Hoezo in KINO

While this isn’t Hou Hsiao-hsien’s debut, he has stated he considers it his first real feature, perhaps because his earlier works were more mainstream romantic comedies. It also marks his first of many collaborations with Chu Tien-wen, she would go on to write most of his scripts (and a lot of other screenplays of the Taiwan New Wave). With this film his style of filmmaking and thematic focus began to shift to a more personal approach, as he drew from his own experiences and memories. It was with this film that he got recognition for his cinematic style at international film festivals: long takes, a fixed camera, and framing that captures small stories of ordinary people. The observant viewer may notice that the mise-en-scène is reminiscent of Yasujiro Ozu’ style and story wise, it bears resemblances to Federico Fellini’s I Vitelloni.