''A Summer at Grandpa's'' () is a

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

Taiwanese Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan * Taiwanese people, ...

coming-of-age family drama directed by

Hou Hsiao-hsien Hou Hsiao-hsien (; born 8 April 1947) is a Mainland Chinese-born Taiwanese film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is a leading figure in world cinema and in Taiwan's New Wave cinema movement. He won the Golden Lion at the Venice ...

and co-written with Hou by

Chu Tʽien-wen Chu Tien-wen (; born 24 August 1956) is a Taiwanese fiction writer. Chu is perhaps best known for writing the screenplays for most Hou Hsiao-hsien films. She is the recipient of the 2015 Newman Prize for Chinese Literature. Her father Chu Hsi- ...

. The film tells the semi-autobiographical exploits of a young brother and sister who spend a pivotal summer in the country with their grandparents while their mother is in critical care in the hospital. The film was Hou's sixth overall, and first after his international breakthrough ''

The Boys from Fengkuei ''The Boys from Fengkuei'' (also known as ''All the Youthful Days'') () is a 1983 film directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien. Synopsis Ah-ching ( Doze Niu) and his friends have just finished school in their island fishing village, Fengkuei, and now spend ...

'' (1983). ''A Summer at Grandpa's'' was well received by critics in Taiwan and on the American and European festival circuits, winning the Jury Prize at the

Locarno Film Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, s ...

in 1985 and the Golden Montgolfier at the 1985

Nantes Three Continents Film Festival The Festival des 3 Continents is an annual film festival held since 1979 in Nantes, France, and is devoted to the cinemas of Asia, and Africa and Latin America. It was founded by Philippe and Alain Jalladeau.Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...

gave the film a positive review, calling the film a "lyrical childhood remembrance" and praising the "fine, unsentimental attention to childhood incident." The Japanese filmmaker

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...

cited ''A Summer at Grandpa's'' as one of his 100 favorite films.

References

External links

* * 1980s Mandarin-language films 1984 films 1984 drama films Films directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien Films with screenplays by Chu T’ien-wen Taiwanese drama films {{Taiwan-film-stub