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      A Summer at Grandpa's

      1985 1h 42m Drama List
      100% 6 Reviews Tomatometer 90% 100+ Ratings Audience Score When a young brother and sister spend a pivotal summer away from home, they are changed. Ting-Ting and Tung-Tung (Wang Qiguang) are children of the city, but when their mother is struck ill, they must leave Taipei, Taiwan, behind and spend the summer with their grandfather and grandmother (Mei Fang) in the country. As they wile away the days at play, the elder Tung-Tung is garnering glimpses of adult responsibility and is slowly growing to realize what it means to be a grownup. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

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      Panos Kotzathanasis Asian Movie Pulse “A Summer at Grandpa's” highlights Hou Hsia-hsien's prowess in using episodic narratives in order to make deep and realistic social comments, as he explores societal complexities and familial dynamics through the perspective of children. Rated: 7 Mar 31, 2024 Full Review David Walsh World Socialist Web Site The film threatens to end somewhat too neatly and benignly ... but Hou demonstrates at the last moment his depth and humanity. Feb 16, 2021 Full Review Fernando F. Croce CinePassion The graceful and thorny opening up of a child's world Sep 25, 2009 Full Review Leo Goldsmith Reverse Shot Hou's film places demands on our powers of observation, insisting that we, like Tung-tung, attend to the minutiae, ironies, and deeper meanings it offers us. Aug 8, 2009 Full Review Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid These obvious elements of melodrama never reach any kind of hysterical pitch, however. Hou keeps everything wrapped up in a tone of warmth and childlike optimism. Jul 31, 2008 Full Review Jeremy Heilman MovieMartyr.com Hou's relative invisibility serves the story, allowing the mood, pretty scenery, and accomplished naturalistic performances to take center stage. Rated: 4/4 Nov 22, 2002 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

      View All (9) audience reviews
      Audience Member This beautiful film was very interesting to watch for many reasons. first of all it's a unique insight in the Taiwanese world which I was completely foreign with. Second of all it's a film that plays on small details and emotions, telling a coming of age story between two siblings, each finding new territories to explore during the summer they spent at their grandparent's home. The little girl is a riot and she is incredibly stubborn and charismatic for her age. The film is very well shot and manages to play both on visual and symbolic tones. H.H. Hou is a master director and this film shows how much possibilities the Asian cinema holds. Far from the grand scale of our western films, this little gem is all about details and time passing.... we are only the witness of a story played by two kids growing and discovering a world beyond their own. Beautiful. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member that uncle was a damn fool! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member (****): [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img] Yet another great film from Hsiao-Hsien Hou. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member [center][font=Times New Roman][size=4][color=black][img]http://bp3.blogger.com/_3mCOm4wxK3M/SBjBBw4yYQI/AAAAAAAAAWo/ejgw5KrT0u0/s400/hou.jpg[/img][/color][/size][/font][/center] [font=Times New Roman][size=4][color=black][/color][/size][/font] [font=Times New Roman][size=4][color=white]Summary: With their mother in the hospital, a pre-teen boy and his little sister go to spend the summer at their grandpa's. The boy spends his time with new friends while the girl becomes acquainted with a mentally disabled woman in the village. The children's uncle also has problems staying on grandpa's good side.[/color][/size][/font] [font=Times New Roman][size=4][color=#000000][/color][/size][/font] [center][img]http://www.safariunderground.net/movie/movie_chi/a-summer-at-grandpas/a-summer-at-grandpas.jpg[/img][/center] [font=Times New Roman][size=4][color=#000000][/color][/size][/font] [font=Times New Roman][size=4][color=white]Yeah, I think I like Hou's older stuff a little better than his new stuff. A Summer at Grandpa's is just one of those movies that I like mostly because of its atmosphere - mostly the first half. It really reminded me of the times when I visited my grandpa's here in the midwest of the USA. Talk about creating art that transcends culture! Anyway, the film becomes a little weaker when sub-plot after sub-plot start appearing, but oddly enough, it never become overwhelming. Also, the cinematography isn't as strong, but that may be because Hou wasn't yet working with Pin Bing Lee. Luckily, there's a lot of unforced tenderness here, very much like in Dust in the Wind. It's quite the quality coming-of-age-ish film.[/color][/size][/font] Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member 或許不是侯導最好的作品，但在那個年代忠實反映出純樸的鄉村受到整個島嶼走向資本主義社會的影響，使原本人與人之間的緊密關係，逐漸走向崩解。暑假在爺爺家的種種經歷，也許在冬冬眼中似懂非懂，卻無法迴避。成人世界的複雜對比於夢幻般的圓滿結局，使全片充滿著對農村與往日的鄉愁，也自然流露對未來的惶惑之情。 Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Not as good as its predecessor 'All the youthful days', but still an enjoyable film from the great Hou Hsiao Hsien. This one feels more like a Japanese art film than any other work by this Taiwanese director. Half comedy/half melodrama, the films tells a story of a family going to the countryside in the anticipation of operation that can either kill or save their ill mother. Personally, I like Hou's later, more sinister stuff more. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      A Summer at Grandpa's

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis When a young brother and sister spend a pivotal summer away from home, they are changed. Ting-Ting and Tung-Tung (Wang Qiguang) are children of the city, but when their mother is struck ill, they must leave Taipei, Taiwan, behind and spend the summer with their grandfather and grandmother (Mei Fang) in the country. As they wile away the days at play, the elder Tung-Tung is garnering glimpses of adult responsibility and is slowly growing to realize what it means to be a grownup.
      Director
      Hsiao-hsien Hou
      Screenwriter
      T'ien-wen Chu
      Production Co
      Central Motion Pictures Corporation
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      Chinese
      Runtime
      1h 42m