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Showing posts with label Hou Hsiao-hsien. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hou Hsiao-hsien. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 02, 2022

Best Films from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan

Wonders in the Dark is having a poll to determine the best 15 films from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

It is tough to narrow down just 15 films from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan especially since they all have a rich history of cinema going back almost a century to the 1920s-early 1930s. On top of that, there are many diverse genre films from this part of the world making it challenging to pit one film style against another. Ultimately, I opted for the following 15 films.

Best Films from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan

1. In the Mood for Love (2000, Hong Kong, Wong Kar-wai)
2. Yi Yi: A One and a Two (2000, Taiwan, Edward Yang)
3. Flowers of Shanghai (1998, Taiwan, Hou Hsiao-Hsien)
4. Platform (2000, China, Jia Zhang-ke)
5. Eat Drink Man Woman (1994, Taiwan, Ang Lee)
6. Election (2005, Hong Kong, Johnnie To)
7. Spring in a Small Town (1948, China, Fei Mu)
8. Raise the Red Lantern (1991, China, Zhang Yimou)
9. West of the Tracks (2002, China, Wang Bing)
10. What Time is It There? (2001, Taiwan, Tsai Ming-liang)
11. Chungking Express (1994, Hong Kong, Wong Kar-wai)
12. Infernal Affairs (2002, Hong Kong, Andrew Lau/Alan Mak)
13. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000, Taiwan/Hong Kong/China, Ang Lee)
14. Devils on the Doorstep (2000, China, Wen Jiang)
15. Ash is Purest White (2018, China, Jia Zhang-ke)

One surprising aspect of this list was finding out that I included 5 films from the Year 2000. That means 1/3 of all the films in this list came from one year. The stellar quality of these 5 films does indicate that 2000 was a strong year for Hong Kong, Taiwan and China.


In the Mood for Love (2000, Hong Kong, Wong Kar-wai)
Yi Yi: A One and a Two (2000, Taiwan, Edward Yang)
Platform (2000, China, Jia Zhang-ke)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000, Taiwan/Hong Kong/China, Ang Lee)
Devils on the Doorstep (2000, China, Wen Jiang)

In the Mood for Love is one of Wong Kar-wai’s most iconic films. Yi Yi is considered one of Edward Yang’s best films while Jia Zhang-ke’s second feature, Platform, helped propel his name globally. Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon certainly established a new found love for wuxia in the West. Wen Jiang’s powerful 2nd feature Devils on the Doorstep got plenty of attention after it won the Grand Jury prize at Cannes 2000.

[Updated List, May 11, 2022]

Best Films from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan

1. In the Mood for Love (2000, Hong Kong, Wong Kar-wai)
2. Yi Yi: A One and a Two (2000, Taiwan, Edward Yang)
3. Flowers of Shanghai (1998, Taiwan, Hou Hsiao-Hsien)
4. Platform (2000, China, Jia Zhang-ke)
5. Boat People (1982, Hong Kong, Ann Hui)
6. Eat Drink Man Woman (1994, Taiwan, Ang Lee)
7. Election (2005, Hong Kong, Johnnie To)
8. Raise the Red Lantern (1991, China, Zhang Yimou)
9. West of the Tracks (2002, China, Wang Bing)
10. What Time is It There? (2001, Taiwan, Tsai Ming-liang)
11. Chungking Express (1994, Hong Kong, Wong Kar-wai)
12. Infernal Affairs (2002, Hong Kong, Andrew Lau/Alan Mak)
13. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000, Taiwan/Hong Kong/China, Ang Lee)
14. Devils on the Doorstep (2000, China, Wen Jiang)
15. Ash is Purest White (2018, China, Jia Zhang-ke)
16. Spring in a Small Town (1948, China, Fei Mu)

Sunday, April 04, 2021

The Films of Edward Yang

 "Did you like the movie?"
"A bit too serious".
"You prefer comedies?"
"Not really. But it didn't have to be so sad."
"Life is a mixture of sad and happy things. Movies are so lifelike, that's why we love them."
"Then who needs movies? Just stay home and live life!".
"My uncle says we live three times as long since man invented movies."
"How can that be?"
"It means movies give as twice what we get from daily life."
-- Yi Yi (A One and a two), Edward Yang

Once again, I started at the end. Yi Yi (2000) was the last film that Edward Yang directed but it was the first of his films that I saw. To make matters worse, I saw the film shortly after Edward Yang passed away on June 29, 2007 at the age of 59. Just as I was discovering the works of one of the best directors in the world, he was gone thereby depriving the world of his talent. The extent of that loss has become more stark in the last few years especially as the status of Taiwan changes politically, economically and even socially. I wasn’t aware of any political, economic and social aspects covered in Edward Yang’s films back in 2007. These aspects didn’t catch my eye as I watched a few more of his films over the years such as A Brighter Summer Day (1991), Taipei Story (1985) and The Terrorizers (1986). Therefore, it felt appropriate to do a proper spotlight and watch all his features in order.

The plan was to watch all of Edward Yang’s seven features and the first short he directed as part of the omnibus In Our Time.

In Our Time (1982, Tao Te-chen, Edward Yang, Ko I-Chen, Yi Chang)
That Day, on the Beach (1983)
Taipei Story (1985)
The Terrorizers (1986)
A Brighter Summer Day (1991)
A Confucian Confusion (1994)
Mahjong (1996)
Yi Yi (2000)

Note: I couldn’t get the DVD of Edward Yang’s first feature That Day, on the Beach, which is also Christopher Doyle's first film as a cinematographer. The DVD was available a few years ago but I delayed getting it and now it is out of print. So I continued the spotlight without it.

Edward Yang’s name is associated with the “New Wave of Taiwanese Cinema” along with that of Hou Hsiao-hsien, Tsai Ming-liang and Ang Lee. However, as it turns out, within this New Wave of Taiwanese Cinema, there are 2 phases with Edward Yang and Hou Hsiao-hsien falling in the first phase while Tsai Ming-liang and Ang Lee being in the second phase. The association between Hou Hsiao-hsien and Edward Yang is more solidified as well due to their collaboration on Edward Yang’s early films. Hou wrote and acted in Taipei Story while also starred in Yang’s first feature, That Day, on the Beach. Both were also born in 1947 with Hou being older by a few months.

Hou in Taipei Story

However, Edward Yang’s style and themes are quite different from those of Hou Hsiao-hsien, Tsai Ming-liang.

Confucius: The City is too crowded
Disciples: What can we do about it?
Confucius: “Make the people rich”
Disciples: “What comes next after they are made rich?

2,000 years of poverty and struggles later,
It took a city named Taipei just 20 years to become one of the wealthiest cities in the world.

The above words are shown at the start of A Confucian Confusion (1994) and outline one big aspect covered in Edward Yang’s films. His films, starting with 1985’s Taipei Story, depict how Taiwan’s role in the world changed. Taiwan and its capital city, Taipei, went through a technological manufacturing change starting in the 1980s. 

This change impacted the social and economic life in Taiwan with regards to jobs/career and the tension this new working life would put on relationships. That is why Yang’s films feature many isolated characters and relationships in turmoil, themes and elements often found in Western films. However, Edward Yang depicted isolated characters in a different manner than Hou Hsiao-hsien and Tsai Ming-liang. Tsai Ming-liang has shown lonely characters in his films but these characters live on their own or are seeking companionship. On the other hand, Edward Yang depicted isolated characters in a relationship or within a multi-generational family. Showing families and how different family members impact each other is a key part of Edward Yang’s films.

Yi Yi feels like the culmination of Yang’s career and all the various themes he explored in his earlier films. Yi Yi contains combines elements of Coming of age, romance/relationship/marital problems and career/economic discussions. 

A Brighter Summer Day

Edward Yang explored Coming of Age in more detail via In Our Time and A Brighter Summer Day while he depicted career discussions and relationship/marital problems in varying degrees in That Day, on the Beach, Taipei Story, The Terrorizers, A Confucian Confusion and Mahjong. Gangs and violence are missing from Yi Yi and this is an element that Yang showed in A Brighter Summer Day while Mahjong is a more detailed coverage of the gang world and violence. The Terrorizers is also book-ended by a violent aspect which is nicely woven into the story.

The Terrorizers

Put together, all these films highlight the changing nature of Taiwan historically, politically, economically and socially. The inclusion of economic aspects is also based on Edward Yang’s career and how he came into movies. 

Robert Sklar's Cineaste interview from 2000 is worth reading but these words from Yang helped illuminate some scenes in Yi Yi:

"I found a job in Seattle at a research laboratory that contracted to do classified defense projects in microcomputers. I was among the first generation of designers and applicators for microcomputers and microprocessors. "

This explains the details regarding the dialogues/scenes of computer design and venture capitalists shown in Yi Yi. Edward Yang was familiar with this computer world in real life and he found a smart manner to incorporate aspects of this tech world. Of course, to Yang’s credit, he doesn’t include any detailed technical discussions but instead uses the tech world as a lubricant to depict human relationships, how people interact with one another and what motivates some people.

Edward Yang’s films covered the first phase of Taiwan’s economic change. Now, as Taiwan is in the middle of another economic change, I thought of Edward Yang again.  What would Edward Yang make of Taipei today?  The following quotes from Amy Qin and Amy Chang Chien’s NYT article stand-out:

The relatively few people who are allowed to enter Taiwan have been coming in droves, and they’ve helped to fuel an economic boom.

The influx of people helped make Taiwan one of last year’s fastest-growing economies — indeed, one of the few to expand at all.

Steve Chen, 42, a Taiwanese-American entrepreneur who co-founded YouTube, was the first to sign up for the gold card program. He moved to the island from San Francisco with his wife and two children in 2019. Then, after the pandemic hit, many of his friends in Silicon Valley, particularly those with Taiwanese heritage, began to join him — a reverse brain drain, of sorts.

Taiwan’s leaders say the infusion of foreign talent has given a shot of energy to its tech industry, which is better known for manufacturing prowess than for entrepreneurial culture.


The economic changes in Taiwan are also changing the social life on the island. Maybe in the future, someone will document the evolving changes in Taiwan but Edward Yang covered it first. For that, his valuable cinematic contributions to the world will forever be cemented.

Other reading:

1. Jonathan Rosenbaum: Exiles in Modernity

2. David Bordwell: A Brighter Summer Day
3. Bordwell again
4. Lawrence Garcia on Yi Y
i

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Best Films of 2015

In contrast to previous years, this year’s best film list consists solely of films released in this calendar year, even if that means a film got only a single screening at an international film festival. There are no older 2013, 2014 titles even if they only got local theatrical screenings this year. As always, film festivals provide the bulk of the movies in this list. Out of the top 10, only 2 films got a regular theatrical run in the city and only one of those titles was released outside of the film festival circuit. The film festival circuit continues to be a wonderful parallel distribution network. Many independent and foreign films only live on the film festival circuit. Once their festival run ends, some of these films disappear for good. Some lucky ones get life via legal digital streams. Some others don’t even appear on torrents.

The regular theatrical release cycle continues to be dominated by commercial studio films while independent local and foreign cinema struggle to get screen time. If a city does not have a Cinematheque or an Arthouse cinema, then chances are, there will be limited chances to see independent and foreign films in a cinema. The contrast between studio and foreign cinema was perfectly highlighted on Dec 18. On that day, there were 99 shows of STAR WARS in local cinemas while one of the arthouses had a single show of DHEEPAN, the Palme d’Or winner at Cannes. This is the 1% vs 99% battle in terms of contemporary cinema. A film that wins the top prize at Cannes is certainly going to be distributed but films that don’t win at Cannes or get much festival love will struggle to get even a single show, even if they are worthy films. Great cinema is still being made even though it is getting harder to see in a local theatre.

2015 saw the release of films by multiple Asian masters. 5 of those films make this top 10, while Jia Zhang-Ke misses out with his emotionally beautiful MOUNTAINS MAY DEPART. There are still many films that I need to catch up on, especially ARABIAN NIGHTS, THE PEARL BUTTON, THE TREASURE, OFFICE, THE EVENT. For all those missed titles, there are many more that I was fortunate to have seen. Here are my Top 10 films of 2015, followed by 16 honourable mentions.

1. Embrace of the Serpent (Colombia co-production, Ciro Guerra)


Modern day travel is taken for granted where people can get on a plane and be in another continent in less than a day. However, there was a time when travel was truly an unpredictable journey. Ciro Guerra’s EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT gives us that sense of adventure by taking the viewer back in time and depicting what it would have been like to be the first person to encounter a civilization. The end result is a mesmerizing soulful journey into the unknown. The film is set in two time periods both in the early 1900’s in the Amazon part of Colombia. The Amazon takes up over a third of Colombia yet very little is known about this area and even less shown on the screen. No film has been made in this region in over 30 years and in order to make this film, Guerra and his crew had to fly in all the equipment as there are no roads which connect parts of the Amazon to the rest of the country. The film took over 5 years to make so this is a personal journey for Guerra as well. Filmed in stunning black and white, EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT starts off by showing how three men become reluctant partners in a journey that proves to be a life changing experience for them. The second part of the film takes place about 40 years after the first part and features a traveler who is retracing the path charted out by an earlier character in the film. The images are hypnotic while the film raises relevant questions about the impact outsiders have on an existing civilization.

2. El Movimiento (Argentina/South Korea, Benjamín Naishtat)


“1835. Argentina. Anarchy. Plague”. These opening words set the stage for a film which dives into a world on the verge of collapse. A man emerges, promising to unify the people with “The Movement” which will save everyone from utter despair. This is the promise from a leader (Pablo Cedrón in a hypnotic performance) who will take the people out of the dark ages. Filmed in black and white with minimal lighting, EL MOVIMIENTO depicts a post apocalyptic world but in reality, the film could be set in contemporary times in any country around the world. This is because political parties use a message of fear when talking about their rival political parties and the message is always that if the people don’t elect their party, the world will end. In this regard, Naishtat’s film could easily be about a left or right wing party, a power hungry dictator or just a puppet standing in for a shadow organization. The film abstracts out enough elements to depict how all movements start out with a leader, a few ideas, alcohol, plenty of conversations and promises. EL MOVIMIENTO also shows that a filmmaker can accomplish a lot with a limited budget, smart cinematography, editing and music.

3. Right Now, Wrong Then (South Korea, Hong Sang-soo)


On the surface, it appears that Hong Sang-soo is repeatedly making the same movie as his films feature elements of love, relationships, drinks, memory and conversations. He uses abrupt zooms in lieu of abrupt cuts and in a few of his recent films, he has broken the film down into multiple parts. A lot of those elements are to be found in his newest feature but he demonstrates that he is in complete control of elements and is not making the same film. Instead, he is tweaking minor ingredients in his filmmaking recipe to demonstrate how a few events can drastically alter one’s life leading a person in a completely different path. In RIGHT NOW, WRONG THEN, he presents us with two versions of the same story. The first segment is more of a traditional Hong Sang-soo film which shows a familiar story about how a film director meets a woman on a chance encounter. A few conversations later, the alcohol flows freely which ensures the characters true emotions gush out, resulting in some awkward conversations and moments. In the second segment, the same characters are involved but the alcohol is toned down a little bit. This subtle change drastically alters the flow of events resulting in a different scenario. Both segments are vintage cinema but by presenting us with two distinct versions, Hong Sang-soo allows audience to choose which version they prefer. Both versions are rooted in reality and depict how individuals can choose to live their lives, either by being completely honest and vocal about their feelings or being quiet and reserved.

4. Our Little Sister (Japan, Hirokazu Kore-eda)


In his last film, LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON Hirokazu Kore-eda illustrated the two-way relationship that exists between parents and their young children. The film was shown from the perspective of a father’s bond towards his son. Therefore, it is appropriate that in OUR LITTLE SISTER, Kore-eda turns the focus on daughters in the absence of a father figure. As a result, he has now covered another vital angle of how members of a family shape each other. The film depicts relationships and interactions with honesty and without the absence of any melodrama. Since his films are often compared to Ozu, Hirokazu Kore-eda obliges us with a chimney shot that directly references the cinema of Ozu.

5. About Cinema (Brazil, Walter Carvalho)


Walter Carvalho is an accomplished cinematographer and it is not a surprise to see his film begin with a stunning image of a broken down projector located in what was once a cinema. The forgotten ruins of a cinema is clearly a symbol for film reels and 35mm projectors in a digital world. That image is also the perfect launching pad for what follows in this documentary which gets at the core of what cinema truly is. It answers this question by interviewing an accomplished list of directors ranging from Béla Tarr, Hector Babenco, Lucrecia Martel, Jia Zhang-Ke, José Padilha, Karim Aïnouz, Asghar Farhadi, Gus Van Sant, Ken Loach to Andrzej Wajda. The film also interviews Salvatore Cascio, the actor who played the famous ‘Toto’ in CINEMA PARADISO. The end result is a work that highlights the power of films and reinforces one’s love for cinema.

6. The Assassin (Taiwan co-production, Hou Hsiao-Hsien)


THE ASSASSIN shows that in the hands of an auteur a wuxia genre can be transformed into a work of breath-taking art. Hou Hsiao-Hsien references his earlier films but also dives into a political landscape with a razor sharp eye for detail.

7. The Forbidden Room (Canada, Guy Maddin/Evan Johnson)


The most creative film of 2015 oozes with life and energy from every frame. The film effortlessly transcends genres ranging from horror, comedy, mystery to avant-garde while bravely spinning stories at a relentless pace leaving the viewer out of breath. The end result is a fun carnival ride through the history of Maddin’s cinema and overall film genres. As an added bonus, there are many surprising cameos from actors who suddenly pop-up and disappear rapidly amid the cuts.

8. Cemetery of Splendour (Thailand co-production, Apichatpong Weerasethakul)


Like last year’s TIMBUKTU, CEMETERY OF SPLENDOUR features a beautifully shot soccer scene which has huge political implications. In TIMBUKTU, the boys are forbidden to play with a soccer ball, so they play in the soccer field with no ball. They move around pretending they are kicking or shooting an invisible ball. In CEMETERY OF SPLENDOUR, the boys have a soccer ball but the field they are playing in is dug up. As a result, the boys have to navigate their way around/over mountains of dirt in order to make their way to the other goal. The mountains of dirt represent the hurdles and difficulties that exist in Thai society that people have to face everyday. In the past, Apichatpong was a bit subtle with regards to the political implications in his films but here he doesn’t hold back. This is his most open political film albeit depicted in a manner which builds on the themes of his previous films by beautifully stitching together history, myth, fables, dreams, nightmares and harsh reality, which must be seen with wide open eyes.

9. Taxi (Iran, Jafar Panahi)


TAXI is the third film from renowned auteur Jafar Panahi after he was banned from making films by the Iranian Government in 2010. Like THIS IS NOT A FILM, the first film Panahi made under the ban, TAXI does not appear to be a scripted film. TAXI features Jafar Panahi driving a taxi around the streets of Tehran, picking up passengers and dropping them off at different locations. All the interactions with passengers are recorded from a camera on his dashboard, so technically, Panahi does not appear to be directing anything. However, the inclusion of smart dialogues, shift in camera angles and the presence of a few memorable passengers reveals Panahi’s brilliance. Pushed into a corner by the government, Panahi has tapped into the same creative energy as THE WHITE BALLOON and CRIMSON GOLD; films he directed before the ban. He uses a taxi as a medium to bring forth relevant discussions about society, freedom, censorship, public vs private space and even film distribution. Everything is presented with plenty of humour, some melodrama yet bathed in reality.

10. Piku (India, Shoojit Sircar)


Writer Juhi Chaturvedi and director Shoojit Sircar are successfully able to transfer the wit, sarcasm and humour associated with Bengali language cinema to Hindi cinema. The key to pulling off their script is the acting of the three main actors whose characters ensure a balance is maintained on screen. Amitabh Bachchan’s character of Bhaskor is loud and always looks to dominate every conversation in the room with his own problems, which are always the worst in the world. On the other hand, Irrfan Khan’s character of Rana exudes a calm collected demeanour and is the exact opposite of Bhaskor in the volume index. Rana quietly observes events yet manages to interject in a timely manner to diffuse anything from blowing up. Then there is Deepika Padukone’s character of Piku, the core of the film, the engine that keeps everything running. Her performance reminds of traditional Bengali actresses and she has put in one of the best acting displays seen in the last few years in Hindi language cinema.

Honourable mentions (in alphabetical order):

Adrien (Canada, Renée Beaulieu)

This assured debut film recalls Denis Côté's cinema mixed with some lovely shots reminiscent of the Dardenne brothers. The brave decision of Renée Beaulieu to let some of the film’s crucial events play out without any dialogues results in a remarkable payoff as the on-screen tension builds before the steam is calmly let out.

Bleak Street (Mexico/Spain, Arturo Ripstein)

In the tradition of Luis Buñuel’s Mexican films, BLEAK STREET depicts a realistic view of street life without any filters. Ripstein doesn’t hold back and plunges the viewer into a cruel and filthy world yet infuses the film with plenty of heart.

Dog Lady (Argentina, Laura Citarella/Verónica Llinás)

Finally, a female counterpoint to Lisandro Alonso’s lonely male cinema. However, Citarella and Llinás add a societal layer to their film on top of Alonso’s structure. The characters in Alonso’s films are situated in nature and his films are about individuals. Citarella and Llinás’s film follows a lonely female character but by setting their character on the fringe of society, balancing the line between urban-rural life, they create a social commentary which makes the main character universal. As a result, their film raises questions about society and poverty.

Happy Hour (Japan, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi)

A beautiful mature work that focuses on four friends who depend on each other’s support in order to cope with their lives. When one of the characters confides that she is seeking a divorce, it sets in motion a sequence of events which unravels their friendships and impacts the remaining character’s family relationships. The running time of just over 5 hours will restrict this film’s distribution possibilities but that is a shame as this film achieves a level of depth that most TV shows fail to do in over 10+ hours.

In Jackson Heights (USA, Frederick Wiseman)

A remarkable film which manages to highlight the rich diverse cultural history that exists within a few blocks of this famous New York neighbourhood. The film truly shows the sense of community that exists in the neighbourhood while the patient camera captures the sparkle of life that exists in every street corner in Jackson Heights. It is clear there are thousands of stories that can be found in Jackson Heights and Wiseman lets us listen in to some remarkable stories. The film also smartly depicts moments which dive into the dollars and cents involved when comparing small businesses vs big corporations, struggles that are taking place not only around North America but around the world.

James White (USA, Josh Mond)

Shot with a raw intensity, Josh Mond’s film depicts its titular character (Christopher Abbott) who is just trying to get his life together. James is lazy and wants to enjoy his life. However, after his father passes away, he learns his mother has cancer. That thrusts a huge weight of responsibility on his shoulders, something he is not ready for. The camera doesn’t shy away from observing James in his moments of weakness while the story doesn’t try to glorify James or give his character any heroic redemption values. As a result, we are left to view the character with brutal honestly and are free to form our own views.

Mediterranea (Italy co-production, Jonas Carpignano)

The debut of this film along with DHEEPAN at Cannes could not have been more timely. Both DHEEPAN and MEDITERRANEA show the social integration problems that await a new wave of refugees and immigrants coming into Europe. While DHEEPAN goes off in a different dramatic direction, MEDITERRANEA continues following a more neorealist path in letting events unfold.

Ninth Floor (Canada, Mina Shum)

A timely documentary from a Canadian perspective. The film depicts a horrible incident of racism that took place in Sir George Williams University (Montreal) back in 1969 against a group of Caribbean students. The real strength of the film is the inclusion of archival footage which lets viewer see the full extent of racism and discrimination that once existed in Canada. The film is highly relevant today as every wave of new immigrants to Canada have likely faced similar sentiments when they first arrived.

One Floor Below (Romania co-production, Radu Muntean)

A masterful work that is another shining example of the recent Romanian New Wave which depicts human behaviour and emotions in a realistic manner.

Poet on a Business Trip (China, Ju Anqi)

Originally shot in 2002 but not edited until 2013, POET ON A BUSINESS TRIP is part documentary and part poetry. Structured around 16 poems, the film depicts travels in Xinjiang, the western-lying Uyghur province of China. The images and people seen on screen are hardly familiar sights in Chinese cinema, thereby making this a genuinely independent film that is a rarity in China.

Taklub (Phillipines, Brillante Mendoza)

Similar to what he did with SLINGSHOT and FOSTER CHILD, Mendoza embeds his actors in a real life location with non-actors thereby achieving a level of realism where the line between reality and fiction disappears. The film also raises worthy points about how aid is distributed to areas impacted by natural disasters such as typhoons and floods.

Talvar (India, Meghna Gulzar)

Last year, the Indian film COURT showed the Kafkaesque legal system in India. TALVAR takes a step back and depicts the police investigations which can result in an endless loop of court trials, thereby paving the path to events shown in the film COURT. TALVAR is based on a real life court case and Vishal Bhardwaj’s script coupled with Meghna Gulzar’s direction ensures the audience gets to witness alternate view points, Rashomon style.

The Smalls: Forever is a Long time (Canada, Trevor Smith)

This film throws out the rule book when it comes to music documentaries and rewrites the script.  Even though the film is about one band called The Smalls, its smart editing and overall framework gets to the essence of why people fall for a certain band and why a piece of music resonates with some individuals more than others. Werner Herzog has mentioned how he loves letting the camera run a little bit longer after a scene is over in order to capture a magical moment. Such a magical moment takes place in THE SMALLS as well, where the camera stays a little bit longer at one of the band’s concerts. This magical scene depicts the trance like impact music has on people and why people pour their heart out when listening to their favourite band. The entire film is also enhanced by some beautiful contemplative shots which allow us to get a sense of the wider universe around a musical band and how ordinary objects and venues spring to life when musical notes fill the air.

The Wakhan Front (France/Belgium, Clément Cogitore)

An extraordinary film that deceives expectations. Starts off as a war film but moves into another genre with the mysterious disappearance of soldiers which points towards supernatural occurrences. There are also some lovely nods to Claire Denis’s BEAU TRAVAIL.

Under Construction (Bangladesh, Rubaiyat Hossain)

Rubaiyat Hossain smartly uses her main character as a lens to explore both female identity in Bangladesh and also her city, Dhaka, which also plays a prominent part in the film.

Viaje (Costa Rica, Paz Fábrega)

Filmed in gorgeous black and white, VIAJE is an honest, charming and mature depiction of relationships.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Spotlight on Taiwan, take two, part two

"Did you like the movie?"
"A bit too serious".
"You prefer comedies?"
"Not really. But it didn't have to be so sad."
"Life is a mixture of sad and happy things. Movies are so lifelike, that's why we love them."
"Then who needs movies? Just stay home and live life!".
"My uncle says we live three times as long since man invented movies."
"How can that be?"
"It means movies give as twice what we get from daily life."
-- Yi Yi (A One and a two), Edward Yang

In April, I had planned my spotlight on Taiwan by watching films from Edward Yang, Hou Hsiao-hsien and Tsai Ming-liang. Both Yang and Hou are credited with the "New Wave of Taiwanese Cinema" (starting from the 1980's) while Tsai is considered part of the Second New Wave, starting from the 1990s. But I put the spotlight on hold until the past few weeks. Over the last few months, some significant events have occurred with regards to the two New Wave directors -- the World unfortunately lost Edward Yang who passed away on June 29. And Hou Hsiao-hsien's first non-Taiwenese film, The Flight of the Red Balloon premiered at Cannes leading his work to be judged in a newer light from his native Taiwanese works (Café Lumière was still a joint Taiwanese/Japanese venture).

Now, the first Edward Yang film that I have seen is the last film that he completed -- Yi Yi. One film is not enough to establish a proper analysis but Yi Yi is such a beautiful film that it can stand on its own.

Yi Yi (2000, Director Edward Yang): Rating 10/10

There is a poetic beauty that resonates throughout this film which shows the complicated lives of the Jian family and the people that interact with them, including their neighbours, friends, relatives and co-workers. In the hands of a lesser director, the film would have turned into a melodramatic soap opera as the topics covered include wedding, affairs, first love, relationship crisis, corporate politics and even murder. But Edward Yang ensures that all the issues and characters are handled tenderly and each character is given enough screen time so that the audience can get to know them better and understand their motives. Even at a length of 170 minutes, the film does not feel long and is a real heart warming tale.

Film Style -- Edward Yang, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Tsai Ming-liang:

Going by Yi Yi as an example, Yang's style is closer to that of Ang Lee rather than Hou Hsiao-hsien and Tsai Ming-liang. Ang Lee has handled family oriented stories in the past which is what Yi Yi is -- multiple characters are shown with screen time given to each character; there are no long takes in Yi Yi but sometimes depending on a situation, the camera lingers around a character for a few extra seconds. Whereas, both HHH and Tsai use long takes (with less edit cuts) to focus on one or even two characters in their films. The long takes allow us to soak in all the details around the characters and to fully understand their motives. Two different styles but the end result is still the same -- absorbing cinema!

Hou Hsiao-hsien:

Millennium Mambo (2001): Rating 7.5/10

One of the strongest aspects of Hou's Flowers of Shanghai was the colorful visuals which perfectly conveyed the exotic excesses of the brothels of 19th century China. With Millennium Mambo, Hou changes gears completely and portrays the club hopping life of Taiwanese youth. The film is basked in cool bluish visuals mixed with some bright neon lights as the main character Vicky (Shu Qi) alternates from clubs and bars while her boy-friend gets into fights. Shu Qi carries this film on her shoulders and the camera leisurely hovers over her as she changes clothes, walks around half-naked, makes love, gets into fights with her boyfriend and attempts to run away from him.

Vicky's character and the film's portrayal of modern youth in Taipei seems to have been the basis for the third short in Three Times. The 2005 released film contained three short segments set in three different time periods -- 1911, 1965 and 2005. Each short's visual look was completely different; the 1911 segment appears to have been straight out of Flowers of Shanghai and the 2005 segment has a similar feel to Millennium Mambo.

Monday, May 29, 2006

Simply Taiwan!

One Country, 3 directors, 6 movies! A diverse collection ranging from the colorful past to the murky present!!!

Hou Hsiao-hsien

Until a few months ago, I had never heard of this talented director. But after seeing three of his movies in quick succession, I can understand why he has such a huge following around the world! I first cracked the world of Hou Hsiao-hsien with his highly acclaimed beautiful 2005 flick Three Times which illustrated the director’s full control over every frame as every movement on screen was perfectly orchestrated. Yet, I felt unconvinced about the second (1911 segment) of the three shorts in that movie and felt that it could have been better if it had been shot in black and white as opposed to being rich in color. The first 1966 segment was in simple colors (not too bright) and the final 2005 segment was grayish. I could not understand the bright colors in the middle segment and thought having black and white would have been a better bridge between the two other segments. But all my doubts were banished when I saw the director’s earlier work – the visually scrumptious The Flowers of Shanghai . This is because the 1911 segment in Three Times is along the same lines of the colorful brothel love story shown in The Flowers of Shanghai . That same story was touched upon again in the 1911 segment and it had to be in color, otherwise the richness of the story would have been lost. And within the context of Three Times the 1911 segment had to be without dialogues and had to be with text cards. One of the connecting elements of the three stories in Three Times is the usage of text messages as a form of communication. All the characters use one form of the written word to express their feelings, be it via letters, scrolls or SMS text messages. The audience needed to be brought in the loop as well and the sure fire way to convey that was to let them read the messages itself. And in the case of the 1911 segment, the audience had to do precisely that, whereas in the other two segments, it is the characters doing the reading.

As far as the story of The Flowers of Shanghai is concerned, it centers around the brothels in 1880’s China. Food, drink, games and love is all that takes place. Games are played, the losers have to drink up, food is served and then after that, someone leaves with a girl of their choice. Problems arise when love comes into the equation. A man wants to buy a woman’s freedom but that does not go as per plan. Jealousy and doubts set in, and in the end, heartbreak follows. Sounds simple but it is much more complicated than that. And each emotion, each feeling is captured perfectly. What more can I say? Only that this is an absolutely stunning visual cinematic feast!

Goodbye South, Goodbye

Gangsters go through their complicated lives trying to etch out a better deal and a better future for themselves. At times the movie has shades of Hong Kong gangster/Japanese Yakutza movies but this one stands completely on its own. I quite liked it but not as much as the director’s other two movies. The film gives a glimpse into the lowest rungs of gangster business, a tier where negotiations are made over the kind of chickens to be traded, gambling rackets, family inheritances and other back-room deals. Slow, yet never dull. The camera just waits patiently and allows us to observe what the characters will do next, how they will react and how they will cope.

So overall ratings: Three Times (now updated to 10/10), Flowers of Shanghai (10/10) and Goodbye South, Goodbye (8.5/10)

Tsai Ming-liang

What Time Is It there?

Tick tock. The clock slowly ticks away. Taipei. Paris. What time is it really? Does the time matter? Because what is there to do really? Sell Watches! Wait for things to get better! And wait for the love to return! These things take time, they don’t change overnight. But the expectation that the next hour will be better, that the next day will be different enable the characters to go on. They sit, they wait and they hope. And when they start losing hope, they cling onto something else, something which they feel is better, something which will give them a better chance of happiness. That something might not make sense to an outsider but for the main characters, their lives depend on it. On one side is the boy who sells watches. One day he meets a girl who insists on buying his watch. The girl is leaving for Paris the next day and wants his watch only. She eventually convinces him to sell it to her. After the boy’s father dies, his mother finds it difficult to let go. The boy is afraid of the dark and tries to stay locked up in his room. If he leaves his room, he encounters his mother trying to come up with schemes to welcome the dead father’s spirit back. Meanwhile the girl is lonely in Paris. She longs for home and is relieved when she meets another woman who can speak the same language as her. Meanwhile, the boy is feeling more detached with his life. So he longs for the girl who left for Paris. In hoping to establish a connection with her, he changes the times on all the watches he sells to show Parisian time. In fact, wherever he finds a clock (be it in a hallway or mounted on a building), he tries to switch the time to Paris time (hence the title). He then seeks French movies so as to be closer to her. And his introduction to French cinema starts with 400 Blows . Meanwhile, the girl meets the real life grown up version of the boy from 400 Blows. In a way, sitting on two separate sides of the planet, the two of them connect in a strange way. Different times, but same feeling. The movie moves extremely slowly with long uninterrupted shots of nothingness. But that is exactly the point the movie is trying to make. Nothing happens in these people lives yet they keep waiting for something to happen. The clock on the other hand keeps ticking away.

Rating: 9/10

The Wayward Cloud

A long empty corridor. A woman carries a watermelon across it. Next scene, we see that watermelon cut open in half lying in between a woman’s open legs. A man approaches the watermelon, licks it and ends up achieving penetration of a different kind. The main character is the same who used to sell watches in What Time Is It There but he now acts in porno movies. He meets the returned girl from Paris, who moves into the same apartment block as him. The two of them don’t hook up but continue to admire each other from a distance. Each of them is initially busy trying to beat the heat wave that has covered the city. Water is a scarce resource and the tv news informs the public that it is cheaper to drink watermelon juice as opposed to water because of the abundant supply of watermelons as opposed to water. And this also explains the watermelon motif that keeps reappearing throughout the movie, be it as a song prop or as a sexual tool. The film contains a handful of songs which are very well orchestrated with completely unique props (sexual triggers and even a watermelon beast). The same slow technique as the Ming-liang Tsai’s previous movie is used but the songs lend a different mood to the movie. A bit of comic relief in some cases and in others just a melancholy commentary on the state of things. Overall, I didn’t find this film as interesting as his previous effort but this is a completely unique endeavor with a truly ‘climatic’ ending.

Rating: 8/10

Leon Dai

Twenty Something Taipei

A different shade of Taiwan from all the other movies. On face value, the modern Taipei shown is not as lonely as the other director’s efforts. The capital city is shown to be a vibrant, fast moving metropolitan city complete with drinks, drugs, clubs and liberal sex. Someone hooks up with one person, then another, switches partners and continues. While the fast paced music continues to throb in the background. In between is a sweet budding romance. The characters aren’t unique to Taipei but could easily inhabit Mumbai, New York, London or another major city. And despite the differences this movie has with the above 5 movies, there is a tiny segment which overlaps with Hsiao-hsien Hou’s Three Times . His 2005 segment has a lesbian love story which is clearly found in the middle of Twenty Something Taipei. Now, it may seem like a stretch to try to connect these two separate movies but it goes to show that both directors had a similar source which they worked off and both wanted to show a modern view of their city where a newer generation is growing up.

Rating: 7.5/10 . Not a bad movie. Cliched, yes! But entertaining nonetheless!!