Taiwan cinema has once again been honored at the Cannes Film Festival! Siegfried Forster of Radio France Internationale called The Assassin—the film for which Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien was named “best director”—a work of “perfection.” With The Assassin Hou has created an entirely new model for martial arts films, pushing them to a whole new level. In order to recreate the splendor of the Tang Dynasty (618–907), the period in which the film is set, art director Hwarng Wern-ying spent 12 years in planning and drew over 10,000 design sketches. The result is an extraordinarily beautiful aesthetic that permeates the entire 105-minute motion picture.
The efforts put into creative work by filmmakers in Taiwan today cannot help but remind us of “Taiwanese New Wave” cinema, that incredible burst of creativity back in the 1980s. The films from that era have had a lasting impact. Today, 30 years on, the documentary Flowers of Taipei—Taiwan New Cinema tells the story of the cultural heritage left behind by the period, and records how those works have affected filmmakers around the world.
Our films, our creations! Taiwan cinema will in the future generate even more crashing and glittering waves.
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