The Puppetmaster

Hsiao-hsien Hou's The Puppetmaster (1993) is the second part of his trilogy of historical films which focus on Taiwan's development. This time the period of time is between 1908 and 1945, which means the focus of the film is on the Japanese occupation of Taiwan. Taiwan's situation is reflected through the true story of a puppeteer, Li Tianlu (who has acted in Hou's other films). Hou mixes elements of fiction and documentary by recreating scenes of his life while letting his interviews with the puppeteer narrate most of the film. The director's admiration of the central character can be seen in the film - he once said that Li Tianlu is one of Taiwan's national treasures.

The easiest way for me to write a review of The Puppetmaster is to compare it with the first part of the trilogy, City of Sadness. While both of them share the social and historical layers, the intimate layer (personal, on the level of characters) is more perplexing in The Puppetmaster because characters come and go and there seems to be no central character other than the puppeteer himself - who remains a bit distant figure throughout the film. The narrative is more like a collection of short bits from here and there - and the way tension is subtly gained and then let loose is weird yet incredibly haunting.

Sadly, the way I saw The Puppetmaster only added to my confusion: the video was severely cropped so some of Hou's compositions were a bit messed up and the complex lighting lost some of its magic when the picture was too dark at times. Despite all of that, it didn't destroy Hou's formal magic that is a feast for the eyes - even though it is very minimalistic. And most importantly the music plays a significant part in The Puppetmaster - a soundtrack so poignant and fitting.

The Puppetmaster is a hard film to digest - there is no doubt about it. I will have to rewatch many times before I give my final evaluation for the film - so don't take this rating as the one that I will firmly stand by.

Score: 9 out of 10

The Last Emperor

Bernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-winning The Last Emperor (1987) tells the story of the final Emperor of China, Pu Yi. He became an Emperor already at the age of 4 and due to the changing world he had to give his title away.

Narratively the film isn't anything special when compared to the other biographical films - which is probably only for the better. While it provides interesting observations on how the Chinese value were changed and it is a proper depiction of Chinese history, the film never becomes anything truly memorable.

At least the film's form is fascinating: beautiful camera drives, fascinating compositions and the entire production is executed on a spectacular scale. However, the English dialogue and stiff acting distracted me a lot - it was hard to get used to them.

In the end, The Last Emperor is a film that could have been better, but it is quite good in its present shape too.

Score: 8 out of 10

Täällä Pohjantähden alla

Väinö Linna's Täällä Pohjantähden alla (often translated as Here, Beneath the North Star) is one of the most famous and important Finnish novels ever written. Timo Koivusalo's cinematic adaptation of the novel in 2009 seemed like a disaster from the get-go. For those of you who don't know about Koivusalo, all I can say is that he has become a famous director in Finland even though his films' actual quality is on par with Uwe Boll's movies. The idea of Koivusalo directing the adaptation of a great classic is painful - and the result is even more painful than I could ever expect.

The story explores the time when Finland gained independence and the bloody civil war that followed it - through the perspective of a fictional family. Timo Koivusalo proves that even with great source material you can screw up horribly.

First of all, the narrative is utterly aimless throughout the film (what works in a novel might not work in a film) which makes most of the film's points lack the needed impact. Secondly, the characters are never introduced properly so the film is extremely confusing for someone who has not read the novel. Koivusalo doesn't seem to be even bothered by the characters at any point. Thirdly, the film's content is so awkwardly heavy-handed - especially during the later half - that the film becomes rather ridiculous.

What's even worse is the huge amount of both intentional and unintentional humor that is present even in the most dramatic moments. There's also a lot of content that should have been cut because there was no reason to include those moments in the first place!

If you think the content sounds bad enough, just wait until you witness the form: it is chaotic and arrhythmic for no purpose. The editing is random, distracting and ludicrous ALL THE TIME. Koivusalo likes to crosscut different scenes very often for no purpose and it only serves to make me loathe the film more. The cinematography is careless and nauseating in its anarchy: the viewer can't even understand where each scene is even taking place because we are never even given a chance to see where each shot takes place. The only decent thing about the form is the pleasant lighting that makes the rest of the shit look better than it really is.

The film is a disgrace. It is frustrating, dumb and incomprehensible. Even if you were Koivusalo, you can't completely destroy the magic of the original novel so there's the one extra point for the film. My suggestion is to AVOID THE FILM BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.

Score: 2 out of 10

City of Sadness

As I have been watching Hou Hsiao-hsien's films recently, I've been eagerly waiting for City of Sadness' turn: I had seen it once before and I had a feeling it would become one of my all-time favourites this time. And yes, it had a huge impact on me.

Hou's City of Sadness (1989) is an account of what one Taiwanese family had to cope with before, during and after the infamous 228 incident during which tens of thousands of Taiwanese were killed or they vanished. It was the epitome of the conflict between the Chinese and the Taiwanese in the country - after the Japanese occupation of Taiwan ended in 1947 due to Japan's loss in the World War II. 

It is amazing how Hou makes the film work so seamlessly on personal, social and historical layers. Although you can't separate the three very well because they are so tightly combined together - especially the latter two. It is so heartbreaking to see the family slowly crumble and fall apart - only because of the political reasons. The family had resorted to "crime" during the Japanese occupation to help the district - yet the wanted change only makes things even worse. The characters are helpless under the cruel force of history and politics. 

Even though making Wen-ching (Tony Leung) a deaf character was initially a practical thing (Leung couldnt speak Mandarin or Taiwanese convincingly), his character became a metaphor for Taiwan's situation. It is even more interesting to take a look at the story in that light.

Hou's form is at its best in City of Sadness: that says a damn lot. His use of ellipses works perfectly this time and causes no real confusion either. The most famous example might be the gangster fight of which we only see the outcome: before we even see it begin, the next cut takes us to the final blow. And because of this, the outcome is even more powerful in its brilliant subtlety.

His compositions and framing are simply wonderful to look at. Just take a look at the snapshots placed below the text. His habit of revisiting the same compositions packs a terribly huge punch in City of Sadness. The best example (by far) is the hospital shot (the 4th snapshot) which is repeated at least 6 times during the film.

All of his formal techniques cause this cleverly powerful influence on the viewer. It gets only better the more you watch the film. And it's not only the form: the content is so bittersweet and tragic that it is certainly an unforgettable experience to watch the film. I was deeply touched by its subtle sentimentality and the profound content.

Sadly, I had terrible difficulties in writing this review. I have utterly fallen in love with the film and I'm struggling to share my passion. City of Sadness is one of the greatest films I've EVER seen.

Score: 10 out of 10