There just isn’t much that’s
compelling about Hsiao-hsien Hou’s The
Puppetmaster (1993). An attempt to
chronicle the Japanese occupation of Taiwan through the story of one Taipei man’s
experiences during the period, the film fails to make either the political
conflict or the man himself particularly engaging. Character’s throughout the film are difficult
to distinguish amongst the myriad of stories, both narrated and presented, and
the occupation never seems to weigh too heavily on the primary protagonist,
despite the seemingly considerable losses he faces.
The man is Tianlu Li, a real figure who
survived the lengthy period of Japanese control from 1895 to 1945 partly due to
his status as a vaunted puppetry performer.
The genuine Li narrates much of the action, even appearing onscreen
sporadically to recap an event in its entirety.
This narrative strategy works only to a point, because it leaves viewers
to question why some stories garnered cinematic recreation, while other simply
received the minstrel touch. Both can be
effective in their way, but neither particularly shines here.
Li’s stories detail some of the
major events of his life, beginning with his birth, but the narrative flow is
uneven and often disorienting. Major
breaks in the story yield lengthy performances that add little to the film’s
arch, and often severely alter the tone of the picture. Perhaps Hou intended this effect for the sake
of juxtaposition, but the tactic was completely lost on me. Li’s stories also have the tendency to neglect
important events, such as his marriage, and the birth of several children, but
devote great time to events that would seem to be of lesser narrative
merit. Again, this may have been a
directorial technique lost on this viewer, or perhaps a cultural barrier that I’m
unaware of.
In either case, the bulk of the film
revolves around conversations with various relatives that only sometimes
concern Li himself and/or the reigning political troubles. An early scene does detail the Japanese military’s
instruction that native males must cut off their distinctive “pigtails,” but
the issues of the international strife all but disappear for a solid hour
thereafter. In this regard the film completely
fails to effectively balance the political context with the character
elements. Likewise, characters are so
vaguely drawn that rarely do they surpass in title their function in Li’s life,
and thus the film is peppered with an endless string of “aunties,” “stepfathers,”
and “grandmothers.”
There is a distance between the
audience and the characters of The
Puppetmaster that Hou never seems to close; a shame really as there are
some truly beautiful images in this film.
They are few and far between, but the well lit landscapes of the picture
are quite lovely. However, much of the
film is engulfed in the shadows, and equally lacks a narrative guiding light. By the movie’s conclusion I felt little
connection to Li, and had gained no further understanding of the occupation,
and thus I walked away dissatisfied.
Language:
Mandarin (primary)/Japanese
Runtime:
142 minutes
Available
@Youtube.com
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