Totally Unacceptably Bad Movie N+N Film (2)

I posted my comment (described in my previous posting) to the N+N film's FaceBook page. I understand I have attacked the artist - she might take it personally and I did get hit by some comments. The comment said that I am arrogant and I have insulted the artist and the professional judges by saying this film is like high-school-student's project.

Um, I admit that my comment is hostile and obnoxious. Nevertheless, I do think I have stated the truth. The film has made all possible mistakes a film maker can possibly hope to avoid. In one scene the little girl should be the center of attention but her pet turtle slowly creep out of the screen in the bottom left corner. The grand father hastily grabbed the creature to pull it back to view. No one cared about the girl but curious what has happened to the turtle. I am sure you have seen that in any home video, you set up the camera on a tripod stand and tell your 4-year-old sister to start acting. At some part of the film, you can see the little girl's speech was dubbed - the words are flowing out faster than the movement at her mouth! However, I have to admire the light technicians, it has been very consistent. Good job there.

Anyhow, the commentator was totally angry at my attack but ignore my other points, such as the film has not had a story line let along of passing any meaningful message. This film can make people emotional especially those who have lost or will be forced to move due to development. But nothing is black and white, why isn't the artist trying to show a more balanced view of this political issue so that we all can think why Hong Kong is where she is now. What makes me angry is those young kids (or old folks) going to the movie and holding a bamboo stick thinking "oh yeah, I have done my bit of helping social justice" and no one feels the film has not presented the adequate argument, explained historical background and delivered the un-biased discussions.

Perhaps this film was made to please the crowd - it is better to see it as the outlet of the angry villagers than anything else.

Totally Unacceptably Bad Movie N+N Film

After watching this film N+N, my first reaction is angry. This story can be potentially made into a very good documentary that actually makes people think deep but you have made it into a boring film trying to stir up emotion. Besides, the acting is really bad (is this because the artist didn't have enough funding to get proper professionals?). Why propaganda - sentences like "government is useless" or "corporations are taking advantage of ordinary people" are said more than once in the film, why state the obvious is it because audience are all needing your education? The young artist should have done better given her experience in stage directing. That makes me furious. The film basically destroy my hope that film industry in Hong Kong in the 21st century could have something original and interesting after the blooming activities last century. If the internationally recognized artist from Hong Kong produced a film in this high-school-students'-project quality forgive me for being blunt, what can I hope for? I do not think I am confident enough to watch another Hong Kong film.

Indeed Hong Kong is pretty dry in terms of culture and creativity, I suppose there hasn't been a sense of community, historical legacy because most of the population migrated to Hong Kong only recently. But the story, if we can ever say the film has a story, passes no message. Throughout the film I see a granda and a grand daughter hanging out mostly in the most crowded parts of the city and go back to their spacious country house so that grand daughter can have the space to ride a tricycle. I guess most people would like to have this life style - enjoying the convenience in the city and comfortable country house. The old man's home is going to be torn down - he can no longer take the best part of both worlds and that's why the movie was made?

At the end of the film, it says this film is dedicate to those who lost their homes because of development - so I finally grasped the message that the story is about against development. But please bare with me for a moment, may I know where the artist and the crew are living now? 50 years ago, it is most likely to be someone else's homeland, which was torn down and re-built. Against the development is layman's ideology. The high speed railway might have reduced the carbon emission given that train is most effective form of transportation. It could bring benefit to other part of the world, of course, anywhere outside of Hong Kong is not the artist's interest - at least I do not see it in her work.

My suggestion to her is that she should go back to school and perhaps take some philosophy lesson and learn how to write a convincing argument in a logical manner. Do not give me the excuse that I am an artist so I do not need solid training in academia environment. I think that's exactly what Hong Kong needs - we are trying to find the solution to problems, rather than arousing emotion to gain popularity.

KANO the movie

The only interesting bit of this movie is to understand life in Taiwan under Japanese rule. The rest is like comic. Anyone who had experience with Japanese Manga that's sports related will be able to understand what I meant. A group of hot-blooded youngsters vowed to win the championship - and they worked on it and they always did it. Everyone was in tears whether they made it or not. I am very confused what this movie is trying to say. The passion for baseball? The director wants to blend in the history of Taiwan, the soil, the land, the people into the story but concoction is just not as splendid. It is also a 3 hour long movie, coming out of the theater, I only felt tired and it is very hard to echo the compassion and energy - the story is simply too thin and the acting... As I described before, I think it is really like reading a comic. Correction - Kano is a remake from a comic, that's why it is so unreal. But I still don't like it.

2 bad movies

On my way from Tokyo to Hong Kong, showing 2 movies in the 4 and half hour flight. Ok, I really hate them and I think I should record my resentment and despice. "We bought a Zoo" might be a real story, but, com'on. The 7-year old girl who behaves like a 27 year old sensible woman? Making peanut butter sandwiches, slided them into ziplog bag and labeled them? The script writer is either doing too much drug or has never met a devil like 7-year old (that's what they really are). I dislike that little girl the most, her innocent demeanors seem insincere and fake. I basically don't like anyone in the film, they are just too nice and too far away from reality. The 14 year old rebelious son turned around to be the good friend of the dad? Oh, give me a break. This is indeed a feeling-good movie, but it would be great if we are viewing it as if it is a carton, I think it works pretty well for teenages or anyone younger. "Hugo" is another bad movie. Viewing it as if it is an anima won't even work. There is no logic to the story. A 10 year old boy lives in the train station without food and any form of care. That's totally just too fictionary. It is unclear why the great movie producer gave up his career - he is not making great movies anyways as far as I can see from the clips. I gave up the 20 minutes before the end, I think I would be better off by spacing out, otherwise my brain cells would die if keep staring at the screen. One question to ask (BBC also asked that before), why the French kids speak English with British Accent?

Hannibal

Lousy movie in a way that there are many absure plots, they seem meaningless but to bring out the cruelty and violence of Lecter. Many of the scenes should not be shown but being shown for the purpose of displaying the gruesome nature and disguisting thoughts. How professor Lecter's victim disfigured himself was a blur, why the wild boars want to attack human beings is not clear - why they didn't attack Lecter holding the uncounscious Agent Starling is also not clear. How Starling found Lecter after he was kidnapped is not explained. Starling woke up from comma and wore the sexy dress into the dinner table to see Paul eat his own brain. How the hell did she manage to carry the handcuff with which she used on Lector.

I am very surprised this movie can sell - but Lector is probably secretly in love with Starling. From that viewpoint, it is quite romantic.

Cliente

I actually watched this film (French Gigolo) last year on the plane (very much like to explore non-hollywood films from countries other than USA), a coincident that it was still available on my way back to Tokyo from Taipei, I watched it again. Judith is a level-headed, charming and independent 50 something. She treats herself with young men once every so often by paying for the service. I have no issue of paying for sex, um... in my opinion, paying for sex is worse than no sex (cross my fingers, hope I will not think differently later on). Judith fell for the innocent Patrick, who really is not pro in this game. I am quite delighted by the openness about the sexual desire of women in their fifty (Judith's sister is an interesting contrast). The story was told in a very smooth way. You can feel the struggle of Judith's rational and lusty selves. Patrick can never be her real partner (background, social status, moneyness, age difference, level of sophistication, etc.), she tries to prolong the pleasure as much as she can. Of course, I think she enjoyed it because she really likes him.

About Patrick... I am not too sure. At certain level, he did like her, but he like her even more given the possibility he can escape the financial pressure (he did it to pay for his wife's beauty salon mortage)

I happened to stumble upon another Chinese writer's work with similar storyline. But this was written from the guy's perspective. At the beginning it looks as if the lady's made a great effort to liberate herself, but it turned out that she is the experienced buyer. The guy was badly hurt. Man, I wish the author could read what she wrote at the beginning before letting the story runs its course.

Falling Leaves Return to Their Roots

Sorry about not writing much this month. I found this great Odenya (Oden house) in Ginza, featuring Kyoto style cooking. After being in Tokyo for a while, you can feel that somehow everything in Kyoto is more elegant and most people do agree. Tokyo people are feeling cultural inferior to Kyoto despite the booming economy

That's the power of culture. It has no obvious meaning of all the ceremonies and rituals or decorations. But without them, life seem so damn boring.
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The story of an unwanted daughter in a Chinese family. The whole book was filled with self-pity and insecurity. Even when the author was around 50 something, successful career woman with good family, she is still begging for her step mother's acceptance and love. WTF! I cannot believe this. She has wasted all these year living in fear, reciting how badly she was treated in her childhood and how proud of herself she was because she put herself through the difficult time.

Wake up, move on, and stop writing/thinking about your childhood (maybe too late, she's published a book) and pitying yourself.

I have no idea what type of people would spend money to buy the book, trying to satisfy their curiousity about China before after WWII? Or they would like to know how Chinese women's feet were bounded. Ok, I have to admit I started to read it because of that. After chapter 3, I only want to know how bad this book can be. Thank god this bad read didn't take me too much time, finished it on my flight to London.

I want to create a category "IMPOSSBLE TO READ" in my blog just for this book.