The Puppetmaster (1993) on Netflix
Li Tian-lu grows up in Taiwan under Japanese rule and joins a traveling puppet troupe, learning the craft. Wartime authorities want his stage turned to propaganda.
- Netflix4.3/5
- IMDb7.0/102,302 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes100%
Trailer
Plot summary
Li Tian-lu was born in Taiwan in 1909, and he tells his own life story on screen. As a young man he takes up the puppet theater and joins a troupe that performs from place to place, and in time he becomes one of the island's celebrated puppeteers. The film moves between his early years and his later ones, and between staged puppet performances and Li speaking about the life he lived. Taiwan has been under Japanese rule for decades; with World War II underway, the authorities want the traditional Chinese puppet stage used for their propaganda. The account runs from his birth to the close of the fifty-year occupation in 1945.
Cast
- Cheng Kuei-Chungas Young Li Tien-Lu
- Huang Chien-ru
- Kao Tung-Hsiu
- Li Hei
- Li Wenchang
Show all 16 cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Puppetmaster (1993)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The Puppetmaster was the first Taiwanese film to enter competition at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize in 1993; it also took the FIPRESCI Prize at the Istanbul International Film Festival.
- Hou Hsiao-hsien's film is based on the memoirs of Li Tian-lu, Taiwan's most celebrated puppeteer, and covers the years from Li's birth in 1909 to the end of Japan's fifty-year occupation of Taiwan in 1945.
