If reading The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman was like navigating in the a pitch dark tunnel, then Mad World, My Masters was like, well, driving a fast car without a fixed destination in mind. It was thrilling, absorbing and time went fast one pages were turned. It was breezy all day yesterday and I could not think of anything better to do except for trying to find out what happen next.
As someone who seldom has television on, or at least not for news, I have never watched Simpson's World or John Simpson's television reporting in great length. But the fame was such that when Have I Got News for You chose to tease him on his outfit in one of his assignments to the middle east, I found it incredible that even a highly respectable journalist (not politician) would get 'treatment' like that.
Then when I reached the recollection on the Hong Kong handover, especially the remarks on what MIGHT be inside the minds of the Chinese mandarins at the function hosted by the Chinese government, which he was not invited, a light shed on my brain and that episode of HIGNFY suddenly seemed to make perfect sense. There he was doing what a professional journalist should have restrained from doing: allowing himself to form a casual generation of a group of people/country/regime he did not know well enough. His opinion was neither new nor strange in Western media; in fact, that attitude and approach of his towards all things to do with Communist China underlies the majority of the British media coverage. In reflection, I was only disappointed because I had expected him to be an exception.
July 27, 2009
July 24, 2009
When a man loves a woman
I watched the film version last night and found its script underdeveloped and the performance especially that of the leading actor rather wooden and lacking in depth. It was a waste because the film could go many directions but in the end, it didn't get anywhere at all and ended up being a rather bland one. It almost felt as if the scriptwriter was afraid of its appeal if it were brave enough to treat the subject in depth by showing the gritty bit of real life experiences. Perhaps the fact that it was led by one of the most charismatic leading actor of the time and the then the 'heart of romantic comedy' (of the 1990s) didn't help either because they had their certain images to maintain?
The title song played in full in the opening sequence was also misleading in the way it made the audience to anticipate a rather different type of film. But ultimately, it is a punishment to people like myself who feel at times that since certain actors are in it, then I have the obligation to watch it. This is not the first time it happened, and it won't be the last either.
The title song played in full in the opening sequence was also misleading in the way it made the audience to anticipate a rather different type of film. But ultimately, it is a punishment to people like myself who feel at times that since certain actors are in it, then I have the obligation to watch it. This is not the first time it happened, and it won't be the last either.
July 21, 2009
Sense and Sensibility
There are at least two versions of BBC drama 'Sense and Sensibility' in the public library, one made in 2008 with many new faces, the other in 1981 which looked even less familiar. I had been rather disappointed by the new version, because in comparison to the film adaptation of 1996, a lot of the added or 'modernised' details seemed trivial and insignificant to me. I regarded the film the most loyal to the novel, despite the age gap of Elinor between the two.
When my boss was consulted on it, she urged her husband to pick up the 1981 version without delay. It must be soon after the DVD was returned that I saw it on the 'newly returned' shelf. Her remark prompted me to pick it up and watched it soon afterwards.
Strange how one's opinions could change. Despite being shot in 1981, the images still look rather fresh and appealing, and the actress who played Marianne is the most pretty of the three versions. But the weakness in both the production and the script were rather 'obvious' to me. In comparison, both the film adaptation and the 2008 version take great care when dealing with the implicit psychological impact on the family of the sudden decline in fortune and social status following the death of the patriarch. In both versions, Elinor was the only one who was able to face up its challenges with relative calm and ease. But in the 1981 version, there is no sign of such consideration being taken into account. In addition, it had wiped out Margaret altogether. What a pity considering what the other two versions had done with this minor character in book who was though too young to have any romantic involvements, but a useful one nevertheless to advance the drama or to add humour into the story.
But the 'biggest' failure is in characterisation, especially of Marianne. In the 1981 adaptation, she appeared self-centred until the last episode. Indeed, despite her good looks, she was the least likable of all three variations of Marianne. In the other two versions, she was made to wake up from her errors and selfishness from her sick bed, which seemed more logical, and her change of attitude towards the colonel more natural and human.
In both the film adaptation and the 2008 drama, scriptwriters have taken great pain to make Edward more attractive, or more 'worthy' of the devoted love and affection of Elinor and her family. But I am not sure if the old version had that in mind - which was not a fault in itself because the novel didn't give much space on it either, but shows nevertheless how the time has changed in less than 30 years. The recent producers have wanted audience to identify with Elinor in her love and affection of Edward, while in the 1981 version, it didn't seem to be a concern to the producer. In comparison, this is the only one in which Edward's sister was played by an actress who didn't have a face to match her selfishness.
When my boss was consulted on it, she urged her husband to pick up the 1981 version without delay. It must be soon after the DVD was returned that I saw it on the 'newly returned' shelf. Her remark prompted me to pick it up and watched it soon afterwards.
Strange how one's opinions could change. Despite being shot in 1981, the images still look rather fresh and appealing, and the actress who played Marianne is the most pretty of the three versions. But the weakness in both the production and the script were rather 'obvious' to me. In comparison, both the film adaptation and the 2008 version take great care when dealing with the implicit psychological impact on the family of the sudden decline in fortune and social status following the death of the patriarch. In both versions, Elinor was the only one who was able to face up its challenges with relative calm and ease. But in the 1981 version, there is no sign of such consideration being taken into account. In addition, it had wiped out Margaret altogether. What a pity considering what the other two versions had done with this minor character in book who was though too young to have any romantic involvements, but a useful one nevertheless to advance the drama or to add humour into the story.
But the 'biggest' failure is in characterisation, especially of Marianne. In the 1981 adaptation, she appeared self-centred until the last episode. Indeed, despite her good looks, she was the least likable of all three variations of Marianne. In the other two versions, she was made to wake up from her errors and selfishness from her sick bed, which seemed more logical, and her change of attitude towards the colonel more natural and human.
In both the film adaptation and the 2008 drama, scriptwriters have taken great pain to make Edward more attractive, or more 'worthy' of the devoted love and affection of Elinor and her family. But I am not sure if the old version had that in mind - which was not a fault in itself because the novel didn't give much space on it either, but shows nevertheless how the time has changed in less than 30 years. The recent producers have wanted audience to identify with Elinor in her love and affection of Edward, while in the 1981 version, it didn't seem to be a concern to the producer. In comparison, this is the only one in which Edward's sister was played by an actress who didn't have a face to match her selfishness.
July 08, 2009
Update
I watched two black and white films about Second World War recently, one from Hungary, My Way Home (1965?); the other from Japan, Fire on the Plain (1959). Both depicted an attempt to return home of a soldier on the losing side at the end of the war, and in both cases, with sparse dialogues. What strikes me the most though was the landscape in them. Though in stark contrast with each other in terms of the tone and mood, they loomed large in the story as if they were doing the actual talking which were deprived of the skinny young soldiers.
I liked My Way Home in particular which remained me a lot of the Russian novels and films that I came across in school days. The way it related the 'natural' bond and growing friendship between two soldiers on the opposite sides of the war was subtle, effective and convincing. The way the character was portrayed reminded me of a Chinese film made in 1983 by the young Zhang Jundao, a 'Fifth Generation' director, called One and Eight. When One and Eight, shot by the budding cinematographer-turned-director Zhang Yimou, was on television, I had no patience for its slow pace and apparent lack of action, and struggled to understand its critical appeal. And now when I was watching two subtle films of similar subject and style, I seemed to be able to appreciate that Chinese film a little bit better.
Another film that left strong impact on me was Funny Games (1996, the original one). It started like an average film on a middle-class family, but two minutes after the credit sequence, the suspense was already built up and I found myself wanting to switch off the DVD because all seemed rather incredibly crazy. The first half an hour was possibly one of the best suspense/horror film I had ever watched, but after the boy returned to the house following a failed attempt to kill off their torturer, the film seemed to be repeating itself and offered nothing new any more. I finished watching it nevertheless because, as usual, I was also hoping that there would be a twist somewhere. Unable to understand the point of such a film, I turned to the interview in the special feature and found the director was aiming to tell a story about young people from well-to-do background who committed crime just for the sake of it. But if that was the case, then the film was obviously not too keen to make this explicit and had also lost a great opportunity to explore the social and psychological aspects of such criminals.
As to Buffalo Boy, it remained me of a lot of similiar films made in the 1990s in China following the international success of Zhang Yimou's Judo and Raise the Red Lantern. The cinematography was amazingly beautiful, but somehow, the film seemed too eager to conform to a steretypical image of a Vietnam of coloniel times.
I liked My Way Home in particular which remained me a lot of the Russian novels and films that I came across in school days. The way it related the 'natural' bond and growing friendship between two soldiers on the opposite sides of the war was subtle, effective and convincing. The way the character was portrayed reminded me of a Chinese film made in 1983 by the young Zhang Jundao, a 'Fifth Generation' director, called One and Eight. When One and Eight, shot by the budding cinematographer-turned-director Zhang Yimou, was on television, I had no patience for its slow pace and apparent lack of action, and struggled to understand its critical appeal. And now when I was watching two subtle films of similar subject and style, I seemed to be able to appreciate that Chinese film a little bit better.
Another film that left strong impact on me was Funny Games (1996, the original one). It started like an average film on a middle-class family, but two minutes after the credit sequence, the suspense was already built up and I found myself wanting to switch off the DVD because all seemed rather incredibly crazy. The first half an hour was possibly one of the best suspense/horror film I had ever watched, but after the boy returned to the house following a failed attempt to kill off their torturer, the film seemed to be repeating itself and offered nothing new any more. I finished watching it nevertheless because, as usual, I was also hoping that there would be a twist somewhere. Unable to understand the point of such a film, I turned to the interview in the special feature and found the director was aiming to tell a story about young people from well-to-do background who committed crime just for the sake of it. But if that was the case, then the film was obviously not too keen to make this explicit and had also lost a great opportunity to explore the social and psychological aspects of such criminals.
As to Buffalo Boy, it remained me of a lot of similiar films made in the 1990s in China following the international success of Zhang Yimou's Judo and Raise the Red Lantern. The cinematography was amazingly beautiful, but somehow, the film seemed too eager to conform to a steretypical image of a Vietnam of coloniel times.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)