Monday, September 22, 2008
Film Reverse Shot Issue 23: Hou Hsiao-hsien
Posted by Mark on Mon, Sep 22, 2008 at 4:40 PM
One of my favorite... journals? Sites? Huh. One of my favorite places for film writing has always been Reverse Shot, in its various bloggy and weekly-reviewing and long-form formats. And one of my favorite filmmakers, who I think I probably became aware of about the same time I became aware of RS, is Hou Hsiao-hsien, as I may have mentioned before now.
So naturally I am really excited for the richness that is Reverse Shot #23, a comprehensive film-by-film rundown of all of Hou's features to date. It's great reading — approachable, often eloquent prose expressing an open and sharp critical perspective from a variety of angles of approach — and perhaps an ideal thing to have close at hand as you work your way through three decades worth of films from "the greatest living filmmaker." (Reason enough for a Mondo Kim's membership, I think.)
These are all things I would be saying even if I hadn't contributed a piece to the issue, on Hou's all-the-young-dudes reminiscence The Boys from Fengkuei. Mine is the longest piece in the symposium, a fact which I suspect surprises exactly: 0 of you. (Regular readers of the L film section will happily note the presence of L film critic and longtime Reverse Shotter Michael Joshua Rowin as well.)
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