
At the end of the 1960s, high-school sweethearts Wan and Huen leave their little mining town in search of greater opportunities in Taipei, where the vicissitudes of life take their toll on the relationship. The first of Hou’s collaborations with screenwriter Wu Nien-jen (which would also include A City of Sadness and The Puppetmaster), this is a nostalgic love story, beautifully shot by Mark Lee Ping-Bin (In the Mood for Love).
This film was the single biggest inspiration for me in the preparation for Riceboy Sleeps. The stunning cinematography by Ping Bin Lee, a frequent collaborator of Hou Hsiao-hsien, paints a dreamy, nostalgic rural Taiwan that is an absolute marvel to look at. This simple, yet nuanced, love story unfolds often in long, static, uninterrupted scenes with minimal cutting that allows the viewer to observe the lives of these characters as though you are there with them. As a result, when the end credits roll, I find myself missing the characters like I knew them personally.
Anthony Shim
September 29 & October 7: Introduced by Leading Lights guest programmer Anthony Shim
Supported by
Community Partner
Wang Chien-wen, Shu-fen Hsin, Tien-lu Li, Lawrence Ko, Li-yin Yang
Taiwan
1986
Leading Lights
In Taiwanese and Mandarin with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Producer
Hsu Hsin Chih,
Screenwriter
T’ien-wen Chu, Nien-Jen Wu
Cinematography
Ping Bin Lee
Editor
Liao Ching-sung
Original Music
Ming-chang Chen, Ching Chun Hsu
Art Director
Lau Chi-Wah
Director

Hou Hsiao-hsien
Born in 1947, in China, Hou Hsiao-hsien grew up in Taiwan. Alongside Edward Yang, Hou would become the most important figure in the New Taiwan Cinema that emerged in the 1980s. His rigorously controlled but deeply evocative films typically favour long, static takes and, taken together, reframe Taiwanese history through the minutiae of everyday relationships. Hou’s last film to date, The Assassin (2015) won the Best Director prize at Cannes and was the Audience Award winner at VIFF that year.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Giant
This was the Yellowstone of its time: a big, sweeping modern Western built around an imposing ranch and family dynamics -- except Giant is much more subversive. James Dean strikes it rich as Jett Rink, much to the disgust of his former boss, Rock Hudson.
Familiar Touch
A loving portrait of an octogenarian transitioning into an assisted living facility, this award-winning first feature by choreographer Sarah Friedland has a simplicity and warmth that's exceptionally poignant.
Super Happy Forever
This beguiling film depicts a man’s return to the Japanese seaside town where he met his now-deceased wife five years earlier. He tries to relive the past, and in the film's final section -- a flashback to 2018 -- the audience is afforded that privilege.
A Streetcar Named Desire
"I don't want realism. I want magic!" declares Blanche du Bois, the tragic heroine who meets her nemesis in her sister's husband, Stanley Kowalski, in Tennessee Williams' great play. Brando's performance as Stanley is a turning point in American acting.
Georgia O'Keeffe: the Brightness of Light
Drawing on her copious correspondence and the world's leading scholars, this is a definitive documentary on the life and work of "the mother of American Modernism."