Emperor’s Adventures in Hsi Hu

For many visitors to IFFR 2023, the glove puppet-martial arts-fantasy-spectacle DEMIGOD: The Legend Begins was one of the festival’s greatest revelations. And so, we’re more than delighted to offer audiences in 2024 a splendid piece of glove puppet cinema history: Emperor’s Adventures in Hsi Hu.

The story of frivolous and lecherous emperor Qianlong’s search for a morally upstanding person is told in a fashion that smartly fuses the puppet proscenium with the conventions of cinematic language. While everything is obviously arranged on a stage, the camera moves freely around in this environment, getting close to the puppets or setting them up in deep focus shots. The result is deeply enchanting, with the puppets soon feeling like living creatures of a very special kind, whose presence and company one cheerfully enjoys.

A true bonus for every admirer of Hou Hsiao-hsien is the film’s introduction which is delivered by nobody other than Li Tien-lu whose life’s story Hou told in one of his greatest works, The Puppetmaster (1993). Emperor’s Adventures in Hsi Hu is both a memorial to Li Tien-lu and an attempt at keeping the tradition of his art alive.

– Olaf Möller

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