Hou Hsiao-hsien - Hsimeng jensheng (’The Puppetmaster’) (1993)

Published by Ice Zero | Filed under Video

Hou Hsiao-hsien’s masterpiece about the childhood and early adulthood of octogenerian Taiwanese puppet master and actor Li Tien-lu. This is the second part of a trilogy about Taiwanese life in the 20th century, covering all but the first few years of the Japanese occupation of Taiwan (1895-1945). Hou’s preference for filming entire scenes in long takes from fixed camera angles and for eschewing close-ups has never been as masterfully employed and modulated as it is here–some of the landscape shots are breathtaking. The film alternates between re-created scenes from Li’s life, Li speaking directly to the camera about his past, and extracts from his puppet and stage performances, creating a layered density in the narrative that does full justice to the complexity and poetry of Hou’s investigation. DVD Beaver







Based on the actual memoirs of Li Tien-lu, Taiwan’s most celebrated puppeteer, The Puppetmaster tells the epic tale of one man’s sturgle against seemingly insurmountable adversary. Spanning the years from Li’s birth in 1909 to the end of Janpan’s 50-yr occupation of Taiwan in 1945, this remarkable true story captures the puppetmaster’s hardships as well as the tragic sweep of this war-torn era. The portrait that emerges reflects the complex nature of Chinese culture under Japanese rule during the first half of the 20th Century.







In the first half of this century, young Li Tienlu joines a travelling puppet theatre and subsequently makes a career as one of Taiwan’s leading puppeteers. During World War II the Japanese rulers of Taiwan use the traditional Chinese puppet theatre for their war propaganda. Only after the war street theatres start playing again. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0107157/plotsummary)







The second installment of Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s historical trilogy (which also includes A CITY OF SADNESS and GOOD MEN, GOOD WOMEN), THE PUPPETMASTER is based on the life of famed Chinese puppet master Li Tien-Lu. Spanning the years 1909 to 1945 and covering major historical events in China’s occupation by the Japanese, the film is epic in scope, yet highly personal in focus. Influenced by Chinese painting and the aesthetic concept of “liu-pai” (the idea that what is visible within the frame can open the mind to the world that extends beyond its parameters), the PUPPETMASTER is visually stunning.







Hou’s use of deep-focus composition, long fixed shots, and lack of close-ups create an onscreen tableau evocative of a puppet stage. It is on this stage that Chinese history unfolds, interwoven with the simple narrative of Li’s life, which is performed by various actors and isrelated anecdotally by Li himself, who appears onscreen as a humorous and engaging raconteur. For Hou fans, Li is a familiar presence, having acted in several of the director’s previous films. Through this quietly complex film, Hou offers a slow meditation on the relationship between man, his art, and the world around him.