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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Guest&nbsp; 85555" data-source="post: 9342710">I wouldn't do that. I mean I think if one has an authentic statement by the author about the meaning of a work, and there is a debate over the topic, presenting that fact is useful. But I don't believe in pretending to know for sure what someone meant. I think there is always some amount of doubt because people don't always mean what they say. An author could even deny a particular meaning but merely be doing so because they want to avoid controversy or contribute to confusion about its meaning. And I don't think you can ever tell someone how a work of art should make them feel. To go back to A Touch of Zen, there are things I certainly get from watching the movie, I doubt King Hu intended. And I think it is appropriate for me to engage with the movie in that way. There is the theme of Zen Buddhism in the movie. But I don't know the meaning of that theme really. In fact the original title of the movie isn't even A Touch of Zen, it is Xia Nu, which is the name of a Pu Songling story from which it takes its inspiration and means something like gallant woman (a xia is a martial hero). So the translated title itself is probably leading my mind to certain interpretations and I am not sure how true those are to Hu's intent. Buddhism does feature in the movie, there seems to be a lot of spiritual language in the visuals. But Hu could also be quite critical of religion in other films, so I am very curious what he really intended here and am cautious when I draw my own conclusions (both because of the cultural and temporal hurdle with the film, but also because the director is no longer alive and I want to respect what he was trying to achieve with this incredible movie). So I am looking at things <a href="https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/4157-notes-on-a-touch-of-zen" target="_blank">like this</a>, which was part of a press kit but written by King Hu himself I believe. Still it is part of a press kit. It is easier to get the kind of information now. But when I first saw the film, it wasn't so easy to find. So for many years I would watch a movie like this, and only have my own thoughts or ideas. But now that I have more access to this kind of info, I think it matters that the intent may have been different than I thought. I can still take my own meaning. I just wouldn't elevate it above the artist's</blockquote>

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