Film director Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢) is to retire from cinema due to Alzheimer’s disease, his family said in a brief statement yesterday.
The announcement came on the heels of an IndieWire report that said Hou had retired due to dementia, citing among its sources a remark by an associate and film expert Tony Rayns in an introduction during the screening of Hou’s 1985 film A Time to Live and a Time to Die (童年往事).
Hou’s office in Taipei has closed its doors and its employees dismissed, the film industry and review Web site said.
Photo: Wang Wen-lin, Taipei Times
Hou’s son yesterday said in a statement that his father had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and that he had been making the long-awaited Shulan River (舒蘭河上) despite his condition until a COVID-19 infection forced an end to the project.
The family expressed hope that Hou’s friends and fans would not be saddened by his retirement, and that Hou “found his love for movies to have become more purified” before catching COVID-19.
“Hou has returned fully to family life following his recovery [from COVID-19] and he is in good mental and physical condition,” his son said, urging the public to give Hou space to enjoy his life with loved ones.
Photo: Reuters
Although Hou would not complete Shulan River, his works have already garnered acclaim from critics around the world, including many film classics that “assuredly will withstand the tides of time and be remembered,” his son said.
“Hou’s passion and approach to filmmaking will continue to live in his comrades and fans,” he said. “We give our most sincere thanks.”
Hou’s company is to continue operations, his son said.
Photo courtesy of Activator Co. Ltd.
Hou rose to international fame after his 1989 film City of Sadness (悲情城市) won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival.
The director’s later works, including The Puppetmaster (戲夢人生), Flowers of Shanghai (海上花) and Three Times (最好的時光) won plaudits at global movie festivals and independent film events.
Hou released his last film, The Assassin (刺客聶隱娘), in 2015, for which he received the Best Director award at that year’s Cannes Film Festival.
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