Figures Traced in Light: On Cinematic Staging (2005)

In Hou Hsiao-hsien’s Cute Girl, a man in red helps draw your eye back and forth as Fei-Fei confronts a surveying team. Bordwell shows how a glance or a slight change in position can redirect attention without cutting. Start with Hou if you want to understand why a shot can feel busy even when the camera stays put.