FESTIVAL ’90 : Screenings Present Pacific Rim Cultures

More than 100 films and videos representing 25 Pacific Rim cultures begin screening today and continue through Sept. 16. Highlights of the weekend programs are reviewed here:

Today

Dust in the Wind

Taiwan Today, KCET, 10:30 p.m.; Wednesday, 6 p.m., Laemmle Grande, 349 S. Figueroa St.

Austere yet beautiful, detached yet compassionate, Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien’s superb 1987 “Dust in the Wind” tells a classically simple story of two rural young people who are in love and seek a better life in Taipei. Not surprisingly, the struggle for survival is harder than they anticipated. In fact, nothing is really surprising in the entire film, yet thanks to its director’s masterly talents, it is deeply compelling. Throughout, Hou’s discretion is palpable, manifested in his middle-distance, deep-focus shots; it’s as if he did not wish to intrude upon his vulnerable couple. At the same time Hou’s vision is unwavering, and we come away with both a sense of timelessness and a sense of immediacy--of how the un- and semi-skilled are losing in an increasingly technological society. Wang Chien-wen is the young man, Hsin Shu-feng is the young woman, and they are perfect.