Research On Hou Hsiao-hsien’s “Slow Cinema” Aesthetics

Hou Hsiao-hsien is one of the representative figures of Chinese Taiwan film,and his films often take on a bleak tone,and present the complex historical images of modern Taiwan district in a dialectical way with documentary and real dialectical techniques.Not only that,as an international film master,Hou Hsiao-hsien has also aroused heated discussions in the Western film critics.Michel Ciment proposed the concept of “Slow Cinema” in 2010,using Hou Hsiao-hsien as the pioneer of “Slow Cinema” in the East.The minimalist aesthetic tendency,discrete narrative,and poetic long shots in Hou Hsiao-hsien’s films is very consistent with the representational characteristics presented by modern and contemporary “Slow Cinemas”.With a strong humanistic character,Hou Hsiao-hsien’s “Slow Cinema” expresses the reflection on contemporary accelerated culture and the concern for the living conditions of individuals with the aesthetic characteristics of contemplation From the perspective of Slow Cinema,this thesis makes an overall observation of the aesthetic styles such as the temporality,slow and static setting of Hou Hsiao-hsien’s films,and further explores the aesthetic value and practical significance of Hou Hsiao-hsien’s films in contemporary times with the help of aesthetic discussion on “slow”.This thesis discusses Hou Hsiao-hsien’s Slow Cinema in detail from five parts.The introduction section summarizes the current situation of foreign film critics’ attention to “Slow Cinema”,which lacks of in-depth discussion in China,and briefly describes the analysis idea of this thesis about Hou Hsiao-hsien’s films based on the“slowness” of Slow Cinema.The second part mainly systematically sorts out the development context of “Slow Cinema” from an international perspective,and clarifies the historical evolution process of “Slow Cinema”,and further discusses the contemporary aesthetic significance of “Slow Cinema”,which is the theoretical foundation of the discussion of Hou Hsiao-hsien’s “Slow Cinema” aesthetics later.The third part mainly examines the reasons for the emergence of Hou Hsiao-hsien’s“slow aesthetics” from regional background,film ideology and cultural understanding.The fourth part analyzes the aesthetic form of Hou Hsiao-hsien’s “Slow Cinema”from the aspects of slow time,static setting and literary narrative through the specific analysis of Hou Hsiao-hsien’s films.Finally,through the analysis of the aesthetic characteristics of tranquility,“Yin” and “Yi” in Hou Hsiao-hsien’s films,the unique oriental aesthetic meaning of Hou Hsiao-hsien’s “Slow Cinema” is explained from the perspective of literati art.In short,this thesis argues that “Slow Cinema” provides a new perception of time,a new aesthetic possibility,and its innovation of contemporary film language evokes people’s especial reflection on the times and history.At the same time,with the help of the unique aesthetic perspective of “Slow Cinema”,this thesis strives to make an overall aesthetic interpretation of the artistic style,practical value and historical significance of Hou Hsiao-hsien’s films.