The Puppetmaster

This is my third film by Hou, and I haven't really seen anything by him yet that I've really liked. This, as with his other work I've seen, is kind of painfully slow, though this one is a bit moreso than the others, which I enjoyed more. The documentary/staging aspect and the difference between them is an intriguing device, but more often than not I was just bored by this one.

Wish I could watch a version that isn't a DVD rip of a VHS...

Beautiful, complex work here from Hou, the film reveals the distance between memory and reality through the inaccurate narration of the older Tianlu. Or is it the inaccurate staging of the events by Hou? The difference is the point here, leaving us with a provocative film that suggests art and memory shape and reshape reality, just as the puppeteer does for his puppets.

#730

"Hou Hsiao-hsien remains a master at conveying movement, progression, and a sense of the inexorable rotations of the wheel of time." - Nick Schager

667

605

It gets points for being completely unique, but it's a bit too bland for my taste.

# 562

This movie scared the mess out of me. I saw it when I was way too young and had a fear of dolls for awhile.

I don't get it. I just don't get why this guy has been put on a pedestal. It's another okay-but-why-all-the-fuss movie from Hou. Ponderously slow at times, and the narration that forms the heart of the film is too long-winded. There are some insightful moments, and the more political angles were pretty interesting. Yeah, it's a fairly good movie if you can withstand the tedious parts, but I fail to see any greatness.