Bordwell, “Hou, or Constraints.”
1. What are the basic parallels and contrasts between the City of Sadness scene described on p. 186-187 and the scene described on p. 229?
They both take place around a table. Horizontal planes are used to conceal and reveal characters at particular instances. The first scene uses windows, while the second is more tight and close.
2. In what ways does Hou take the idea of deliberate constraints even further in his subsequent films, especially Flowers of Shanghai?
I don’t know.
Valentina Vitali, “Hou Hsiao-Hsien reviewed”
2. What are the three broad trends identified by Vitali in how Hou’s films were discussed in reviews and articles?
Characters, political allegories for the present and future, and thematic and stylistic continuity across all Hou films are mainly discussed in reviews.
3. What point does Vitali make using the extended example from an article by French critic/filmmaker Oliver Assayas?
He speaks of the nostalgia of a past French/European cinema based on French nationalism and anti-Americanism parallel to that found in Taiwan and discussed through New Taiwanese Cinema.
4. What conclusions does Vitali make about critics who suggest looking at Hou’s films as “universal” or critics who “propose injunctions not to take into account historical references?”
The films are Taiwanese and historical references help shape Hou’s films to being distinctly Taiwanese, and the historical references should not be ignored.
5. Ultimately, why is the “instruction manual” inferred by Vitali in her reading of these reviews similar to the instruction manual for approaching mainstream Hollywood films?
The “instruction manual” for approaching Hou’s films view accepts the narrative devices as part of a universal film language, similar to that of Hollywood film making. The directors Hou and Lynch are compared with the film technique of the play-back, utilized by each.
Paul WILLEMEN, “The times of subjectivity and social reproduction”
1. Why does Willemen not love the films of Hou Hsiao-hsien because of their complexity?
He says bad films can be complex as well.
2. Why does Willemen not love the films of Hou Hsiao-hsien because of their “Tawianness”?
He says he can learn more about Taiwan from a book or article than watching a Hou film.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Response for 10-19
1. The February 28 incident took place in Taiwan. It was sparked by police beating a woman. Regular people became angry and erupted into riots. The government cracked down on rioters and people that could lead riots, which lead to thousands of people being killed and arrested. Martial Law was instituted for over four decades as a result.
2. City of Sadness does not directly confront what the Nationalist government did in the February 28 incident.
3. The film was somewhat confusing watching it the first time because time would jump considerably sometimes. I would have to reassess what the space and time were to understand the plot. The spaces were mostly the same throughout the film, like the home and the streets, but the actors would change as the boys became older. I would have to put a new face with a name in order to follow the plot. Also, when Hou cut from scene to scene, he would often establish the scene with a space, and I wouldn’t know when the story was taking place.
2. City of Sadness does not directly confront what the Nationalist government did in the February 28 incident.
3. The film was somewhat confusing watching it the first time because time would jump considerably sometimes. I would have to reassess what the space and time were to understand the plot. The spaces were mostly the same throughout the film, like the home and the streets, but the actors would change as the boys became older. I would have to put a new face with a name in order to follow the plot. Also, when Hou cut from scene to scene, he would often establish the scene with a space, and I wouldn’t know when the story was taking place.
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