Summer at Grandpa’s
(Dong dong de jiaqi)

As their mother is in hospital, two children from Taipei are sent to spend their holidays with their grandparents in the centre of Taiwan. Welcomed by the village children, they discover the countryside, the river and its games. Yet this idyllic summer is strewn with turmoil and anxiety:  worrying that their mother’s health will deteriorate, the children also witness violent events and discover the complex relationships between the different generations of adults around them. As part of a cycle with an autobiographical leaning, Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s film plays admirably on the point of view of the visiting children and reveals the secret initiation running through these holidays. FM