859. Hsimeng jensheng/The Puppetmaster (1993)

Running Time: 142 minutes
Directed By: Hsiao-hsien Hou
Written By: Chu T'ien-wen, Li Tianlu, Wu Nien-jen
Main Cast: Lim Giong, Li Tianlu, Tsai Chen-nan, Yang Lai-yin, Vicky Wei

HOU HSIAO-HSIEN HAT TRICK: PART THREE OF THREE

Finally, we come to the conclusion of the "Hou Hat Trick" with the viewing, via YouTube, of "The Puppetmaster" - Hou's 1993 feature and one that left just as sour of a taste in my mouth as Hou's previous two offerings.

As far as I could tell, all "The Puppetmaster" was about was the life of Li Tianlu, a real puppeteer, living in Taiwan during the first half of the 20th century. Tianlu himself shows up throughout the picture to offer up personal stories and narrate the picture. Tianlu was introduced to the world of entertaining, through the use of puppets, at a young age and continued throughout his life, sometimes even putting on stage shows, with real actors. Unlike Hou's previous two works, the political aspects and Japanese oppression are cut back significantly in this picture, so that the film can focus more on the life of Tianlu.

Yeah, so that's about it. Two hours and twenty minutes of the life of a puppeteer. Are puppeteer's really this popular in Taiwan? I'm all about giving movies a second try and watching them again to make sure your mood was right, but I have serious doubts that I'll ever watch any of Hou's movies again, even ones that I haven't seen yet. He seems to be making pictures that are the exact opposite of what I'm looking for. They are from a different time and culture and they just don't do a damn thing as far as peeking my interest or making me care about what is going on. I seriously overrated "A City of Sadness" and "The Time to Live and the Time to Die" is already leaving me with the impression that it's going to end up being very forgettable.

Did I like anything about "The Puppetmaster"? Well, I liked the real Tianlu and his narration of the picture. I'm a big fan of hearing people talk and tell stories. I think, unlike most of the general population, I'm a better listener than I am a talker. I love hearing people recount stories and, to tell you the truth, I would have rather sat through a two hour interview with Tianlu and let him just tell me what happened to him. The few scenes that actually featured the puppets were pretty cool too, I guess. It is not my intention, with this review, to bash puppeteer's. What they do IS entertaining and I whoever did the puppeteer work on this film was top notch.

Can I just say one last thing without sounding like a giant racist, because truth me, I'm not. One of the problems I've had with Hou's films is that a lot of his actors look the same. And I'm not saying that because they're all of Asian decent and in my eyes all Asians look the same. I'm saying that because the facial features of a lot of Hou's actor's were very similar. Also, their names are hard to keep track of, probably because they all share the same last name and in Asian culture, the last name comes first. So you're left to sort through names like Wen-ching, Wen-heung, Wen-leung and Wen-sun (the names from "A City of Sadness"). At first glance, to an American like me, that looks like four guys who are all named Wen! It's not a big deal, just a very minor gripe that I wanted to air. The real problems are the ones I mentioned above.

RATING: 2.5/10  Well Hou, I tried, I really did, but you're films left a sour taste in my mouth and I have absolutely no interest in ever watching them (or any of your other work) again. That could change, but I doubt it.

MOVIES WATCHED: 580
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 421

November 18, 2012  7:47pm