The Puppetmaster (film)

This article is about the Taiwanese film. For other uses, see Puppet Master.

The Puppetmaster
File:The Puppet Master.jpg
Directed by	Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Produced by	Chiu Fu-Sheng
Written by	Chu Tien-wen Wu Nien-jen
Starring	Lim Giong Li Tian-lu Tsai Chen-Nan
Narrated by	Li Tian-lu
Music by	Chen Ming-Chang
Cinematography	Mark Lee Ping-Bin
Release dates	1993
Running time	142 minutes
Country	Taiwan
Language	Mandarin/Taiwanese/Japanese

The Puppetmaster (Chinese: 戲夢人生; pinyin: Xì mèng rénshēng) is a 1993 Taiwanese film directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien. Based on the memoirs of Li Tian-lu, Taiwan’s most celebrated puppeteer, this story covers the years from Li’s birth in 1909 to the end of Japan’s fifty-year occupation of Taiwan in 1945.

Many consider The Puppetmaster a masterpiece of world cinema. In the British Film Institute's 2012 Sight & Sound poll, seven critics and three directors named it one of the greatest films ever made.

Plot

It tells the story of Li Tian-lu who becomes a master puppeteer but is faced with demands to turn his skills to propaganda during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan in World War II. This film is the second in Hou's trilogy of historical films that include A City of Sadness (1989) and Good Men, Good Women (1995).

Cast

Actor	Role
Li Tian-lu	Himself
Lim Giong	Li Tian-lu (young)
Tsai Chen-nan	Ko Meng-dang (father)
Yang Lai-Yin	Lai Hwat (stepmother)
Vicky Wei	Lei Tzu

Awards

The film won the Jury Prize at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival and the FIPRESCI Prize at Istanbul International Film Festival, though the prize at Cannes was due largely to the single-handed efforts of Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami.

External links

• The Puppetmaster at IMDb
• The Puppetmaster at Rotten Tomatoes