Hsiao-Hsien Hou memory piece- he shoots almost everything in a medium-long shots, static camera, long takes with bodies in the frame. The compositions here are not on the level of his 1985 breakout A Time to Live and a Time to Die but they are still impressive. Instead of 30+ impressive mise-en-scene creations we have 5-10 here
impressive mise-en-scene creations we have 5-10 here
magificent composition here
The opening is strong—we start in a train tunnel, completely black, and we’re traveling until we see the opening, a sea of green and the moment of the camera, with the train, makes it almost like an iris-in edit—it’s very nicely done
A penchant for greens in the color palette- teal almost
A penchant for greens in the color palette- teal almost
The string music here is an improvement over A Time to Live and a Time to Die which had a melodramatic piano score
HHH has these gorgeously framed exterior shots- almost establishing shots held for a longer time that he holds.
Very Ozu-like teapots in the frame a couple times- haha—even occasionally in the foreground
The train tunnel opening has a callback with a surrealism flashback sequence about mid-way through
Great shot of the alley- a composition at night- one of those 5-10 composition stunners
Its half-way between a coming of age story narrative and a love story (or tragic unrequited love story)
Reoccurring static camera positioned to view their rural town
A great long shot of the Grandpa walking our protagonist off to join the army. So tender and melancholic. It’s a special relationship between them. The film has the Grandpa early on and ends with a seemingly random long conversation between them
the final conversation here
Plays on themes of following his dreams (girl/city) vs obligations (family/rural) that go back to Murnau’s Sunrise in some ways
Ends with a beautiful von Trier Breaking the Waves chapter-break like interlude shot. The light on a seaside mountain village
Not as complex as Boys From Fengkeui, Not as expansive as A Time to Live, but a beautiful lyrical film, shuttling young adults between their comfortable rural existence of childhood and the enticing modern city.
Not as complex as Boys From Fengkeui, Not as expansive as A Time to Live, but a beautiful lyrical film, shuttling young adults between their comfortable rural existence of childhood and the enticing modern city.
@Derek— well said. I can’t get my hands on ” Boys From Fengkeui”
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