Hsimeng jensheng (The Puppetmaster) (1993)
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100% of critics liked it
(7 reviews) -
77% of users liked it
(756 ratings)
This Hou Hsiao Hsien masterpiece is a portrait of the childhood and adolescence of octogenarian Taiwanese puppet master and actor Li T'ien-lu, who narrates the film both off-screen and on-screen. In this second installment of a trilogy on Taiwanese life in the 20th century (City of Sadness is… More This Hou Hsiao Hsien masterpiece is a portrait of the childhood and adolescence of octogenarian Taiwanese puppet master and actor Li T'ien-lu, who narrates the film both off-screen and on-screen. In this second installment of a trilogy on Taiwanese life in the 20th century (City of Sadness is the first and Good Men, Good Women is the third), Li's development as an artist and husband plays out between 1908 and 1945 under the heavy hand of Japanese rule, paralleling the development of Taiwan's own political consciousness. The movie deftly shifts from a dramatization of Li's life, to Li speaking directly to the camera about his experiences, to his puppet performances in a semi-documentary style that recalls The Thin Blue Line (1988). Here, as in most of his films, Hou uses long takes and off-screen space to create a complex, richly layered meditation on personal, artistic, and national aspirations. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Directed By
- Hsiao-hsien Hou, Hou Hsaio-Hsien
- Written By
- Tien-Wen Chu, Nien-Jen Wu
- Genres
- Documentary, Drama, Art House & International, Special Interest
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1993 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Nick Schager, Slant Magazine
Hou Hsiao-hsien remains a master at conveying movement, progression, and a sense of the inexorable rotations of the wheel of time.
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Leo Goldsmith, Not Coming to a Theater Near You
The figures of the puppetmaster's personal history become like his puppets, performing a repeated, stylized version of the past on a small stage.
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Jeffrey M. Anderson, San Francisco Examiner
Meshing reality and fiction, Hou has created a groundbreaking masterpiece.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Hou's film is a work of art that deliberately studies the gray in between the black and white political messages...
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Tianlu Li
as Himself
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Yang Liyin
as Stepmother
- Giong Lim
- Shufen Xin
- Tien-Lu Li
- Kuizhong Chen
- Liu Hong
- Minghua Bai
- Chung Lin
- Fue Choung Cheng
- Ming Hwa Bai
