Golden Horse Nominations for 2024

by Nathaniel R

Oops, we're late reporting this one. We love following the Golden Horse Awards which give us insight into both Asian cinema as viewed by Asian cineastes and the Oscar race since the nominees here are often a mix of Oscar submissions from the current Oscar race and the next one (given the different calendar requirements). For instance last year's Golden Horse Awards featured one 2023 Oscar submission: Marry My Dead Body (Thailand) and at least two 2024 Oscar submissions: Abang Adik (Malaysia) and Old Fox (Taiwan). Here are the nominees for the upcoming ceremony (November 23rd, 2024). 

We only spot one Oscar contender in this year's list though (so far - AMPAS hasn't announced the official submission list. So it's possible our list of 86 submissions is slightly incomplete)  and given the release dates of some of the titles this list may be more predictive of next year's Oscar submissions in Best International Feature...

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Interview: 'Goddamned Asura' director Lou Yi-an on his multi-layered crime drama

by Juan Carlos Ojano

Inspired by a 2014 real-life killing, Goddamned Asura explores the lives of six people involved in a ramdom shooting in a night market, including the perpetrator - a troubled teenager named Jan Wen. The film follows not only the lead-up to the shooting incident, but also the aftermath of the characters as they face the repercussions of the actions of Jan Wen.The result is a somber exploration of class, isolation, and violence that is unfortunately still timely and universal.

Goddamned Asura is Taiwan's official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards. In this interview, co-writer and director Lou Yi-an expounds on the origins and themes of the story as well as explaining some terms with their cultural context compared to their English translation...

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Hou Hsiao-Hsien @75: New Millennium (2001-2022)

The conclusion of a four part series by Cláudio Alves

In the cinema of Hou Hsiao-Hsien, the 21st century started with a neon dream. The camera follows Shu Qi's Vicky as she runs through a Taipei tunnel, lights flickering above. Everything happens in slow-motion, flickers turn into waves and the actress's movement makes a strange unnatural dance. She looks back at us, hair flying in a cloud of black tendrils, her eyes asking us to follow her down the tunnel, like Alice down the rabbit hole. It's a hypnotic sight, made more seductive by the music of Lim Giong, house beats and techno dronings that transform the screen into a pulsing heart.

2001's Millennium Mambo fulfills the formalistic promise of Daughter of the Nile, transcending Goodbye South, Goodbye's tethering to material truth. Like its protagonist, the film looks back at its director's history while moving forward to an unknown future. It's the start of a new chapter for Hou Hsiao-Hsien…

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Hou Hsiao-Hsien @ 75: International Acclaim (1987-1998)

by Cláudio Alves

In contrast with their critical acclaim abroad, the Taiwanese reception of Hou Hsiai-Hsien's films was less enthusiastic. Dwindling box-office returns and accusations that his films were too uncommerciable led the director to attempt bridging the popular and the artful. 1987's Daughter of the Nile returns to the realm of modern Taiwan's youth, abandoning the midcentury narratives that had characterized the autobiographical films. It's also notable for its more significant urban setting and single-minded focus on a female protagonist. 

After this project, he wouldn't pay much attention to commercial appeal while his ambitions grew. At the end of the 80s, we encounter a peak of international recognition, the ascension of Hou Hsiao-Hsien to the pantheon of modern-day masters of cinema. All it took was a landmark film that, in 1989, earned the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and kickstarted a trilogy of historical reflections…

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Hou Hsiao-Hsien @ 75: Independent Auteur (1983-1986)

by Cláudio Alves

After abandoning studio moviemaking, Hou Hsiao-Hsien became more evident in his cinematic references. Some of his post-1982 films even featured excerpts from De Sica's Bicycle Thieves and Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers. Fellini's I Vitelloni was never as obviously showcased, but 1983's The Boys from Fengkuei owes much to that Italian classic. The film portrays the aimless wanderings of bored teenagers from a small shipping island. Before the boys are called for their obligatory military service, they travel to the big city of Kaohsiung, finding new independence, new loves, and new woes.

Instead of forcing an artificial structure unto his character's existence, Hou Hsiao-Hsien follows their insouciance with patience, making the film in their likeness...

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