Saturday 7 November 2020

Thoughts On... Early Hou Hsiao-hsien: Three Films 1980-1983 (Spoilers!)


You may be aware that back in 2016, one or more lifetimes ago, I attempted to write a review of The Assassin because I didn't enjoy it and had some thoughts as to why, then this time last year (November 2019, a pandemic ago) revisited the film and commented on the original review with some new thoughts.

Second time around, I felt that it was working as it intended, but still didn't offer me much. This was frustrating, because The Assassin is a well-regarded film by well-regarded filmmakers, so what was I missing? I thought I'd take a chance on exploring more films directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien and picked up the Eureka Masters of Cinema boxset containing Cute Girl (1980), The Green Green Grass of Home (1982) and The Boys of Fengkuei (1983).