Hou Hsiao-hsien

30-second overview

A director who refused close-up shots and never asked actors to memorize lines, yet became the most influential Chinese-language filmmaker in the world. Hou Hsiao-hsien (1947–) overturned cinematic language with "long-take aesthetics as landscape painting." City of Sadness (1989) won the Venice Golden Lion, launching Taiwan cinema's international golden era. His influence extends to contemporary masters like Jia Zhangke and Hirokazu Kore-eda, proving that an "anti-Hollywood" approach can also create enduring art. After The Assassin (2015) won the Cannes Best Director award, he retired in 2023 due to Alzheimer's disease, ending a legendary career.

In 1988, outside the gates of the Venice Film Festival, a group of Taiwanese directors pressed their hands against the iron door in awe, uncertain when they might cross that threshold into this sacred site of cinema. One of them was Hou Hsiao-hsien, age 41, already the recipient of numerous secondary European festival prizes, yet still mocked by the Taiwan media as a winner of "village film festivals."

One year later, inside those same gates, he took home the Golden Lion for City of Sadness — the first major international film festival prize in Taiwan cinema history. More remarkably, this "incomprehensible" film earned NT$60 million at the box office, and the City of Sadness press kit at Taipei Main Station bookshops was snapped up immediately.

From being derided as "box-office poison" to conquering Venice, Hou Hsiao-hsien created a unique cinematic language in the most anti-mainstream way possible — refusing close-ups, refusing to subordinate acting to the camera, refusing conventional dramatic structure.

From Military Village to Venice: A Hakka Boy's Cinema Road

The Starting Point of Crossing (1947–1969)

Hou Hsiao-hsien was born on April 8, 1947, in Meixian, Guangdong — a Hakka. At age one he moved with his family to a military dependents village in Fengshan, Kaohsiung, growing up in an environment where mainland Chinese and local Taiwanese cultures intersected. This "crossing" became the core DNA of his creative work — crossing not only provincial identity but also eras, languages, and memory.

"The experience of the military village taught me early on that there is nothing pure in this world." — Hou Hsiao-hsien

Naturally introverted and observational from childhood, he became a born "quiet gazer." He had average high school grades and preferred novels and music. In 1969 he was admitted to the Department of Cinema at National Taiwan Academy of Arts, formally stepping into the world of film.

Formation as a Commercial Film Director (1980–1983)

In 1980, Hou Hsiao-hsien began directing at age 33. His first three films — Cute Girl, Cheerful Wind, and The Green, Green Grass of Home — were all commercially successful romantic pictures: fresh, sweet, entirely within market expectations.

But this phase had already planted the seed of future revolution: he began questioning "Why does film have to be made this way?"

The Call of New Cinema (1983–1989)

In 1982, Hsiao Yeh and Wu Nien-jen organized In Our Time and The Sandwich Man, inviting Edward Yang and other emerging directors to participate; Hou Hsiao-hsien was also invited. Contact with this group of creators in their thirties who had studied abroad led him to consider a deeper question:

What is true cinema?

Beginning with The Boys from Fengkuei (1983), Hou Hsiao-hsien found his answer.

A Revolutionary Film Language: When the Machine Follows People, Not People the Machine

The Philosophy of "Anti-Film"

The core of Hou Hsiao-hsien's cinema revolution was a subversive idea: let the camera follow the actors, not the actors follow the camera.

This sounds technical. In reality it is a revolution in the entire conception of cinema:

Conventional film: Actor stands at a mark → composition → lighting → shoot.
Hou Hsiao-hsien film: Actor moves naturally → camera follows → no artificial lighting → record.

Result: his films have almost no close-up shots, because close-ups require actors to "accommodate" the camera's position.

The Poetics of the Long Take

French Cahiers du Cinéma critics described Hou Hsiao-hsien's long takes: "Like the negative space in Chinese landscape painting, allowing time itself to become the protagonist."

But his long takes differ from Tsai Ming-liang's or Angelopoulos's — not a deliberate "slowness" but rather "objective gazing." His aim was to eliminate the camera's presence and allow the viewer to experience something as close to everyday reality as possible.

Technical innovations:

• Minimal rehearsal — letting actors "become one with the scene"
• Frequent reliance on natural light rather than artificial lighting
• A single scene might take half a month to shoot, until it became "natural"
• The camera is always a "recorder," never a "director"

In Café Lumière, the scene where the male and female leads pass each other in separate trams took nearly half a month to complete. Even German director Wim Wenders reportedly exclaimed "Unbelievable."

The Spread of Influence

After watching The Puppetmaster, Akira Kurosawa said: "I could not make something like this."

The list of contemporary directors influenced by Hou Hsiao-hsien is striking:

• Jia Zhangke (leading figure of China's Sixth Generation)
• Hirokazu Kore-eda (Japan's contemporary master)
• Abbas Kiarostami (Iranian New Wave)

Each, to varying degrees, inherits Hou Hsiao-hsien's "objective gaze" and long-take aesthetics.

The Venice Miracle: _City of Sadness_ and Taiwan New Cinema's World Conquest

Seven Years of International Festivals (1983–1989)

The Golden Lion for City of Sadness did not appear from nowhere. From 1983 onward, Hou Hsiao-hsien accumulated prestige at international festivals:

The Success of the International Strategy

The success of City of Sadness was meticulously planned:

1. Media offensive: Producer Chiu Fu-sheng invited critics from major international publications including Village Voice and Sight & Sound to Taiwan for interviews
2. Cultural translation: A beautifully produced press kit with character relationship charts and historical context notes
3. The role of film critic Peggy Chiao: Acting as cultural bridge, helping Western audiences understand Eastern aesthetics

Peggy Chiao: "Don't assume people will naturally understand your film. You have to teach them how to read non-Western mainstream film aesthetics."

The Significance of the Turning Point

After City of Sadness won, the Taiwan media's attitude toward New Cinema reversed 180 degrees. From "box-office poison" to "Taiwan's pride."

More importantly, it opened Taiwan cinema's international golden era (1989–1995):

• Edward Yang's A Brighter Summer Day (1991 Tokyo International Film Festival Special Jury Prize)
• Hou Hsiao-hsien's The Puppetmaster (1993 Cannes Jury Prize)
• Ang Lee's The Wedding Banquet (1993 Berlin Golden Bear)
• Tsai Ming-liang's Vive L'Amour (1994 Venice Golden Lion)

Peggy Chiao described it: "Between 1989 and 1995, the best, most cutting-edge cinema in the world was Taiwanese cinema."

Artistic Peak: From _The Puppetmaster_ to _The Assassin_

Full Maturity of Style (1990s)

The Puppetmaster (1993) is widely recognized as Hou Hsiao-hsien's artistic peak. This biographical film about puppet-theater artist Li Tien-lu pushed Hou-style aesthetics to their extreme:

• Multiple languages coexisting: Taiwanese, Japanese, and Mandarin used naturally together, reflecting Taiwan's linguistic ecology
• Play-within-a-play structure: The boundary between puppet theater and real life is deliberately blurred
• Minimalist narrative: Almost no conventional dramatic conflict — entirely atmospheric

Cannes jury member Abbas Kiarostami said this film left him "deeply moved."

Continuous Innovation in the 21st Century

• Flowers of Shanghai (1998): Adaptation of Eileen Chang's novel; entire film shot in Shanghainese
• Millennium Mambo (2001): Collaboration with Shu Qi, exploring contemporary urban dislocation
• Three Times (2005): Three-segment structure spanning three eras of love

_The Assassin_: A Final Statement (2015)

The Assassin, seven years in the making, became Hou Hsiao-hsien's cinematic swan song. This wuxia film adapted from a Tang dynasty tale:

• Cannes Best Director Award: Hou Hsiao-hsien's second major prize from the three main European film festivals
• Extreme aesthetics: Hailed as "one of the most visually stunning films ever made"
• Cultural depth: Re-interprets Tang dynasty culture through a contemporary lens

But it also "won critical acclaim while losing audiences" — poor box office proving that Hou Hsiao-hsien remained, to the end, an uncompromising artistic purist.

The Cultural Legacy of the Father of Taiwan New Cinema

Layers of Influence

Hou Hsiao-hsien's influence on Taiwanese and world cinema can be understood on three levels:

Technical level: Pioneered the "objective gaze" cinematographic aesthetic
Cultural level: Proved that non-Western cinema can equally conquer international film festivals
Spiritual level: Maintained artistic purity, refusing to yield to commercial pressure

Disciples and Transmission

Taiwanese directors directly influenced by Hou Hsiao-hsien:

• Tsai Ming-liang: Inherited the long-take aesthetic, developing it into an even more extreme "slow cinema"
• Ang Lee: Though he moved toward Hollywood, traces of Hou-style aesthetics remain visible in films like Lust, Caution
• Edward Yang: Though stylistically different, equally committed to the idea of art cinema

Sustained International Reputation

Even in retirement, Hou Hsiao-hsien is still regarded by the international film world as "a living legend":

• The Cinémathèque française established a dedicated Hou Hsiao-hsien section
• The Cannes Film Festival has paid tribute to his contributions on multiple occasions
• The Venice Film Festival calls him "the cinema poet"

"Hou Hsiao-hsien's films taught the world that cinema can be poetry, not just story." — Cahiers du Cinéma

Farewell and Eternity (Retirement 2023)

The Farewell of Dementia

In 2023, Hou Hsiao-hsien, aged 76, officially retired due to Alzheimer's disease, shocking the international film world. The Assassin became his farewell work.

International media's assessment: "The end of an era." But his influence will endure forever.

Greatness in the Ordinary

After retirement, Hou Hsiao-hsien returned to family life, walking near his Taipei home with his son, living as an ordinary elderly man. On April 8, 2025, his 78th birthday, media captured a warm image of father and son walking together.

This image is very Hou Hsiao-hsien — no drama, no close-up, only the quiet, poetic everyday.

His Place in Film History

What Hou Hsiao-hsien ultimately left the world was not just a body of films, but an entirely new way of "seeing":

He proved that cinema need not depend on Hollywood grammar to move the entire world.
He proved that "slowness" and "stillness" equally possess powerful artistic force.
He proved that Taiwan can occupy an important place in the international cultural map.

In a world growing ever faster and louder, Hou Hsiao-hsien's films remind us: sometimes, the most profound beauty comes from the quietest gaze.

He is Taiwan's pride, and a precious gift to world cinema. When film history is written, Hou Hsiao-hsien's name will shine forever — not because of how many films he made, but because he changed cinema itself.

References

1. The Golden Lion Was No Overnight Achievement: Peggy Chiao on Hou Hsiao-hsien's International Festival Journey in the 1980s — CNA
2. The Secrets Behind Hou Hsiao-hsien's Cinematic Lens: A Style Built on More Than Just Long Takes — The News Lens
3. An Ally in the Arts: How International Independent Filmmaking and Film Festivals Enhance Taiwan's Visibility — Global Taiwan Institute
4. Hou Hsiao-hsien — Wikipedia
5. Hou Hsiao-hsien Has Alzheimer's — Foreign Media: The Assassin Is His Final Work — CNA
6. Hou Hsiao-hsien | Taiwan Cinema