If you know little about the work of Taiwan’s Hou Hsiao-hsien but wish to brush up before The Assassin begins rolling out, consider these two examinations a proper resource. (This is in addition to, of course, watching his films, though many are a bit difficult to find.) First is the work of another Film Stage favorite, Olivier Assayas, who helped broach Hou’s western exposure with the 1997 documentary HHH: A Portrait of Hou Hsiao-hsien, which mixes film clips with a career- and life-spanning interview. We’re posting it for your viewing convenience. Despite being available on YouTube over the last few years, this is an underseen work of Assayas’ and a Hou-related document of uncommon intimacy — in any terms, a must-watch.
Related to that — and no less interesting, certainly — is a recent talk the two directors and Chu T’ien-wen, Hou’s collaborator on almost every screenplay, conducted at Belgium’s Cinematek (via The Playlist). Although Assayas had not yet seen The Assassin, much of their conversation centers on that film, and the length allows for as extensive an exploration of this hypnotic film as we’ve yet seen. Some of us — including yours truly — will have a lot to live up to when we speak with Hou over the next few weeks. Be sure to check back for that chat when his newest picture arrives on October 16.
Watch the videos below: