REVIEW: ‘Daughter of the Nile’
Image courtesy of Cohen Film Collection / Provided by press rep with permission.
Hsiao-Hsien Hou’s Daughter of the Nile from 1987 is a somber look at a family struggling with a variety of issues, both criminal and personal, in Taipei, Taiwan. It’s a film best remembered for its startling cinematography, effective central performance by Lin Yang and surprising turns into casual violence.
Cohen Film Collection released a new 4K restoration last year, and the company has truly captured the beautiful look of Hou’s 93-minute film. Interior scenes melt into exterior scenes with ease. There can be a bonfire on the beach with a group of friends, followed by traffic whirling around the highways of Taipei and then capped off by a young girl finishing homework at the kitchen table.
Yang plays the daughter in a family that is struggling to survive after losing their mother to cancer. Her brother is a thief who comes home with a myriad of injuries, and this upsets their father to no end. A kind grandfather who has recently won the lottery (and is willing to dole out a few donations to his grandchildren) stops over for dinner, and Yang’s younger sister hangs out in the kitchen with her studies.
At school, Yang has a group of friends, many of them immature and willing to torment their teacher; however, they realize their coming-of-age is happening now, and soon they will be broken apart as they grow older. As she goes through these rites of passage, her brother continues to self-destruct and bring the family down with him.
Hou, aknown for Flight of the Red Balloon, The Assassin and A Summer at Grandpa’s, has offered an interesting portrait of Taiwan in the 1980s. The streets and neighborhoods are authentically displayed and pulsate with energy. The soundtrack is a fun time capsule, featuring many hit songs, and the theme music is perfectly retro, almost like it would work perfectly in Stranger Things.
Hou’s images throughout the narrative are subtle and understated, but when considered as one powerful cinematic document, it becomes clear that Daughter of the Nile is exquisite filmmaking.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Daughter of the Nile. 1987. Directed by Hsiao-Hsien Hou. Written by T’ien-wen Chu. Based on a story by Chien-Ho Huang and Angelika Wang. Starring Lin Yang, Fan Yang, Shu-Fen Hsin and An-Shun Yu. Running time: 93 minutes. In Mandarin with English subtitles. New 4K restoration from Cohen Film Collection. Rating: 
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