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The Puppetmaster (1993)

Xi meng ren sheng (original title)
| Biography, Drama, War | 8 December 1993 (France)
The Puppetmaster Poster
Puppeteer Li Tian-lu tells his life story, and through it, the story of Taiwan in the first half of the 20th century.

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Cast

Complete credited cast:
Tian-Lu Li ... Himself
... Li Tianlu (young) (as Chung Lin)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kuei-Chung Cheng ... Li Tien Lu adolescent
Chien-ru Huang
Liou Hung ... Li Hei (grandfather)
Tung-Hsiu Kao
Hei Li
Wenchang Li
Wen-Pin Liu
... Ong Hsiu (Grandmother)
I. Toshiro
... Komeng Dang (father)
Yi-Hua Tsai
Juwei Tzuo
... Lai Hwat (stepmother)
See full cast »
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Storyline

In the first half of this century, young Li Tienlu joines a travelling puppet theatre and subsequently makes a career as one of Taiwan's leading puppeteers. During World War II the Japanese rulers of Taiwan use the traditional Chinese puppet theatre for their war propaganda. Only after the war street theatres start playing again. Written by Otto Oberhauser <Oberhauser@cc.univie.ac.at>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

taipei taiwan | taiwan | puppet | puppeteer | propaganda | See All (149) »

Genres:

Biography | Drama | War

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Details

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Release Date:

8 December 1993 (France)  »

Also Known As:

The Puppetmaster  »

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| (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider. See more »

Connections

Follows A City of Sadness (1989) See more »

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User Reviews

 
Filial love is stronger than millennial traditions
2 January 2003 | by – See all my reviews

Perhaps Asian movies there are considered slow. But inside this slow-motion film you can feel the intensity of the human emotions in every look.

The intensity of every shoot makes this movie an extraordinary experience for everybody.

The plot of the film is something more than a tribute of a losing tradition, the puppets art, is about the relationships between an old man an his adopted niece. How the affection between they could break absurd but ingrain traditions from hundreds of years ago.

The incredible sequences of puppets are only an addition in the incredible beauty of the Taiwanese landscape.The entire movie in general has a flavour that makes it tasty from start to finish.
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