Free Project: Research on Hou Hsiao-Hsien

Having done research on Edward Yang on the previous post, I will now do research on another Taiwanese auteur from the Taiwanese New Wave, that is Hou Hsiao-Hsien.

The Time to Live and the Time to Die (1985) - IFI

I'd like to first explore The Time to Live and the Time to Die (1985). Set in 1940s and 50s, the story follows a family as they move from mainland China to Taiwan, with the elderly finding it difficult to adjust while Ah-Ha, the young child, matures through the course of the film. The generation gap widens as a result, endangering the young man's relationship with his family and their traditions (MUBI, n.d.) The film is very autobiographical, as Hou did his own narration introducing the film and the house, the house in which Hou grew up in and the story of his family, as well as the deaths of the people who raised him. (Gilman, 2020).

As we follow the journey of the child, turning into a quietly wild adoloscent of the streets, Hou shows the gang violence, familial responsibilities, authoritarian education, shattered romances, and crushing poverty that surround Ah-Ha. Hou also shows the subtle threat of war and militarized culture that affected the daily lives of the people and one that give rise to Ah-Ha's turmoil (Brody, n.d.). However, while also exploring the social-political conditions of Taiwan, the film emphasises on the theme of memories and death. For example, how Ah-Ha as a kid plays marbles and listening to stories, growing up to be a man trying to prove himself on the streets, or when Ah-Ha was confronted of the first death within his family, his Father, which devastated him (Malcolm, 2000).

According to Kevin Lee (2006), the film reflects a unique and genuine way of approaching childhood memory, in that Hou understands that it isn't a simple matter of nostalgic retelling, but of taking one's past and reanimating in a way that it's alive again and unfolding presently. I feel that this is true, as the film's core theme of memory serves to unify people, in how even when things have changed and time goes by, this film, and film or even photography in general has the ability to relive such moments and the people within it. Relive in a way that isn't just simply retelling and showing, but to make it feel alive in the present as we watch it as Cinema.

A City of Sadness (1989) - inreviewonline

While The Time to Live and the Time to Die I feel has portrayed Hou's nature as a filmmaker, a more socio-political exploration of Taiwan from Hou, and one that I feel connects well with the Taiwanese New Wave's characteristics is the film A City of Sadness (1989). The film was set during the 40s at a crucial period of Taiwanese history called the February 28 incident, in which many was massacred by the Nationalist Party, the Kuomintang under China and the martial law. It mainly followed a family throughout this period of time, and how it later changed the family and the society around them (Nornes & Yeh, 2014).

The film heavily focuses on the tragic consequences of the mainland authorities pattern of power, in which its victims, the Taiwanese people, are left to search for inclusion and cultural identification (). The family's story was focused on three brothers, with the eldest having to repeatedly deal with government policies and Shanghai gangsters, the second a brain-damaged man after physically tortured by the mainland gangsters, the third a physician missing in action in the Philippines, and the youngest, Wen-ching, a deaf photographer spared from military service (Acquarello, 2003).

Later on, the older brother dies in a fight with rival gangs, the second brother still brain-damaged, and the third one still missing. Wen-ching would later marry and have a son together. Even so, as the couple supported a resistance group, it was later defeated and executed, which later led to Wen-ching's arrest for his involvement with the resistance. The film ends with Hiromi and her son at home, with everyone else gone, a deeply scarred family that continues to live and struggle despite their wounds. Resembling Taiwan’s emotionally painful and traumatic past, that is essential in giving birth to the nation, despite the sacrifice of the family.

Hou Hsiao-Hsien, here acting as Lung in Edward Yang's Taipei Story (1985) - critiktat

I feel that this research has led me to explore deeper into Hou's works as a filmmaker, in how a certain style that distincts him from other Taiwanese New Wave filmmakers is his focus on memories and past trauma, serving as a direct influence that affects his characters. In a way, I think Hou wants to emphasise Taiwan's history by creating period pieces that are alive, told through families as the medium to understand the impact of the changing society and politics within Taiwan intimately. 

Other films of his also explored socio-political status of Taiwan, instead exploring it through different issues and time like the exploration of youth in a modern, transitioning Taiwan of the 80s in Daughter of the Nile, another autobiographical return to the difficulties of transitioning to adulthood in The Boys from Fengkuei, or the struggles of a woman trapped in a cycle during modern Taiwan as it approaches the 21st century. As such, I felt that his films explores themes of transition, whether from a certain time, a certain event, or a certain place. 

In terms of how he portrays themes of memories and past trauma that feels very real, he uses what is called cinematic realism. He achieved this by the use of long takes and master shots with subtle changes in both camera and performances while avoiding traditional narrative exposition. This can be supported through an interview in which he stated, "I tried to preserve the long take as much as I could, and I would only edit if it would clarify certain things, if the way the film was assembled demanded that I cut." (Labuza, 2015). He was also known for using less-known actors and shot on location, a nature that most New Wave filmmakers has. He said that this is because at the time it is hard to find good actors in Taiwan, he found amateur actors through chance such as finding Xin Shufen in front of a theatre as he felt a great presence from her; Shufen would work him on three of his films (Chen, 2015). 

In terms of the media production lessons I learned from him, like Edward Yang and other Taiwanese filmmakers, its mostly how to produce a film with low budget and what effects it gives to the films. As said, Hou uses long takes as much as he could to create a certain of sense of realism within the film. He also adapts well with the low budget production values and situation in Taiwan, where finding good actors is hard and he has to rely on amateur actors while shooting on location. It shows me this side of low budget independent filmmaking means that I must adapt, but also means that it helps tell a story more naturally.

References:

• Brody, R. (no date) Goings on about town, The New Yorker. Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/time-live-time-die (Accessed: February 26, 2023).

• Chen, A. (2015) The Assassin’ Director Hou Hsiao-Hsien Talks About His Feminist Martial Arts Film, VICE. Available at: https://www.vice.com/en/article/yvxqzm/the-assassin-is-director-hou-hsiao-hsiens-inadvertent-feminist-action-movie-1014 (Accessed: March 13, 2023).

• Gilman, S. (2020) Taiwan stories: The New Cinema of the 1980s, MUBI. Available at: https://mubi.com/notebook/posts/taiwan-stories-the-new-cinema-of-the-1980s (Accessed: February 26, 2023). 

• Malcolm, D. (2000) Hou Hsiao-hsien: The time to live and the time to die, The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2000/aug/03/artsfeatures1 (Accessed: February 26, 2023).

• Labuza, P. (2015) “We Just Did Long Takes Every Time”: Hou Hsiao-hsien on The Assassin, Filmmaker Magazine. Available at: https://filmmakermagazine.com/96104-we-just-did-long-takes-every-time-hou-hsiao-hsien-on-the-assassin/#.ZA-0SMLP1Ea (Accessed: March 13, 2023).

• Lee, K. (2006) The Time to Live and the Time to Die, Senses of Cinema. Available at: https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2006/cteq/time_to_live/ (Accessed: February 26, 2023).

• Nornes, A.M. and Yeh, E.Y.-yu (2014) “Staging memories: Hou Hsiao-hsien’s a city of sadness.” Available at: https://doi.org/10.3998/maize.13469763.0001.001.

• Acquarello (2003) A City of Sadness, Senses of Cinema. Available at: https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/cteq/city_of_sadness/ (Accessed: February 26, 2023).

         Bibliography

• Brody, R. (no date) Goings on about town, The New Yorker. Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/city-sadness (Accessed: February 26, 2023).

• Bose, S.D. (2020) 10 best films of the Taiwanese New Wave, Far Out Magazine. Available at: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/taiwanese-new-wave-10-best-films/ (Accessed: February 26, 2023).