What am I going to do this weekend? Maybe watch a movie? Maybe Netflix? But no…its limited selection omits any real curation and the going-out experience, which are both integral to film’s transportive qualities.
You want a real experience? Get yourself to the Northwest Film Forum or the Grand Illusion Theater this weekend through March 28 for a limited run of films by Taiwanese director Hou Hsaio-Hsien. With a reputation that parallels Jean Luc Godard, Hsien’s minimalist and humanist approach has brought him world-wide attention and earned him a place in film history, but you won’t find them in subscription services. A Time to Live and a Time to Die and Flowers of Shanghai are films that are difficult to find online and certainly worth the price of admission.
Northwest Film Forum (1515 12th Ave, in Capitol Hill) and The Grand Illusion Cinema (1403 NE 50th St, in U-District). Showtimes and films vary. Find out the full schedule here.
Films of Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Film Schedule to Screen:
A Time to Live and a Time to Die (1985)
Dust in the Wind (1986)
Good Men, Good Women (1995)
Flowers of Shanghai (1998)
MillenniumMambo (2001)
