The Puppetmaster (film)
| The Puppetmaster | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chinese | 戲夢人生 |
| Mandarin | Xìmèng rénshēng |
| Literally | Dream life |
| Directed by | Hou Hsiao-Hsien |
| Produced by | Chiu Fu-Sheng |
| Written by |
Chu Tien-wen Wu Nien-jen |
| Starring |
Lim Giong Li Tian-lu Tsai Chen-Nan |
| Narrated by | Li Tian-lu |
| Music by | Chen Ming-Chang |
| Cinematography | Mark Lee Ping-Bin |
Release dates | 1993 |
Running time | 142 minutes |
| Country | Taiwan |
| Language | Mandarin/Taiwanese/Japanese |
The Puppetmaster is a 1993 Taiwanese film directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien. Based on the memoirs of Li Tian-lu, Taiwan’s most celebrated puppeteer, this story covers the years from Li’s birth in 1909 to the end of Japan’s fifty-year occupation of Taiwan in 1945.
Many consider The Puppetmaster a masterpiece of world cinema. In the British Film Institute's 2012 Sight & Sound poll, seven critics and three directors named it one of the greatest films ever made.[1]
Plot
It tells the story of Li Tian-lu who becomes a master puppeteer but is faced with demands to turn his skills to propaganda during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan in World War II. This film is the second in Hou's trilogy of historical films that include A City of Sadness (1989) and Good Men, Good Women (1995).
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Li Tian-lu | Himself |
| Lim Giong | Li Tian-lu (young) |
| Tsai Chen-nan | Ko Meng-dang (father) |
| Yang Lai-Yin | Lai Hwat (stepmother) |
| Vicky Wei | Lei Tzu |
Awards
The film won the Jury Prize at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival[2] and the FIPRESCI Prize at Istanbul International Film Festival, though the prize at Cannes was due largely to the single-handed efforts of Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami.
References
- ↑ ""Puppetmaster, The" (1993)". British Film Institute. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
- ↑ "Festival de Cannes: The Puppetmaster". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-08-22.