Quote:
Dust in the Wind is a remarkable film, and one which will, no doubt, reward multiple viewings. Like most of the films of Hou Hsiao Hsien, viewers will be divided into two, sharply opposed camps.

The main characters in the film are two high-school students. The first is Wan, who – seeing his village as a dead-end career-wise, decides to leave their home town to go to Taipei to find work, intending to complete his education via night-school. His girlfriend Huen also leaves for Taipei after graduation. The other personages are family members, employers, friends and co-workers.

The story presented consists of a number of vignettes in typical Hou fashion, with stationary camera and naturalistic performances. Glimpses are given of their occupations, their moments together and their times apart. Though varying from the very funny to the emotionally raw, they have a cumulative effect, resonating with a reality that is not idealised, and is yet still filled with moments of sublime grace, somehow existing with situations of despair, misery, boredom and loss. There is little music, only a solitary guitar used to punctuate scenes, almost like a musical interlude, often combined with stunning scenery.

Apart from the immediate plot, something can also be glimpsed of the attitudes of the rural, native Taiwanese towards the city and the higher classes, as well as to the vicissitudes of life in general. On a whole the film seems imbued with the melancholy, fatalistic philosophy indicated by its title.

A worthy member of Hou’s inimitable body of films, ‘Dust in the Wind’ was touching and memorable, though with an absence of schmaltz. It is a film I hope to revisit soon. As for recommendations, I’m not sure that it will be everyone’s ‘cup of tea’. Some will find many of its aspects, in particular its detachedness, quite alienating. Certainly those already familiar with Hou, or fans of Taiwanese cinema in general, will want to see it. Those who like Ozu, Bresson or Tarkovsky may find it worthwhile also. There is the same naturalistic feel, understated acting and long takes. But it is also very much the work of an original auteur who is honing his craft and producing unique, personal films.
IMDB

2.29GB | 1h 50mn | 1024×576 | mkv

https://nitro.download/view/C618197738AE157/Lian_lian_feng_chen_aka_Dust_in_the_wind_-_Hsiao-Hsien_Hou_(1986).mkv

Language(s):Chinese
Subtitles:English, French, Chinese

The post Hsiao-Hsien Hou – Lian lian feng chen aka Dust in the wind (1986) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Synopsis (by Giovanna Fulvi @ tiff.net)
Legendary Taiwanese actress and filmmaker Sylvia Chang directs this magical story of estranged siblings whose shared memories of their mother’s fairy tales begin to draw their lives together once again.
A stirring ensemble drama, the first film in seven years from Sylvia Chang (also appearing at the Festival in Office, based on a play she wrote, and Jia Zhang-ke Mountains May Depart) deftly navigates cross-currents of past and present, fantasy and reality, to arrive at a moving depiction of the ways in which our adult lives are circumscribed by limits set in childhood.
As children growing up on Green Island, a former prison island off the east coast of Taiwan, Mei (Isabella Leong) and Nan (Lawrence Ko) were enthralled by their mother’s tales of mermaids who long to know the world beyond the sea.Now, well into adulthood and long-estranged, the siblings are adrift in lives characterized by a similar yearning for someplace else, something more. Mei is a Taipei-based painter struggling through a tempestuous relationship with Hsiang (Chang Hsiao Chuan), an aspiring boxer anxious to get on his coach’s roster before a worsening visual impairment disqualifies him for life. Nan, meanwhile, leads an orderly existence as a Green Island tour guide. Even though he’s desperately lonely, he resists pressure — from within and without — to visit Taipei to seek out his long-lost sister.
All three central characters suffer from a mixture of frustration, rage, and fear that only time, friendship, and good counsel can heal. Though they are alienated from one another, Nan and Mei’s stories flow together, blending with childhood memories and their mother’s fairy tales into a dreamlike meditation on the themes of solitude and connection.
Murmur of the Hearts is rapturous. Chang’s magical-realist storytelling slips between flashbacks and the present tense, finding equal beauty in urban landscapes and aquatic imagery, and the film’s soundtrack is a work of aural poetry punctuated by sublime sonic moments — voices echoing in caves, the pop and shriek of fireworks, the ocean’s roar. This deeply affecting film awakens the senses and emotions alike as it explores how ordinary people strive to weather life’s sea changes.

https://nitro.download/view/E4A24028E5BF5E9/Murmur_of_the_Hearts_SD.mkv

Language(s):Mandarin
Subtitles:English (soft subs)

The post Sylvia Chang – Nian Nian AKA Murmur of the Hearts (2015) first appeared on Cinema of the World.