New Taiwanese Restorations
LEGEND OF THE MOUNTAIN
In January and February, we present two decidedly different movies from Taiwan, each directed by an established master of cinema. Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s Daughter of the Nile is an intimate contemporary family story that marked a transition between Hou’s “coming of age” trilogy and his period films. Legend of the Mountain is a deliriously entertaining epic of the supernatural from Wuxia expert King Hu. Both movies will show in gorgeous new 4K digital restorations.
- Sat., Jan. 27 | 7:00 PM4070 Vilas Hall
Newly restored in 4K, this pivotal rarity by Taiwanese master Hou Hsiao-hsien (The Assassin) marks the transition between two of the filmmaker’s major periods: the “Coming of Age” trilogy that culminated with Dust in the Wind, and the internationally celebrated “Taiwanese History” trilogy that began with A City of Sadness. Pop star Lin Yang plays a young woman struggling to keep her family together in contemporary Taipei. As they drift towards a life of crime, she finds refuge in Japanese manga comics. (MK)
- Sat., Feb. 3 | 7:00 PM4070 Vilas Hall
From the director of A Touch of Zen and Dragon Inn comes this supernatural fable set during the 11th-century. “A scholar-errant, tasked with translating and safeguarding a Buddhist sutra involving the afterlife, loses his grasp of space and time as he wanders through a strange, haunting mountain landscape. Along the way, he encounters temptress ghosts and Taoist priests, ancient abandoned fortresses and inns, and a delirium of color, sound, and silence” (NY Museum of Modern Art). A beautiful new 4K restoration will be shown.