed
Balloon(2007)openedherein2008,IbeganmyVillageVoicereviewwiththeunprovableassertionthatifthedirector
wereFrench,hedbefarmoreappreciated.FlightoftheRedBalloonwasinawayaFrenchmovie,shotinParis(it
evenplayedattheParisTheaterinNewYork)butIshouldhavewritten,ifHouwereFrenchandwewerestillliving
in1974.Hispresencesignifiestheendofaparticularerainfilmculturethatendedlongago.

HouisapostscripttotheclusterofEuropeanandAsiandirectorswhodefinedinternationalcinemaduringthe1950s
and1960sandwhosemovieswereduringtheheydayofrevivaltheatersfrequentlyavailable.Ontheonehand,heisa
greatformalist,likeMichelangeloAntonioniandRobertBressonontheother,hebroughtahithertounknownnational
cinematointernationalattention,asdidAndrzejWajdawithPoland,AkiraKurosawawithJapan,andSatyajitRaywith
India.(TheonlyfigurewhowasbothwastheinsufficientlyappreciatedHungarianmasterMiklsJancs.)AsHous
temporalconstructionsareisassophisticatedasthoseofAlainResnaisorChrisMarker,thereisalsoperhapsabitof
bewildermentinencounteringmodernistsensibilityinan
unexpectedsettingorratherindiscoveringan
unexpected,selfinventedmodernism.

ItwasforThePuppetmasterthatHoufirstdevelopeda
startlinglyadvancedformofmontagethathasbeen
comparedtothemovementofcloudsdriftingacrossthe
sky.Narrativecoalescesanddissipatesdramasmerge
andcommentoneachother,notleastfromthe
perspectiveoffiftyyearslater.Atacertainpoint,every
cutcomesasasurprise,spanningperhapsadozenyears
evenasthevoiceoverloopsoverandaroundthesceneto
knotthestorywithaninvisiblethread.Isthereanother
filmmakerwhocansofluidlycelebratethemomentas TrigonFilms
wellastheepoch,anddosointhesameshot? ApuppetperformanceinThePuppetmaster

AcomprehensiveretrospectiveofHouHsiaohsienswork,AlsoLikeLife:TheFilmsofHouHsiaohsien,is
showingattheMuseumoftheMovingImageinNewYorkthroughOctober17.Itwillcontinuetoothercities
includingCambridge,Berkeley,Washington,D.C.,Rochester,Toronto,Vancouver,Houston,andChicago.
September19,2014,4:45pm

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IanBuruma J.Hoberman GeoffreyO'Brien

19632017NYREV,Inc.Allrightsreserved.