December 30, 2010
King of comedy
Watching films starring Stephen Chow is a depressing experience. True to his fame, he is talented in that he always manages to uncover something funny, new or even unusual in the most mundane scenario. But most of the time, even when you find yourself laughing with his characterisation, there is something repels like hell. His 'nonsensical humours', verbal or visual, usually appeal to the 'lower' taste of our normal self and, when repeated as a trademark, albeit always in dazzling forms or formats, can drive you mad.
December 13, 2010
Election 2 and Hong Kong after handover to China
After watching a disappointing My Left Eye Seeing Ghosts and Fulltime Killers, Election 2 was a great relief to his fans to see Johnnie To return to form when he handles one of his favourite genres - that of the underworld and triad who suck bloods like drinking milk. Though it does not have the austerely stylish presentation of his classic, The Mission (1999), the filming and subsequent success of the film itself is probably one of the best answers to the general concern before 1997: what would happen to the freedom of speech in Hong Kong after the handover to China by Britain.
Shot in 2006, the film closes with a dialogue between the handsome yet cold-blooded young head of an ancient triad and the weathered deputy director of a provincial (read as Guangdong Provincial) Public Security Department (played by a well-known mainland Chinese actor): now that the protagonist was an elected head of the triad (with bloods in his hands), he'd better make sure that he stayed that way (and hence destroyed the age-old election system of the triad). Prior to request, the vice director gave out the address where the presumably seal of power had been retrieved - that in the capital city near the actual municipal government in Guangzhou. The cold-hearted head of the triad was so infuriated by the demand that he hit the stout vice director with an armed bodyguard by his side on the head several times. He was however allowed to get away with his outbreak of rage: after all, the demand was made for the long term benefit of a more predictable future (because, the vice director said that they could trust him, a killer who doesn't mind his weapons in order to get what he wants).
The message here cannot be more explicit.
Election 2 epitomises the one country two systems policy: the HK filmmakers are allowed to get away with their cynical criticism to the Communist region.
Shot in 2006, the film closes with a dialogue between the handsome yet cold-blooded young head of an ancient triad and the weathered deputy director of a provincial (read as Guangdong Provincial) Public Security Department (played by a well-known mainland Chinese actor): now that the protagonist was an elected head of the triad (with bloods in his hands), he'd better make sure that he stayed that way (and hence destroyed the age-old election system of the triad). Prior to request, the vice director gave out the address where the presumably seal of power had been retrieved - that in the capital city near the actual municipal government in Guangzhou. The cold-hearted head of the triad was so infuriated by the demand that he hit the stout vice director with an armed bodyguard by his side on the head several times. He was however allowed to get away with his outbreak of rage: after all, the demand was made for the long term benefit of a more predictable future (because, the vice director said that they could trust him, a killer who doesn't mind his weapons in order to get what he wants).
The message here cannot be more explicit.
Election 2 epitomises the one country two systems policy: the HK filmmakers are allowed to get away with their cynical criticism to the Communist region.
A Passage of Madness/The Observatory
Mind-blowing, incredible, magnificent, experience of a lifetime... none of these can describe how I felt at this low-key event: the screening of A Passage of Madness, an avant-garde silent film made in 1926, lost soon after its completion and only found some 50 years later by its director. Without any inter-titles, the story was not the easiest to follow, but its decors, styles and performances are certainly the most experimental and ahead of its time, which reminisces that of the German surrealist cinema of the 1920s at the height of its power.
The film, mythical and challenging on its own right, served most of the time as a visual backdrop for the soundtrack composed and performed live by The Observatory in a small auditorium that holds about 500 audience. The musical performance started approximately 5 minutes prior to the start of screening, creating and building up an atmosphere, and transporting the audience to a misty, dark and isolated place not too different from those of the classic Chinese ink painting of the rocky mountain partially obscured by the cloud sea. Then as the story evolved, it became blurred as to who was the actual star of the night: the man who was trying to rescue his wife in a madhouse and being ridiculed by her inmates/doctors; the director who had been most adventurous in his styles of filming and representation; or the music that seemed to be part and parcel an organic part of the narration - albeit composed some 84 years after the shooting! For those like myself who had not had the slightest knowledge of what the film was about prior to the screening, it was largely the music that had guided me through the viewing of a silent film without subtitles. My mind was only drifted once or twice away when I was struck by the fact how marvelous the composition was and that how lucky I was to be one of the privileged few in the audience. In an interview published on Today two days before the screening, the band commented that this film had allowed them to explore the boundary of insanity, but their fans should still be able to recognise them in the soundtrack. While this is absolutely true, I would add that it had taken the indie band far well beyond their 'normal' soundscape into that of experimental and avant-garde. The soundtrack was imaginative, atmospheric, powerful and compared well with the best in the world in similar genre.
The screening and musical event, commissioned and organised by the National Museum of Singapore, has got to be one of the highlights, if not the highlight, of the Singapore art scene of recent years. It says how much Singapore can achieve if it puts its mind to it. It would be a great loss if the event was live recorded, and even worse, if the soundtrack is not recorded for the benefit of the general public.
Life is good when witnessing the performance of a lifetime.
The film, mythical and challenging on its own right, served most of the time as a visual backdrop for the soundtrack composed and performed live by The Observatory in a small auditorium that holds about 500 audience. The musical performance started approximately 5 minutes prior to the start of screening, creating and building up an atmosphere, and transporting the audience to a misty, dark and isolated place not too different from those of the classic Chinese ink painting of the rocky mountain partially obscured by the cloud sea. Then as the story evolved, it became blurred as to who was the actual star of the night: the man who was trying to rescue his wife in a madhouse and being ridiculed by her inmates/doctors; the director who had been most adventurous in his styles of filming and representation; or the music that seemed to be part and parcel an organic part of the narration - albeit composed some 84 years after the shooting! For those like myself who had not had the slightest knowledge of what the film was about prior to the screening, it was largely the music that had guided me through the viewing of a silent film without subtitles. My mind was only drifted once or twice away when I was struck by the fact how marvelous the composition was and that how lucky I was to be one of the privileged few in the audience. In an interview published on Today two days before the screening, the band commented that this film had allowed them to explore the boundary of insanity, but their fans should still be able to recognise them in the soundtrack. While this is absolutely true, I would add that it had taken the indie band far well beyond their 'normal' soundscape into that of experimental and avant-garde. The soundtrack was imaginative, atmospheric, powerful and compared well with the best in the world in similar genre.
The screening and musical event, commissioned and organised by the National Museum of Singapore, has got to be one of the highlights, if not the highlight, of the Singapore art scene of recent years. It says how much Singapore can achieve if it puts its mind to it. It would be a great loss if the event was live recorded, and even worse, if the soundtrack is not recorded for the benefit of the general public.
Life is good when witnessing the performance of a lifetime.
December 08, 2010
Eye in the sky
This is another HK film to look out for - a directorial debut by Johnnie To's long term collaborator, writer Yau Nai-Hoi, who was responsible for some of the classics like The Mission.
Kate Tsui certainly deserved the accolades for her performance as a newcomer in the police surveillance team. The story itself is fascinating and the documentary style also contributes to its realistic look.
Kate Tsui certainly deserved the accolades for her performance as a newcomer in the police surveillance team. The story itself is fascinating and the documentary style also contributes to its realistic look.
December 06, 2010
The Way We Are
The Chinese name is rather 'exotic' to me - it refers to an actual community in HK that looks familiar on the DVD cover but nevertheless, unknown and unusual to me. The English title though puts me off a little bit as it sounds too much like The Way We Were, a disaster in both performance and script. This initial reaction to the name prefigured the experience of watching the film.
I had watched Ann Hui's film before with Woman at 40s being the most memorable one, and I have also watched her on screen, with the most recent one being a cameo role as a director in My Name Is Fame. When asked by my neighbour how I thought of her, my comment was she had something to say but not always to the effect that I fully followed or understood. The Way We Were, a gritty film on the lives of the Mr Jones in HK, though seemed to manage to change this impression a bit.
To begin, this film was a bit like a documentary film in many ways; the realistic setting, the use of props(with characters dwelling in shoebox apartment and rustic docor), and the seemingly zero make-up of the main characters. In other words, unlike most glossy HK films, the film has attempted a realistic look. But the real surprise has been the way the story, or the lack of it, been evolved.
Although there are, in effect, three main characters, there are no storyline, no build-up of conflict and therefore no climax. What we see - for those who have the patience to follow it through - are like life itself - the routine everyday lives, through which Ann Hui seems to have found beauty from the ordinariness, kindness in its small way, and friendship in the unexpected places.
It was like a cup of green tea, not much flavour or taste, but refreshing nevertheless.
As an outsider, I do find some sadness in the character of the son. From his single mum, he inherited kindness and generosity with his time, but he is in a way, lost in that he does not seem to have any passion for anything. He manages OK but just OK, and to me, that is the greatest sadness which I am not sure if the director wants us to see.
I had watched Ann Hui's film before with Woman at 40s being the most memorable one, and I have also watched her on screen, with the most recent one being a cameo role as a director in My Name Is Fame. When asked by my neighbour how I thought of her, my comment was she had something to say but not always to the effect that I fully followed or understood. The Way We Were, a gritty film on the lives of the Mr Jones in HK, though seemed to manage to change this impression a bit.
To begin, this film was a bit like a documentary film in many ways; the realistic setting, the use of props(with characters dwelling in shoebox apartment and rustic docor), and the seemingly zero make-up of the main characters. In other words, unlike most glossy HK films, the film has attempted a realistic look. But the real surprise has been the way the story, or the lack of it, been evolved.
Although there are, in effect, three main characters, there are no storyline, no build-up of conflict and therefore no climax. What we see - for those who have the patience to follow it through - are like life itself - the routine everyday lives, through which Ann Hui seems to have found beauty from the ordinariness, kindness in its small way, and friendship in the unexpected places.
It was like a cup of green tea, not much flavour or taste, but refreshing nevertheless.
As an outsider, I do find some sadness in the character of the son. From his single mum, he inherited kindness and generosity with his time, but he is in a way, lost in that he does not seem to have any passion for anything. He manages OK but just OK, and to me, that is the greatest sadness which I am not sure if the director wants us to see.
HK three greats: Lau Ching-wan, Francis Ng and Anthony Wong
I had never been a great fan of HK cinema, although I do have the whole body of works from Wong Kar-wai, counting In the Mood of Love one of my favourite films, and regarding Tong Leung and Maggie Cheung two of the great actors. When a HK neighbour lent me nearly 100 HK films in one go prior to her one month holiday in her native HK, I was not overtly enthusiastic.
I do like Lau Ching-wan a lot after his My Name Is Fame and that was what spurred me to figure out which ones to watch first. Typical of HK cinema though, most of the projects he was involved in are commercial ones with half-baked scripts and directed by those who are more keen to exploit the mass market than to explore the social or psychological aspects of stories or protagonists. Even with Lau on, I found, at times, I was pressing fast-forward mode on the remote control.
Disappointment was however not the only harvest last week when I took one week off for my beloved media of entertainment. Along the way, I was happily surprised and found other great actors and interesting directors. If I was asked now, my new favourite would be Francis Ng, who bears striking resemblance to the late German actor Ulrich Muhe both in appearance and in his intensive way of looking - the way that really grips your heart and made you follow him at all times.
I had watched him on some HK dramas before, but somehow, I had been unimpressed. I was however converted whole-heartedly when watching Bullets over Summer, a seemingly just another one in the action/cop genre, the favourite genre in HK. Checking on the Internet, I realise now that he was by then, 1999, 38 years old and had worked as an film actor for eight years after some six years on the small screen. He looked totally fresh and entirely relaxed in his role of a small time cop who just wanted to committed to whatever his task and at the meanwhile wishing for a family of his own having been an orphan himself. In fact Ng was so good at this head strong character with a secret human and fragile inside that I found myself sorry for his character and wished him a happy ending wherein he could help raise another man's child with an abandoned young woman. Here Ng was the embodiment of understated performance that HK actors excel at. He did not act, he became the character, like Ulrich Muhe in The Lives of Others.
I was really glad and even relieved when I watched Infernal Affairs II to find him allocated a role as the then head of the underworld. If Infernal Affairs series can be taken as who-is-who in HK cinema, then this role, my wishful thinking was, testifies that Ng's screen presence has been widely accepted as one of the great ones not to be missed. Ng didn't let me down in it. Indeed, with a pair of spectacle on, he could easily be thought to be an intellectual - and hence brought out the amazing side of Ng - that he can also excel at roles rather than those run of the mill genre films such as cop-gangster ones.
As to directors, I found Johnnie To to be one to look out for and his The Mission reminded me of Chinatown and French Connection, the no nonsense action genre films that are austere, simple and stylish. Francis Ng looked his best when he was this intense gangster turned bodyguard who had his own principles and committed to his mission whatever it was.
Also in this film is Anthony Wong, another extremely prolific and versatile actor. Unlike Lau Ching-wan and Francis Ng who seem to be, despite their success, the victims of some level of stereotype casting (Lau usually playing the types who are resourceful and would go the extra miles to get things done, but at the meanwhile, easily bordering between good and evil, black and white while Ng more on the harder and darker side of characters), Wong seems to have better luck than both of them in that his roles are always more varied than the combination of both of them.
Overall, I find HK cinema to be in healthy state - there are directors who are constantly looking out for new ways of engaging the audience and actors who are really into their roles whatever they are. I have one wish though - that in not too far a future, there will be more actors like Maggie Cheung who can afford to take a break and look out for quality roles. It is a huge waste to see even the greatest actors in HK cinema seem to be committed to such suicidally heavy workload.
I do like Lau Ching-wan a lot after his My Name Is Fame and that was what spurred me to figure out which ones to watch first. Typical of HK cinema though, most of the projects he was involved in are commercial ones with half-baked scripts and directed by those who are more keen to exploit the mass market than to explore the social or psychological aspects of stories or protagonists. Even with Lau on, I found, at times, I was pressing fast-forward mode on the remote control.
Disappointment was however not the only harvest last week when I took one week off for my beloved media of entertainment. Along the way, I was happily surprised and found other great actors and interesting directors. If I was asked now, my new favourite would be Francis Ng, who bears striking resemblance to the late German actor Ulrich Muhe both in appearance and in his intensive way of looking - the way that really grips your heart and made you follow him at all times.
I had watched him on some HK dramas before, but somehow, I had been unimpressed. I was however converted whole-heartedly when watching Bullets over Summer, a seemingly just another one in the action/cop genre, the favourite genre in HK. Checking on the Internet, I realise now that he was by then, 1999, 38 years old and had worked as an film actor for eight years after some six years on the small screen. He looked totally fresh and entirely relaxed in his role of a small time cop who just wanted to committed to whatever his task and at the meanwhile wishing for a family of his own having been an orphan himself. In fact Ng was so good at this head strong character with a secret human and fragile inside that I found myself sorry for his character and wished him a happy ending wherein he could help raise another man's child with an abandoned young woman. Here Ng was the embodiment of understated performance that HK actors excel at. He did not act, he became the character, like Ulrich Muhe in The Lives of Others.
I was really glad and even relieved when I watched Infernal Affairs II to find him allocated a role as the then head of the underworld. If Infernal Affairs series can be taken as who-is-who in HK cinema, then this role, my wishful thinking was, testifies that Ng's screen presence has been widely accepted as one of the great ones not to be missed. Ng didn't let me down in it. Indeed, with a pair of spectacle on, he could easily be thought to be an intellectual - and hence brought out the amazing side of Ng - that he can also excel at roles rather than those run of the mill genre films such as cop-gangster ones.
As to directors, I found Johnnie To to be one to look out for and his The Mission reminded me of Chinatown and French Connection, the no nonsense action genre films that are austere, simple and stylish. Francis Ng looked his best when he was this intense gangster turned bodyguard who had his own principles and committed to his mission whatever it was.
Also in this film is Anthony Wong, another extremely prolific and versatile actor. Unlike Lau Ching-wan and Francis Ng who seem to be, despite their success, the victims of some level of stereotype casting (Lau usually playing the types who are resourceful and would go the extra miles to get things done, but at the meanwhile, easily bordering between good and evil, black and white while Ng more on the harder and darker side of characters), Wong seems to have better luck than both of them in that his roles are always more varied than the combination of both of them.
Overall, I find HK cinema to be in healthy state - there are directors who are constantly looking out for new ways of engaging the audience and actors who are really into their roles whatever they are. I have one wish though - that in not too far a future, there will be more actors like Maggie Cheung who can afford to take a break and look out for quality roles. It is a huge waste to see even the greatest actors in HK cinema seem to be committed to such suicidally heavy workload.
November 09, 2010
Echoes of the rainbow
I am not a great fan of Hong Kong films, but if I was asked what I liked the most recently, two from Hong Kong would be on the list: Echoes of the Rainbow by Alex Law, and My Name is Fame by Lawrence Lou.
August 12, 2010
Oh Alfie
This could easily be one of the worst I have watched lately. The original title made in 1966 didn't impress me much, but I picked up the remake nevertheless - for the sake of Jude Law. Not that I am a great fan - this despite his credible performance in Closer, and the 'campaign of many years by a my Anglophilia cineast friend who was so crazy about him that her email address is simply called ilovejude!
I still cannot pinpoint what went wrong with the film, but Jude Law seemed to be a factor: he had not carried the role well by striking the right note of a sheer womaniser with a sleeping conscience. The tone of the film is 'wrong' too: overwhelmed with a moral lecturing for my taste...
A real disaster and the only thing that kept me stayed tuned was the hope that, like some French films, there would be something worthy coming out from a long and boring process. But this reward didn't come. For the level of disappointment, it is in the same category as The Man Who Loves Women by Francois Trufaunt.
I still cannot pinpoint what went wrong with the film, but Jude Law seemed to be a factor: he had not carried the role well by striking the right note of a sheer womaniser with a sleeping conscience. The tone of the film is 'wrong' too: overwhelmed with a moral lecturing for my taste...
A real disaster and the only thing that kept me stayed tuned was the hope that, like some French films, there would be something worthy coming out from a long and boring process. But this reward didn't come. For the level of disappointment, it is in the same category as The Man Who Loves Women by Francois Trufaunt.
July 02, 2010
Sylvia
Finally got a chance to watch this most poignant film, which treats the subject with great sensitivity. I am most impressed by the acting, especially that from the two in leading ones. DC surprises me here - for his ability to immerse in the role, and proving himself quite capable of a romantic/tragic role.
I am most interested in the sequences that reflect on how their relationship turn sour, and how, in particular, Sylvia deals with it by losing herself into her most creative period of her life. GP is simply sublime in this role as a suicidal poet who cannot pick herself up - other than pouring out her frustration and despair creatively - in everyday life.
Tragedies might vary in forms, but they are also similar in that they all involved people who cannot 'think outside the box'.
I am most interested in the sequences that reflect on how their relationship turn sour, and how, in particular, Sylvia deals with it by losing herself into her most creative period of her life. GP is simply sublime in this role as a suicidal poet who cannot pick herself up - other than pouring out her frustration and despair creatively - in everyday life.
Tragedies might vary in forms, but they are also similar in that they all involved people who cannot 'think outside the box'.
June 21, 2010
The fabulous baker boys
What a surprise find this was! I didn't expect much from it despite the many rave reviews of its leading lady Michelle Pfeiffer, but her performance throughout was simply impeccable, that is, even without the now most famous scene where she sang on the piano. This makes me wonder why there aren't more film of such calibre from Hollywood - super script, great performance from all leading actors, and undeniable chemistry between the romantic leads! And more puzzling - where is Michelle Pfeiffer now?
June 14, 2010
The lives of others
This is the one I watched first among the four I brought home, and it took me a week before I was ready to view it for the second, third, and the fourth time. I was simply, mesmerised.
Yes, there are loopholes where the scripts could be developed further to make it even more convincing - especially when the captain decided against following his instinct and duties. After all, after 20 years in the business, the outcome of his investigations is nothing new to him? So why change now? And to risk his own career and life?
However if we could push this bugging question aside (more of this later), the film is a super masterpiece - and I could not think of any other words to describe it - other than telling my friends that it is the best being made in recent years.
Apart from the captivating story, and the very subtle performance by all - both on and behind the camera, the core quality of the masterpiece is the incredible performance by Ulrich Muhe, who I could recognise but could not quite place where I last saw him - until my second viewing. This man is a real master of performance - or shall we say, he was capable of making us sympathise with the character with 'super control and understatement'. Hints of dramatic interior changes were usually suggested by a subtle gesture or tear drops that could be barely detected in a small screen of a television. Apparently he is also an extremely intelligent man - as all the answers he was giving during the interview included in the special feature reveal.
It made the viewing all the more poignant to know that the film partially reflected his own personal experience and the fact he died soon after the success of the film - which made him known for the first time outside his native Germany.
Back to the argument that the script could have made a strong case on why the captain experienced change at that particular moment. I gather we will just have to take the director's words for it that he was trying to show the power of music, and the fact we humans are capable of change. From a more personal point of view, I think the change is credible - just look at my father - a hardcore communist who must have done a lot of damages in his career as a political instructor and army representative. But because of his integrity (yes, it is there despite everything said about a communist) and his belief in the greater good, I imagine he is also a 'whistle blower' who was capable of making a decision that might jeopardise his cause - because he believed in the greater good and was therefore able to change...
Yes, there are loopholes where the scripts could be developed further to make it even more convincing - especially when the captain decided against following his instinct and duties. After all, after 20 years in the business, the outcome of his investigations is nothing new to him? So why change now? And to risk his own career and life?
However if we could push this bugging question aside (more of this later), the film is a super masterpiece - and I could not think of any other words to describe it - other than telling my friends that it is the best being made in recent years.
Apart from the captivating story, and the very subtle performance by all - both on and behind the camera, the core quality of the masterpiece is the incredible performance by Ulrich Muhe, who I could recognise but could not quite place where I last saw him - until my second viewing. This man is a real master of performance - or shall we say, he was capable of making us sympathise with the character with 'super control and understatement'. Hints of dramatic interior changes were usually suggested by a subtle gesture or tear drops that could be barely detected in a small screen of a television. Apparently he is also an extremely intelligent man - as all the answers he was giving during the interview included in the special feature reveal.
It made the viewing all the more poignant to know that the film partially reflected his own personal experience and the fact he died soon after the success of the film - which made him known for the first time outside his native Germany.
Back to the argument that the script could have made a strong case on why the captain experienced change at that particular moment. I gather we will just have to take the director's words for it that he was trying to show the power of music, and the fact we humans are capable of change. From a more personal point of view, I think the change is credible - just look at my father - a hardcore communist who must have done a lot of damages in his career as a political instructor and army representative. But because of his integrity (yes, it is there despite everything said about a communist) and his belief in the greater good, I imagine he is also a 'whistle blower' who was capable of making a decision that might jeopardise his cause - because he believed in the greater good and was therefore able to change...
May 10, 2010
Joyless street
It felt like a long boring film packed with stereotypes at first, especially up to the point where two women were trying to seduce the fat and vulgar butcher in order to get their hands on some precious meat for their family, but Joyless Street turned out to be yet another, shall we say, hidden, gem, where one is never really quite sure where it is leading up to.
It is a moral film, no doubt, and sometimes it even feels too much on that side. But from the moment where 'Miss Greta' walked out of her job in defense of her morality it became, it seems, more engaging. Somehow, the human tragedy began to draw you to the character when such a sad and fragile woman had to carry on her frail shoulders the heavy burden of the whole family, her invalid father on one side, and her little sister on the other.
I didn't realise Miss Greta was played by the screen icon of the namesake until she was well down her road to 'moral ruin'. Though it was only her second starring role, the qualities that made her such an incredible presence on screen was already in full bloom: her eyes seem to say thousands when she remained silent, and they had the power to empathise with her character.
The archive says that up to 90 minutes materials are still lost, and I could not imagine how long the film had been!
It is a moral film, no doubt, and sometimes it even feels too much on that side. But from the moment where 'Miss Greta' walked out of her job in defense of her morality it became, it seems, more engaging. Somehow, the human tragedy began to draw you to the character when such a sad and fragile woman had to carry on her frail shoulders the heavy burden of the whole family, her invalid father on one side, and her little sister on the other.
I didn't realise Miss Greta was played by the screen icon of the namesake until she was well down her road to 'moral ruin'. Though it was only her second starring role, the qualities that made her such an incredible presence on screen was already in full bloom: her eyes seem to say thousands when she remained silent, and they had the power to empathise with her character.
The archive says that up to 90 minutes materials are still lost, and I could not imagine how long the film had been!
March 09, 2010
Alice in the cities
I thought I had lost patience with Wim Wenders, I was however pleasantly surprised last night when I found myself hooked by these two unlikely protagonists - neither of whom seemed to be making an effort to interact or entertain each other on their long journey homes.
Typical of Wim Wenders, story was not its intention or strength, and for the first 15 minutes, we were kept in the dark on what this is all about. But once the title role Alice is involved, the film seemed to gain a different dimension despite itself and soon, we just want to know if Philp, the photographer/writer could eventually find the way home for Alice who was left to his care by her mother without his knowledge.
At more than one points, I believe the director is working towards keeping a historical record of what places were like then and there, for without much dialogue and with a rather loose plot, our attention was drawn towards the landscape along the way home of the protagonists. But the theme music that appeared every now and then seemed to suggest that the landscape was reflecting the human inside of the protagonists and we became more concerned over the fate of the two that had been thrown together by a mother's negligence.
Intriguing is the word that left in my mouth after watching it.
Typical of Wim Wenders, story was not its intention or strength, and for the first 15 minutes, we were kept in the dark on what this is all about. But once the title role Alice is involved, the film seemed to gain a different dimension despite itself and soon, we just want to know if Philp, the photographer/writer could eventually find the way home for Alice who was left to his care by her mother without his knowledge.
At more than one points, I believe the director is working towards keeping a historical record of what places were like then and there, for without much dialogue and with a rather loose plot, our attention was drawn towards the landscape along the way home of the protagonists. But the theme music that appeared every now and then seemed to suggest that the landscape was reflecting the human inside of the protagonists and we became more concerned over the fate of the two that had been thrown together by a mother's negligence.
Intriguing is the word that left in my mouth after watching it.
February 09, 2010
Musings of a Chinese Gourmet
This is a supreme example of how to write an book on a subject that nearly everybody can claim to be an 'expert'. First published in 1952, the book, reflects on the roles of food in both state affairs and home front, and explores the rich history and culture in things we deem ordinary and common. The charm of it is that the author is a true gourmet and knows how to enjoy life to its full extent whatever situations he finds himself in. The author is a rare species these days - for I am not sure how many Chinese can claim to know BOTH Chinese and Western cultures on equal standing.
February 02, 2010
I've loved you for so long
I was lucky yesterday: when searching the database, I found, to my disbelief that there was a copy on the shelf.
It is one of the best films I have watched recently: the performance, the script... all subtle and with great depth.
PS:
I had wanted to watch it for a second time, but at the meanwhile, reluctant to do so. The film is not meant to be a suspense, but in effect, it is on first viewing. This is because the 'crime' Juliet committed was not revealed to us until 1/3 into the movie, and once we learnt what kept her in prison for 15 years, we became effectively an ally of Lea's husband - worried if she would do it again and felt our hearts jump to our throat whenever she was left alone with Lea's young daughters. We also wondered if her budding relationship with the two completely different men would come to anything... and that if the unconditional trust Lea had on her rather withdrawn sister was misplaced.
But I did watch it for a second time and found that this time round, I was able to relax a bit and focus more on the sublime performance, especially on that between the sisters who did look alike in a subtle way. To play the role of Juliet the way Kristine Scott Thomas did required some great courage - to appear on the screen at one's true age with hardly any make-up or special effects to enhance their appearance. It is in a sense a gamble from both the director and the actress - to star someone who looked deprived of love and no longer cares for how they presented themselves to the world.
And in the end, one can only ask why that we are not treated to more films of such high quality.
It is one of the best films I have watched recently: the performance, the script... all subtle and with great depth.
PS:
I had wanted to watch it for a second time, but at the meanwhile, reluctant to do so. The film is not meant to be a suspense, but in effect, it is on first viewing. This is because the 'crime' Juliet committed was not revealed to us until 1/3 into the movie, and once we learnt what kept her in prison for 15 years, we became effectively an ally of Lea's husband - worried if she would do it again and felt our hearts jump to our throat whenever she was left alone with Lea's young daughters. We also wondered if her budding relationship with the two completely different men would come to anything... and that if the unconditional trust Lea had on her rather withdrawn sister was misplaced.
But I did watch it for a second time and found that this time round, I was able to relax a bit and focus more on the sublime performance, especially on that between the sisters who did look alike in a subtle way. To play the role of Juliet the way Kristine Scott Thomas did required some great courage - to appear on the screen at one's true age with hardly any make-up or special effects to enhance their appearance. It is in a sense a gamble from both the director and the actress - to star someone who looked deprived of love and no longer cares for how they presented themselves to the world.
And in the end, one can only ask why that we are not treated to more films of such high quality.
January 25, 2010
Mother India
In the period when I was immensely impressed by films like The Big City, I compiled a list of India films that I should watch, with Mother India on it. It was however nothing like those carefully thought through and directed films. Instead it is a huge disappointment.
This 'Mother India', it seemed, was capable of enduring just any hardship or humiliations landed on her, first by her mother-in-law, who mortaged the land for the sake of a lavish wedding she could never afford for her only son; then by the greedy and heartless loan shark; followed by flooding, which took away her youngest child. Though she had to slave just as hard as her naive husband, she was a typical housewife in the sense she did not just look after the growing household, but also provide daily message to her husband... And for the sake of her sons and the absent husband, she was ready to go to... hell.
All this is fine... because that is women's fate anyway in most part of the world.
What puzzled me increasingly though was the fact that there had never been any space in the film to query what went wrong, and the characters just accepted all the misfortunes, some of which self-inflictd, as a way of life...
But the big challenge is that although throughout the film there was only one villain, the loan shark, and the conflict between him and the Mother India highlighted again and again, the villagers were in fact his ally - they denied, for their own interests, the help she deserved.
The ending of the film was bizarre. Because it was the mother who shot her son who had been trying to get a fair deal on behalf of her and indeed the whole village.
I wonder what messages the director was trying to convene through the film. And the fact that half of the screen time was filled with songs and dancing typical of Bollywood did not help me to warm up to this 3 hours 'epic'.
This 'Mother India', it seemed, was capable of enduring just any hardship or humiliations landed on her, first by her mother-in-law, who mortaged the land for the sake of a lavish wedding she could never afford for her only son; then by the greedy and heartless loan shark; followed by flooding, which took away her youngest child. Though she had to slave just as hard as her naive husband, she was a typical housewife in the sense she did not just look after the growing household, but also provide daily message to her husband... And for the sake of her sons and the absent husband, she was ready to go to... hell.
All this is fine... because that is women's fate anyway in most part of the world.
What puzzled me increasingly though was the fact that there had never been any space in the film to query what went wrong, and the characters just accepted all the misfortunes, some of which self-inflictd, as a way of life...
But the big challenge is that although throughout the film there was only one villain, the loan shark, and the conflict between him and the Mother India highlighted again and again, the villagers were in fact his ally - they denied, for their own interests, the help she deserved.
The ending of the film was bizarre. Because it was the mother who shot her son who had been trying to get a fair deal on behalf of her and indeed the whole village.
I wonder what messages the director was trying to convene through the film. And the fact that half of the screen time was filled with songs and dancing typical of Bollywood did not help me to warm up to this 3 hours 'epic'.
Lucky star
I had ever come across the name Frank Borzage. Not before last Saturday when I put Lucky Star on my DVD player. Half way through, I wanted to know everything about him and those who star in it, in particular, the sublime Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor.
It is a usual story, but you won't allowed to find out about it till the finale. Instead, you are gripped by the pace of storytelling and the convincing performance by everybody, especially Charles who played the crippled veteran and Janet in the role of a character bordering 'girl' and young woman. Those scenes where Charles ignited the screen were some of the most memorable ones, and his great versatility proved expressing a good range of emotions within a single shot frame. And those legs when he was struggling to get up and walk, they did look lifeless and dead.
Frank Borzage was claimed a master of cinema. Lucky Star proves the case.
The history of cinema is being rewritten all the time. I mean what if Lucky Star remained 'missing' - as it was believed to be before the original silent version was discovered and restored in Netherland in 1992?
I have to admit though that I was not that impressed by Liliom, also staring Charles Farrell, although I do like the actress who played Julie.
It is a usual story, but you won't allowed to find out about it till the finale. Instead, you are gripped by the pace of storytelling and the convincing performance by everybody, especially Charles who played the crippled veteran and Janet in the role of a character bordering 'girl' and young woman. Those scenes where Charles ignited the screen were some of the most memorable ones, and his great versatility proved expressing a good range of emotions within a single shot frame. And those legs when he was struggling to get up and walk, they did look lifeless and dead.
Frank Borzage was claimed a master of cinema. Lucky Star proves the case.
The history of cinema is being rewritten all the time. I mean what if Lucky Star remained 'missing' - as it was believed to be before the original silent version was discovered and restored in Netherland in 1992?
I have to admit though that I was not that impressed by Liliom, also staring Charles Farrell, although I do like the actress who played Julie.
January 05, 2010
Ravi Shanker
My music library used to boast more than two dozen albums from India, most of which by the Indian sitar 'guru' Ravi Shanker, but because they sounded identical to me, I had volunteered to give them all up.
I was reading the autobiography of him last week, and finding it difficult to decide whether he is an imposter or a real genius, I suddenly missed my Indian music collection. I suppose for an layman of Indian music, there is bound to be queries of how to judge such a 'guru' whose fame has spread to even people who do not listen to much music apart from pop. The only item that I could find that was vaguely related to him was the Concert for George, whose the fist album of the 2-CD collection was dedicated to the ensemble led by Ravi Shanker. By then over 82, his only contribution seemed the utterance that 'I strongly feel that George was with us... I mean how can he not be while those who love him gather together here tonight'... In his place was both his daughter and his wife, with the former acting in the leading role.
The style of the writing is rather diffferent from what I am familiar with and have expected. To him it seemed that the only things worth saying on someone is whether or not s/he was 'nice'... And despite the fact that in the foreword he had already made it clear the book only represented his points of view as honest as it could be, it was hard pressed to say that I can trust him after reading the book, especially on his private life.
Overall, this is a challenge. Both because I hardly know Indian culture, let alone its music, and because this is such a complicated character...
I was reading the autobiography of him last week, and finding it difficult to decide whether he is an imposter or a real genius, I suddenly missed my Indian music collection. I suppose for an layman of Indian music, there is bound to be queries of how to judge such a 'guru' whose fame has spread to even people who do not listen to much music apart from pop. The only item that I could find that was vaguely related to him was the Concert for George, whose the fist album of the 2-CD collection was dedicated to the ensemble led by Ravi Shanker. By then over 82, his only contribution seemed the utterance that 'I strongly feel that George was with us... I mean how can he not be while those who love him gather together here tonight'... In his place was both his daughter and his wife, with the former acting in the leading role.
The style of the writing is rather diffferent from what I am familiar with and have expected. To him it seemed that the only things worth saying on someone is whether or not s/he was 'nice'... And despite the fact that in the foreword he had already made it clear the book only represented his points of view as honest as it could be, it was hard pressed to say that I can trust him after reading the book, especially on his private life.
Overall, this is a challenge. Both because I hardly know Indian culture, let alone its music, and because this is such a complicated character...
Man of iron
I have just done a quick search on web and was rather surprised that although there were no shortage of sites dedicated to the Polish auteur Andrzej Wajda, there was barely anything on this film. Is it because it is a 'minor' work in his impressive filmography?
Made in 1981 during the short spell when censorship was being lifted for about 18 months, Man of Iron dealt with a subject that was most sensitive for all communist regimes: that of mass strikes and the way they were being covered by the state media. On the whole, I think the director stroke a great balance between it social background and the personal journey on some of its participants, and a brilliant one on that.
What impresses me the most perhaps was the choice of its leading actors and actress. They, especially the one who played the student demonstrator turned radio technician, and the free trade union activists, have the rare combined quality of looking both intelligent and charming all at the same time that I assume that the Polish system must be more congenial to human race than that of the Chinese ones!
Made in 1981 during the short spell when censorship was being lifted for about 18 months, Man of Iron dealt with a subject that was most sensitive for all communist regimes: that of mass strikes and the way they were being covered by the state media. On the whole, I think the director stroke a great balance between it social background and the personal journey on some of its participants, and a brilliant one on that.
What impresses me the most perhaps was the choice of its leading actors and actress. They, especially the one who played the student demonstrator turned radio technician, and the free trade union activists, have the rare combined quality of looking both intelligent and charming all at the same time that I assume that the Polish system must be more congenial to human race than that of the Chinese ones!
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