Métro Lumière: Hou Hsiao-Hsien à la rencontre de Yasujirô Ozu (2004) - full transcript

TAIPEI, AUGUST 2004

Our love for Asian films

is hard to put into words,

because it primarily feeds off of

our amazement.

Here, in Taiwan, Hou Hsiao Hsien

is considered to be a master,

who knows how to capture the meandering

of his country's history in the present.

The film he has just finished shooting

is an homage to a Japanese director

who died in 1963, Yasujiro Ozu.

He is the unchallenged master

of sublimated everyday routine.

The film Caf? Lumi?re is therefore

a place where two artists cross paths,

two artists passionate about their time,

the older of the two having left this earth.

NORTHERN LINE FILMS (PARIS)

PRESENTS

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

WRITTEN BY

HOU HSIAO-HSIEN

MEETS YASUJIRO OZU

The island of Taiwan was

a Japanese colony for 50 years, until 1945.

Born in China, Hou Hsiao Hsien

spent his life in Taiwan, where he shot:

"The Puppetmaster", "The Flowers

of Shanghai" and "Millennium Mambo".

He is an intuitive director, who eludes

the codes of Western cinema

the way a calligrapher eludes typewriters.

The Japanese asked him to direct

an homage to Ozu.

For the first time,

he accepted to work with a studio

and to follow the commission process.

Of course, it will limit your process.

Someone else is assigning the topic.

"You have to make a Japanese film."

Actually, it's very difficult

to cross national borders

and shoot the film of a different culture.

How many successful films

have you seen?

There are very few.

The reason is very simple.

For example, when we look at

Asian-themed films

made by foreign companies,

it's not accurate.

When we watch their films

about Chinese people, it's not accurate.

It's a very big challenge,

because they don't know about

the Chinese way of life, daily rituals, etc.

But I feel this is interesting.

It's a challenge; it's pretty interesting.

Secondly, I have been to Japan

many times.

I've heard and seen many things

about the Japanese.

Regarding the theme

of this Yasujiro film, suicide,

I have my own thoughts.

Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu directed

60 films before he died at the age of 60.

We know next to nothing about him.

He was the most evasive

and the most paradoxical man.

And yet his films are strikingly clear

and evident.

Ozu deals with technological progress

and the evolution of morals

with which the old generation is faced.

But he is always on the side

of the moderns.

Ozu reaches a form of serenity, and also

attempts to describe the questioning

and sometimes the harshness

of human relations.

You know the Yamaokas...

- Who?

- The family above us on the third floor.

Yeah... the insurance salesman.

Yes. His wife was in the hospital.

Really... why?

She's home now.

With a cute baby boy.

Oh, she had a baby.

They say they want to name him Koichi.

Just like you.

So I told them not to.

Koichi is a good name.

No, it's not.

I don't want the baby

to grow up to be like you.

We don't need another Koichi.

Want some grapes?

I bought some today.

I'll have some tomorrow.

I'm sleepy.

Make my bed.

Wait a second.

I want to eat some.

Make your own bed.

AN AUTUMN AFTERNOON (1962)

About the refrigerator, it's a better deal

if you buy it with one payment.

You'll get a discount, too.

When I was making

"All the Youthful Days,"

the assistant director

recommended this film to me.

I watched a bit of it at home.

Maybe it was because of my age,

but I didn't particularly like it.

And I fell asleep before the movie finished.

So that was it.

Until I made

"The Time to Live and the Time to Die."

After finishing, I went to Paris.

During that time, I ran into Mark.

He told me that there was a good movie,

and that I had to watch it.

It's Yasujiro's silent film,

called "I Was Born, but..."

I watched that film,

and I felt it was very good.

I WAS BORN, BUT... (1932)

I think it's interesting without the sound,

because there was no sound to rely on,

there was no dialogue to rely on.

The image, movement,

the sense of movement and people's

behavior itself had to convey all meaning.

To convey agreement, feeling, etc.

You could do a lot.

Unfortunately, we soon had sound.

To make a film like Yasujiro's

Caf? Lumi?re,

I wanted to see

what Yasujiro's film conveys.

What is its background?

Yasujiro's early films already had

a kind of feeling and taste of life.

At that time it was more cheerful

and relaxed.

They processed all the different tastes

that life brought.

After being defeated in World War II,

the whole country surrendered

and brought about changes.

He's also been to China

and southern Asia.

Which helped strengthen and enrich

how he processed the meaning

and feeling of life in his movies.

EQUINOX FLOWER (1958)

Ahh, that feels good.

You know...

What is it?

Sometimes I think about...

how during the war,

when the enemy planes came,

we all used to rush

into the air-raid shelter.

Setsuko was still in the first-grade.

Hisako was barely walking.

Four of us were sitting in the dark.

I thought if we died here,

we would all be together.

Yeah... that's right.

I hated the war.

But I miss those days sometimes.

How about you?

I don't miss it.

I hated those days.

We didn't have anything.

All the lowlifes bossing us around.

For me, it was nice.

That was the only time

when the four of us were so close.

Are you complaining because

I've been coming home late these days?

After World War II, the defeat of Japan,

in the process of rebuilding Japan,

there were a lot of changes

and industrialization.

There was a kind of worry.

He added this worry to his movies,

adding to his feeling towards life,

making it thicker.

Japan today is completely different.

It has a strong economy.

It has recovered fully and is back again.

However, there is still a problem of family,

and this problem is

very different than before.

The ability of women to involve themselves

in society and survive on their own

is much different than before.

It has changed completely.

It is a highly-industrialized,

well-established,

well-organized social structure.

The distance between people

in the big cities became more obvious.

It's a totally different time from Yasujiro's.

AN AUTUMN AFTERNOON (1962)

Your brother is very nice to his wife,

isn't he?

He is quite bossy to us.

I guess a man should be nice to his wife.

Yes... but I don't like it

when a man is too nice, either.

Is that right? Sounds complicated.

Here comes the train.

Looking at them today,

Yasujiro's movies are art films.

At that time they were very popular.

They related to everyday life,

and their styles were very special.

Hou Hsiao Hsien is often referred to

as a movie character himself:

A hoodlum who became

an internationally-lauded director,

a sentimental man, but also a real yakuza

who likes dark bars and Cognac.

And yet his offices are in a residential

and anonymous suburb.

The name of his company

doesn't even appear on the door.

Hou Hsiao Hsien seems to work there

in the afternoon, with friends or family.

For 31 years, Liao Ching-Song has been

following the Taiwanese New Wave.

He's also his film editor.

Hou Hsiao Hsien asked him

to be his producer as well.

Those two functions are rarely held by

one person, but it allows him to follow

Hou Hsiao Hsien's handcrafted

filmmaking from A to Z.

At that time, Taiwan had three types

of movies: For the living room, etc.

We went from old-style movies

to the new literary movies.

The Taiwanese economy took off

during the 1980s.

At the same time, the format

of Taiwanese movies was changing.

In order to be effective,

one had to restrict and limit.

There was little room

for making breakthroughs in film.

That's why we need artistic movies.

Artistic movies have a lower budget,

and you can experiment in different ways.

Director Hou was trained like this.

Obviously, among the new wave

of movie directors,

Director Hou has

the most complete experience.

You can see, with this generation of new

wave directors, all of them are burdened.

Because everyone is educated to love

your political party and country.

We received traditional education.

We grew up with traditional

Chinese education.

Director Hou has gone from being

a commercial director to what he is today.

He is following his heart.

FOR THE CENTENARY

OF OZU YASUJIRO'S BIRTH

Before Caf? Lumi?re, I worked with

Yasujiro on three movies.

We were cooperating at that time;

it was very pleasant.

We didn't have any problems.

This time was a very different experience.

Because I actually had to work

with their crew.

Besides filming, audio recording,

and the director's team,

everyone else was their crew.

They had directing

and production groups as well.

The division of labor was very detailed.

For example, there were specialized crew

to take care of location, onsite, finance, etc.

They held meetings to discuss every issue,

and clarified everything.

We were not used to it at all.

It was all common sense.

We were all in the same business;

we were quick to understand.

Their division of labor was very detailed.

It should not be called

"Taiwan movie style,"

it should be the "Hou Hsiao-Hsien style."

He is like a Taoist.

The Japanese are like

Oyomei Gaku followers.

The Japanese follow the Wang Yang Ming

(Oyomei) school of thought.

The style of Oyomei Gaku is very clear.

Taoism is a bit vague.

Therefore, during collaboration,

both sides needed to adjust to each other.

My feeling about Japan

came from novels.

I read a lot of translations

of Japanese novels when I was young,

including those of various

Japanese authors.

Later I read a lot of books

about the history of Taiwan

and the Taiwanese democratic movement,

how Taiwanese people

view the Japanese.

Under Japanese colonial rule,

we have another understanding of Japan.

We watched a lot of Japanese movies

during our childhood,

like the yakuza movies,

movies after the Japanese mafia.

Although after World War II

Japan left Taiwan,

Japanese movies were still popular

in Taiwan

until the establishment

of diplomatic relations with China.

Japanese movies were then not allowed

to be shown in Taiwan.

During my childhood,

my house was Japanese-styled tatami.

I didn't have any special feeling

when living there;

it was normal to live there.

In our language,

many words in the Min Nan dialect

came from the Japanese language.

At a Japanese Karaoke, you could find

songs that had Taiwanese versions,

so you could follow along and sing.

So I was under the influence of Japan

subconsciously since I was young.

The biggest difference filming this time,

filming Caf? Lumi?re,

is that my feeling towards Japan changed.

In Japan I am considered

a popular director,

and many people like my movies.

I just knew Japanese people

involved with moviemaking.

You can see the details of the real Japan

after careful observation.

But it is still different than the Japan

you come in touch with.

You learn about their strictness,

their maturity, and lack of space.

Therefore they suffer

from a lot of pressure.

When the pressure reaches

a certain degree,

it gets tense in one's personal space.

Others are not allowed into this space.

One's own area, e.g. One's flat, etc.

When I look back,

my wedding was...

nothing extravagant and rather plain.

This is my wife here.

It was not love

which brought us together.

We simply conformed

to what our parents had arranged.

On the contrary,

you two are very fortunate.

I cannot help feeling envious.

In the years to come, I hope you two

will work together.

You probably don't have to work

any harder, but...

I hope you live in harmony

and raise a happy family.

I also hope you'll always be

our shining example

and become the envy of all.

Thank you.

Congratulations.

EQUINOX FLOWER (1958)

Thank you very much.

Don't mention it.

It's a special nation.

You can't just say it's good or anything.

Basically, you need to come

to an understanding,

and how to get along with it.

You need to know why there was a

Second World War, what happened, etc.

We can't say that Japan's way is wrong.

To me, I can learn their precision,

carefulness, continuous meetings.

We can learn from them.

But the question is, more importantly,

who is the creator today?

Today it's Director Hou.

He needs an environment for creation.

To Director Hou, Caf? Lumi?re

should be a challenge.

After filming, I was worried whether

the Japanese thought it was Japanese.

After watching it, they all said

that they had never watched a movie

that was more like Japan.

But they mentioned something to me.

In Japan, it's rare, almost impossible,

to have a Japanese director

make a movie like this.

Here is the actor Kobayashi Nenji

in front of the train station.

He plays a father waiting for

his only daughter Yoko,

who is coming back

after a long period of absence.

He doesn't seem very comfortable.

His silence speaks louder than words.

His gestures speak louder

than his silence.

His wife left when the child

was three years old.

He himself has spent too much time

away from home on business trips.

With time, the father

felt his daughter drifting away.

Today, Yoko has contacted her dad

and his new wife again.

But he doesn't know

how to communicate

with a young contemporary

Japanese woman,

who lives her life alone,

without answering to anyone.

It's been a while...

How long can you stay?

A couple of days.

You...

What is it?

Don't tell me you are involved

with the man.

Hey!

Father...

Why can't you trust me a little more?

He's not such a bad person.

Anyway, let her think it over.

She doesn't have to go to work.

I don't care if she quits.

You watch her,

and don't let her go out.

I will never approve of such a thing.

No marriage, of course.

Do you get it?

My pajamas!

EQUINOX FLOWER (1958)

Hou Hsiao Hsien's cinema

is rooted in the cultural relations

that still solidly bind Japan to Taiwan.

The making of Caf? Lumi?re

symbolizes in itself the complex

but rich relationship existing between two

peoples, beyond geopolitical barriers.

Hou Hsiao Hsien chooses a musician

to be the incarnation of this relationship.

A musician born in Taiwan

who made it in Japan in the '30s.

Our heroine Yoko embarks on a quest

to find Jiang Wen-Ye,

just like Hou Hsiao Hsien

goes to meet Tokyo.

I like the old bookstores

like the one in Jimbocho.

I use it as a center of activity because

it can be used for imaginary sequences.

How did you come here?

Where do you live?

What is your background?

Where is a better place for you to stay?

Excuse me...

My name is Inoue, and I'm a writer.

I'd like to ask you some questions.

I'm researching a man

named Mr. Jiang Wen-Ye.

- Mr. Jiang Wen-Ye?

- Yes.

What kind of...?

A composer, Taiwanese.

He came here very often.

First we set Jiang Wen-Ye's profession.

He went to Japan at about 13,

during Japan's occupation of Taiwan.

That year his mother died.

I think his background is a bit similar.

Oh, he wrote poems, too.

Yes... that's a picture

of "Pansy" and "Sweet Pea."

I was "Pansy."

I had a round funny face.

He said I looked like a pansy.

That's why he called you Pansy.

Yes, he called me, "Pansy, Pansy..."

And he said he was slender

like a sweet pea.

I was calling him, "Pea, Pea..."

I see.

But the feeling between him

and his Japanese wife,

and after they have a child,

is different in Caf? Lumi?re.

I didn't portray it clearly,

but the comparison is interesting.

He was like from Yasujiro's time.

That kind of love, you can feel

the difference from the photos.

You two were really close.

Yes. What can I say...

When I tell people these stories,

they all sound made-up.

I don't think so.

But they are all true, really.

Not only did it exist,

it became more complicated,

because the whole viewpoint changed.

The viewpoint of a person,

the so-called individual.

Hou Hsiao Hsien

wants to film our present.

But how does one work

in an unknown language?

How to invent a story in a country

where one is a foreigner?

How to write a script when one wants to

capture the truth of the instant?

The basis of the plot was from the stories

that my Japanese friends told me.

Later, I read some about it.

But when I needed to shoot a real Tokyo,

it was simple; I just found a map.

I found a map of Tokyo.

A map of of trains, for scenery.

I found one that was good,

so I wondered how the train actually ran.

I took the tramcar from here,

then to Yamanote.

I became familiar

with his area of activity.

Why did he appear at this stop

and change trains?

It becomes very clear to you.

I used real Tokyo

to set the coordinates.

Basically use the simplest method,

and draw the coordinates of Tokyo

and its real lines.

You use a familiar city, such as Taipei,

or you only think about movies

in your mind.

You can transport yourself to any place.

You needn't be restricted by logic.

But because you are not familiar

with Tokyo, you have such logic.

But it doesn't matter,

and it only tells you why it's here.

Why the activity occurs here

and why things happened at that time.

Therefore, I had a map.

I used the map, the simplest one,

when I shot the film in Tokyo.

We just lived here...

the area is the town of Ueda.

Our range of movement was from here,

then from to Qiu yue Yuan,

and then via the central line

to Yamanote...

This was the line she wanted to take.

Look at the tall buildings in the city.

The buildings belong to the area

next to the pavement.

It's impossible to set up equipment

in the area of the buildings.

Although lots of people are passing by,

there were two guards.

We waited, and when the actors

were ready, we shot and left.

When the guard came, we were back

at the crosswalk and on the pavement.

That's how we shot.

It's such an important tramcar in Tokyo,

that the Japanese directors

didn't dare shoot there.

They usually borrow a private tramcar line

to shoot, which is easy to borrow,

then they shoot and replace it.

It's impossible to shoot

on the Tokyo JR train.

This script is about the story of Tokyo.

If I couldn't shoot this, couldn't shoot JR,

then it's all over.

JR is the most important,

the central line and Yamanote line.

The two lines are the most important.

If both of them couldn't be shot,

then it wouldn't be right.

If there were no subway

or tramcar in Tokyo,

that's not Tokyo.

If they allowed us to shoot,

then many movie companies

would apply to shoot there, too.

They're afraid of this kind of trouble.

And when you want to shoot,

it's like this in Japan...

if they agreed to let you shoot a train,

you can only shoot the appointed stop,

and shoot the appointed car.

They have a well-organized arrangement

for the sake of safety.

We shot in the tramcar

for about 20 to 30 days.

We got into it and shot, and stopped

when something happened.

We went to work casually dressed.

So did Director Hou.

Everyone had his own way to cover up.

Everyone wore shorts.

In order to avoid reflection,

we all wore black shirts.

It looked like an open secret activity.

People could tell

that we were not Japanese.

The most difficult shot was the tramcar.

You need to shoot that tramcar

from this one.

You need to see that person

and this person.

We shot 13 times.

Almost 13 afternoons.

From noon to afternoon.

Because we couldn't shoot

during rush hour.

We went there every day.

It was a bit like gambling.

We weren't sure whether we could get it.

Our photographer, Lee Ping-Bing,

he needed to be aware of everything

from all sides.

He saw very clearly,

but it was very complicated.

Everyone had to be in sync.

Nobody would tell you

which car to get on.

Everyone needed to cooperate

to get on the same one.

We had to be synchronized.

Otherwise, we had to look for each other.

How about changing the name

to Tramcar Lumi?re?

Sound good?

When we edited the movie,

everything was the tramcar.

Therefore, sometimes we joked

and said that the film could be called

Tramcar Lumi?re.

Please take all your belongings with you

when leaving the train.

Thank you for traveling with us.

Later we hired a caf? to shoot in.

The local producer asked

who should be the waiter,

who should be the master?

I said they should.

"They should?"

We used the spare time

of their business.

While shooting,

we ignored the customers coming in.

Customers entered as usual.

If they came in, took a look and left,

it didn't matter.

I would shoot it again, I didn't care.

That's how we filmed.

It's completely different

from the Japanese way of filming.

The same for the bookstore.

I shot in the same way.

I went in, shot for that day, and left.

I came in another day, and spent

a very short period of time.

Because I knew that I couldn't

get the shot on the first day.

I needed time to get into it.

So did the actors and actresses.

Whether they could behave

like the people there, it's very important.

Everything took time.

So it should not take long the first time.

That was how I approached the filming.

I completed it by observation of reality

and continuously adjusting.

He had a very clear image of what

he had to do to complete this film.

His creation was not made

in a precise manner.

Many directors design everything clearly.

Every director has his own style.

What he wanted was

the most natural style.

Therefore, I think he is a Taoist.

He wants to seek, so we all followed him.

It was very funny.

A cat was walking, and the director

followed it closely.

If you looked behind the director,

you could see a group of his crew

following on tiptoe.

What we want is the atmosphere

of the scenes.

What is it?

I'm pregnant.

Whose is it?

My Taiwanese boyfriend.

Boyfriend?

You know how often I visit Taiwan.

But I won't marry him.

In Taiwan, if you want to shoot

a dark humor movie...

which actor or actress can make it?

Especially when the structure is very tight,

it's impossible to do it.

From the beginning of our making films,

we were always overcoming problems.

Lack of actors and actresses

and equipment,

lack of everything,

the limitation of shooting a real site, etc.,

especially the actors.

People mention my use of telephoto.

There was no other choice.

Because you can set up cameras

around actors,

but what about

the non-professional actors?

When you look at them from a distance,

they won't be nervous

and it's easy for them.

You can judge

and zoom them into the shot.

Even professional actors, to me,

are non-professional.

I will observe you,

find your characteristic, and explore it.

Or reform and recreate your character.

The difference with Ozu

is that Ozu is all-knowing.

An angle of all aspects.

He can shoot a person,

his brother, his parents...

I mainly follow the characters.

It's easier for me to shoot.

The form of expression will be different.

The form of expression

sometimes is indirect.

Not like Yasujiro, not that clear.

Not very clear also is reflecting

modern society, the complexity of people.

The actress in the film

was born in Tokyo herself,

of a Taiwanese father

and a Japanese mother.

It is Yo Hitoto's first role on the screen.

In Japan she writes, composes

and performs her own music

and enjoys a wide success.

Her fans appreciate her poetry

and her ironic texts.

There was a very large hall.

That's where I read that book.

I was sure it should be her.

Then I went to understand her situation.

And according to her situation,

I adjusted the character.

She had just released

her first CD in Taiwan.

My casting staff introduced her to me,

she said that she was good.

Later we listened to her singing,

and it's very nice, and she looks nice too.

The days my father

used to watch over me...

are fading away one by one...

It was you.

I have become more delicate.

But I don't know

when my wish will come true.

I don't care if nothing great happens.

But I wouldn't mind if it did happen.

She graduated from Qingying University.

She majored in Urban Studies,

an unusual subject.

She is very interested in modern arts

and modern architecture.

And you can tell that she has

her own opinions and is very confident.

I felt that she is an independent character,

the character that I want.

So I decided to use her.

Then I had to see

which man was suitable for her.

When I met Tadanobu,

I felt that he was special.

He had been an actor in many films.

He looks very simple,

and a little bit shy.

I wanted to find a young proprietor

of a bookstore.

He looked very much the part.

He could sit still and he was very calm.

It was a fun process.

Like the part where he drew

with the computer.

His drawing was very abstract

and imaginative. It was interesting.

I told him that his character

is a fan of tramcars,

and that he draws

the Yamanote tramcar in the movie.

After reading the play,

he drew the tramcar himself.

I saw it and it was very nice.

It was used for our shooting.

This was how I interacted with actors.

He was very nice.

If you choose a wrong actress or actor,

then you failed.

After choosing an actress,

you know who will be the counterpart.

The counterpart will be good.

You should find their keynote.

Then design and imagine

according to them.

You inspect them from

the very beginning to the end and adjust.

Lead them in.

The difficult part is the character.

Including the relationship

with his parents.

Can I get the effect

that I want during filming?

It's very difficult.

I'd be expected to help

with the business...

They produce umbrellas?

They had a factory in Thailand,

then moved it to China.

Xiao Lin, the character, I hoped

that he could say something.

I told him, but he didn't say anything.

His silence made the character

of the mom nervous.

Mom was waiting for him

to say something

and became nervous,

which became very interesting.

She looked worried.

This subtle expression appeared.

He's forever saying,

"Come to Thailand!"

Thailand...

Yes.

Later he didn't say anything.

I thought that was good, too.

In fact, he couldn't communicate with her

from a certain point of view.

It's the generation gap that prevented him

from communication,

between the previous generation

and this generation.

He expressed himself in this way,

and I think he had his point.

It fit Japanese society.

I like the shooting site very much,

looking at actors and their interactions.

In the process of shooting,

I set the scene,

start looking for them,

and then we all get into the scene.

I constantly watch

and make adjustments.

I watch from the sidelines,

and make adjustments until I am satisfied.

I like a scene when it resembles reality.

It's not reality, it's our creation,

but the created reality

is equal to the reality.

I feel this picture and atmosphere

will last forever.

This is my habit from a long time of

making films and overcoming problems.

First of all, we need imagination, and then

observe according to their conditions.

Then give them freedom to complete it,

and examine the results.

It's difficult to tell,

but you keep on making adjustments.

After shooting each day

I would go back

and consider which part should be cut,

and what should be added to the film.

The original title was Caf? Lady.

Caf? Lady.

Later it was changed to Caf? Lumi?re.

In here are general records

of separate scenes.

Some details of shooting, a lot inside,

including the shooting schedule.

This one contains general records

of every scene after completion.

Completed scenes

would be marked "OK."

Normally one scene after another.

Tokyo, Tokyo, the last stop...

EQUINOX FLOWER (1958)

- Is this a lucky day?

- What?

Wonder if it's lucky...

there are so many newlyweds.

None of the brides is pretty.

Did you see the bride

on the train to Atami?

Yeah, that plump one.

She was pretty good.

She's today's winner.

Are we having some bad weather?

There's a warning.

Bad things always follow good things.

Here they come again.

That's no good.

She's too skinny.

STRONG WIND ADVISORY

I saw Yasujiro's script

with scene breakdown.

The length of time for each scene,

according to the schedule, the time of

one shot might take only one minute.

How much film would be needed,

how long the whole movie is,

how much total film is needed.

It was about 10,000-20,000 feet.

Yasujiro worked

during the time of movie studios.

There were many directors

in a big company.

There was a notice at the gate,

announcing how much film was used

to complete a movie for each director,

including how well it sold in theaters.

It was very difficult to shoot

simultaneously at that time.

They had less flexibility

in the time of movie studios.

He used his favorite way,

the easiest method.

He had a family of actors.

For example,

he always used Li Zhi Zhong.

For a period of time,

it's another actress (Yuanjiezi).

Sometimes, Li acted as his sister,

and sometimes as his daughter.

Because for him, these actors

were very close to reality,

and he thought them convincing.

So did you see Fumiko?

Yes, she comes home once in a while.

She's somehow doing all right.

It's not easy, is it?

Raising children...

After all, the parents always lose.

Things don't go as you planned.

That's right.

We must be getting old.

We're talking about our children

at the class reunion.

Right.

"Seasons change

while you are dreaming..."

EQUINOX FLOWER (1958)

Then he arranged

the symbols of life on them,

to develop his plot.

Therefore, he came out

with his own fixed style.

It's the system of movie studios

at that time and under that condition

which was difficult,

but the most effective way.

It's not the same as ours.

There are real differences

between Hou Hsiao Hsien and Ozu,

but they are sources of inspiration.

What is left of the model

of this homage, then?

What do we see of Ozu

in your film, Mr. Hou?

No, I know what he meant.

But I couldn't realize it while shooting.

Even though I could realize it when

accepting the play and before shooting.

The problem is that I couldn't realize it

while shooting.

You still follow your own habits

and your way of shooting.

He was very natural, and it's different.

If the audience were interested,

they can watch this film with one of

Yasujiro's films, such as Late Spring.

They should have a better understanding

of Yasujiro's method.

It's like a mirror in front of you.

We shot similar themes,

but with different methods

of shooting.

That's how we honor him.