Hou Hsiao-hsien
About
Biography
Biography
Of the ten films that Hou Hsiao-Hsien has directed between 1980 and 1989, seven received best film and/or best director awards from prestigious international films festivals in Venice, Berlin, Hawaii and the Festival of the Three Continents in Nantes. In a 1988 worldwide critics' poll, Hou was championed as "one of the three directors most crucial to the future of cinema."
Hou's birthplace, a county in Kuangtung Province, had been well known as an intellectual center in China. In 1948 his family moved to Taiwan and, like all children raised there, he went through an extremely demanding educational system. In 1969 he studied film at the National Taiwan Arts Academy. After graduation in 1972, he worked briefly as a salesman. Later he began his film career as a scriptwriter and assistant director.
Hou's cinema is often concerned with his experiences of growing up in rural Taiwan in the 1950s and 60s. The 50s marked a time in which refugee families from the mainland were painfully struggling for survival, while the 60s saw the beginning of the most significant social change in modern Taiwan. The economic boom of that period meant the beginning of Westernization and urbanization. The normal frustrations of growing up were aggravated by these complicated changes, and Hou's films are intimate expressions of those experiences.
His emotionally charged work is replete with highly nostalgic images and beautiful compositions; their power lies in his total identification with the past and the fate of families who suffered through difficult times. His stories, often written in collaboration with scriptwriters Chu Tien-wen and Wu Nien-chun, depict the complex intertwining of the different strands that shape the lives of individuals. In a poetic yet relaxed style, they reflect a deep sympathy and a profound humanism.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Life Events
1948
Moved with his family to Taiwan
1983
Feature directorial debut, "Son's Big Doll" a segment of the episodic drama, "Erzi De Da Wanou/The Sandwich Man"
1986
Provided the voice of "The Fence" in "K'ung-pu fen-tzu/The Terrorizer"
1989
Helmed the Taiwanese historical drama, "A City of Sadness"
1991
First credit as executive producer, "Raise the Red Lantern"
1993
Directed revered puppeteer Li Tien-Lu in "The Puppetmaster," which is based on Li's life
1995
Helmed the Taiwanese film, "Good Men, Good Women"
2001
Directed "Millennium Mambo" an intriguing portrait of a modern day girl in Taiwan
2003
Directed the Japanese film "Café Lumière"; nominated for a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival
2005
Helmed three chronologically separate stories of love, "Three Times" set in 1911, 1966 and 2005 with the same lead actors; nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival
