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.
March 09, 2010
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)