Five films made by three Taiwan-born directors— Hou Hsiao-hsien, Ang Lee and the late Edward Yang—have made the BBC’s list of 100 best foreign language movies.
Hou’s historical classic “A City of Sadness” topped the list of local productions at 18th; Yang’s family drama “Yi Yi” came 25th with his thriller “A Brighter Summer Day” at 38th. In addition, Lee’s “Eat Drink Man Woman,” about a chef and his three daughters and the martial arts masterpiece “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” were listed 54th and 78th, respectively.
“A City of Sadness,” the first Taiwan production to receive the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival in 1989, is centered on the February 28 Incident of 1947. Noting it was released just two years after the lifting of martial law in 1987, the BBC cited Hong Kong-based critic Vivienne Chow as saying the movie was a vehicle through which people could re-examine the dark period in the country’s history.
The February 28 Incident of 1947 occurred when protesters demanded Gov. Chen Yi enact reforms. When these went unmet, people around Taiwan demonstrated, prompting Chen to call for military reinforcements from China who killed many during the crackdown.
Describing “Yi Yi” as a masterpiece, U.S. film critic David Sims said Yang was a “master of transmuting grand sociopolitical narratives into something deeply intimate,” according to the BBC. Yang won best director for the film at the Cannes Film Festival in 2000.
A recent recipient of the Directors Guild of America’s DGA Honors, Lee has won the Oscar twice for best director. “Eat Drink Man Women” was nominated for an Academy Award in 1995 for best foreign language film, while “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” claimed the prize in 2000.
The ranking, published Oct. 30 on the U.K. public service broadcaster’s website, was based on a poll of 209 film critics from 43 countries. (CPY-E)
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