Dust in the Wind (Alternatieve titel)
Hsiao-Hsien Hou / TW, 1986 / 100 min.
To mark the premiere of The Assassin, the latest film by the Taiwanese director Hou Hsia-hsien, EYE is releasing two of his earlier films to theatres. Dust in the Wind – chronicling the life of a young couple in a provincial town in China – was one of Hou Hsiao-hsien’s earliest artistic and commercial successes.
The contemplative Dust in the Wind narrates the story of adolescent love put to the test. A young Chinese man moves from the countryside to Taipeh to earn money, together with his sweetheart. They vow to be true to each other, but at the end of his military service, the young man finds his betrothed has married someone else. He has no option but to return to his village, where his grandfather is the only one waiting for him.
In this seemingly simple tale, Hou Hsiao-hsien managed to paint a pointed picture of the sharp divide between urban and rural life. The disillusionment of the main character also struck a chord with many young Taiwanese and Chinese viewers at the time. “One of the best films of the 1980s”, according to The Village Voice.
Details
Director
Hsiao-Hsien Hou
Production year
1986
Country
TW
Original title
Dust in the Wind (Alternatieve titel)
Length
100 min.
Subtitles
ENG
Format
16mm
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