I don't think this film, like what a critic said, "attempts to force an identity crisis onto the girls". This is based on the true story of the director and her twin sister. They must have been through a lot as twins - people comparing them, people stereotyping them as twins, people seeing them from their egocentric perspectives. But there must have been one or two who were able to differentiate them and make them feel unique like every one of us. This is not some coming-of-age chick flick or some unoriginal movie like 'You are the apple of my eye'. This is a film about sibling rivalry (what more, twin rivalry) and sibling love. On the one hand, it is made with genuine emotions. On the other hand, this film focuses so much on emotions that you won't get to see what really happens when the twins get into their boy-girl relationships, which is subtly beautiful - you'd yearn for a sequel! See this film for its freshness and spirit, the main actress' brilliance, and most importantly to reminisce youth and its charm.
Reviews
9 Reviews
The Fourth Portrait
(2010)
Portraits of Life
13 December 2010
Warning: Spoilers
In both the film's opening and ending, there's this scene where the protagonist is walking on a small 2-way road with the Chinese character "慢" (meaning "slow") painted on both lanes. This I thought was trying to tell the audience to take things slowly, naturally. Already in this opening, I had goose bumps as I had often felt the strong need for our society to keep the pace of life slow...
The story begins with the passing of the protagonist's father. Supposedly grievous, the protagonist did not show any sorrow. He merely placed a piece of tissue paper on his father's face, hoping that the sucking in / blowing out of the tissue paper would signal his breath/death. Throughout the film, humour and misery are arranged to stick closely together. More often than not, immediately after feeling sad for the characters, the scene changes and we're brought into another sub-story. I felt we're deprived of every chance to fully empathize with the characters. But this is life, life moves too quickly, and I guess this film wishes that the audience would take life (and death) and other depressing conditions in a light-hearted manner.
The first 3 portraits were the protagonist's father, his good friend, and his elder brother. There was this old school attendant who told him a fable about frogs caught and placed inside a can sitting on fire. Most frogs were roasted to death, but 1 or 2 managed to leap to survival. The old man wanted him to be like the frogs which had jumped out of predicament - to be free from the concealed agony for his father's death, free from the illicit behaviour his good friend had taught him, and free from missing his brother. The 4th portrait would be himself, but we do not get to see this because we wouldn't know, if the protagonist could really embark on living a brand new life (or continue to be stuck to the wretched life that many others are leading). The 4 portraits reflect how certain societal fragments in Taiwan cope with their lives.
Every scene/setting is carefully picked and meticulously shot. Every scene/setting is beautiful, be it surreal, pastoral, nostalgic, in motion or in repose. There is great cinematography, great musical arrangement, great acting, so there's really nothing to nitpick about. No wonder it's The Outstanding Taiwanese Film of the Year at the Golden Horse Awards, won the FIPRESCI Prize, and Chung Mong-Hong winning Best Director.
The story begins with the passing of the protagonist's father. Supposedly grievous, the protagonist did not show any sorrow. He merely placed a piece of tissue paper on his father's face, hoping that the sucking in / blowing out of the tissue paper would signal his breath/death. Throughout the film, humour and misery are arranged to stick closely together. More often than not, immediately after feeling sad for the characters, the scene changes and we're brought into another sub-story. I felt we're deprived of every chance to fully empathize with the characters. But this is life, life moves too quickly, and I guess this film wishes that the audience would take life (and death) and other depressing conditions in a light-hearted manner.
The first 3 portraits were the protagonist's father, his good friend, and his elder brother. There was this old school attendant who told him a fable about frogs caught and placed inside a can sitting on fire. Most frogs were roasted to death, but 1 or 2 managed to leap to survival. The old man wanted him to be like the frogs which had jumped out of predicament - to be free from the concealed agony for his father's death, free from the illicit behaviour his good friend had taught him, and free from missing his brother. The 4th portrait would be himself, but we do not get to see this because we wouldn't know, if the protagonist could really embark on living a brand new life (or continue to be stuck to the wretched life that many others are leading). The 4 portraits reflect how certain societal fragments in Taiwan cope with their lives.
Every scene/setting is carefully picked and meticulously shot. Every scene/setting is beautiful, be it surreal, pastoral, nostalgic, in motion or in repose. There is great cinematography, great musical arrangement, great acting, so there's really nothing to nitpick about. No wonder it's The Outstanding Taiwanese Film of the Year at the Golden Horse Awards, won the FIPRESCI Prize, and Chung Mong-Hong winning Best Director.
Le missionnaire
(2009)
ratings don't reflect the quality of this film
8 May 2010
Warning: Spoilers
my french is very limited, thus there might have been much humour that i didn't understand, but i feel this film was not made as a comedy but rather more as a satire. there were many ironies going on in the show: jailbird becoming priest, even bettering others in the job; priest becoming attracted to forces in materialism and the secular world; police and priest both see alcohol and sex as part of life and commoners empathising with that; and finally the irony of the neverending disputes of religions as opposed to how love could unite disparate beliefs. those who often seek divine help, hardly know that those who have genuine solutions to their problems are people not much different from them, perhaps merely more confident.
Frontier Blues
(2009)
plain, simple and honest
3 December 2009
Warning: Spoilers
In remote Gorgan (Iran's northern border with Turkmenistan), the film tells us the story of 4 men, of whom, 3 have dreams of girls/women/marriage/reunion. It portrays a society where women fled frequently from their families for richer men, and where men feel they are the authority of their families and they are responsible for the younger ones, e.g. letting the donkey go. Here, men cling on to their dreams - keeping the donkey as a pet; ringing other people up randomly to speak to girls; choosing only one size / design per piece of clothing for his shop; learning English so as to relocate to a place with better living standards; not wishing to speak or play his musical instrument but when stirred up, vents his frustration profusely. Here, weddings and funerals seldom occur: it is uneventful. Yet, outsiders want to capture images not of how the place is really like, but of what they perceive of this place - nomadic, pastoral, rustic, etc. But they will never be able to seize that most natural and authentic side of these people.
Angels & Demons
(2009)
Some points to take home from Angels and Demons
22 May 2009
1. Carmelengo wants to unite religion and science, or maybe let science take over religion. His "heroic" act (heroic if he was not illuminati) shows that not only could one die for religion/faith, but also for science - religious terrorists as compared to scientific terrorists. 2. All religions are flawed, like all human beings. Could we see religion as an individual human being? Its beauty, its character, its way of thinking, as well as its ugliness? 3. Religion and science - can they co-exist? New Carmelengo handing over Galileo's manuscript to Langdon - science to study religion. But can religion study science? 4. Religion has to depend on science to solve its own problems - using closed circuit television to unveil the misdeeds of Carmelengo. But does science have to depend on religion?
A simple movie with great underlying meanings
22 February 2009
Warning: Spoilers
This review is basically to point out the main/more apparent underlying meanings of the film.
1) Life could be good or bad now, but you'll never know what you're going to get. Life is unexpected, life is like the unpredictable storms which kept the whole film running. Life is of storms. e.g. The hurricane which kept changing directions when Benjamin's diary was read aloud by his daughter.
2) Take the chance and do something you like, because in the end, life is emptiness and nothingness - "everyone will end up in diapers". e.g. The commissioner's wife taking the chance to get involved in an affair with Benjamin and had the rendezvous of her life. e.g. Benjamin going on the sailing trip to see the world and thereafter had many of his first experiences.
3) Appreciate everything for what they are - some people are born to make buttons, some dance, some are mothers. Life never goes the way we want it to be, we have to accept things for what they are. e.g. Benjamin was born odd, his father couldn't accept it, didn't love him as he was, thus he led a guilty life and had a sad ending even though he was very rich. The black woman loved Benjamin as he was, and was happy all her life even though her job was to take care of old people.
4) Life sometimes isn't about hard work, it is also about luck and taking chances "Life is determined by the decisions you make, and those you didn't". e.g. The commissioner's wife tried to swim across the English Channel when she was young and ambitious, only to give up because of a storm. When she grew older, her ambitions began to fade away. But when she grew really old, she tried again to swim across and she made it.
5) "I was struck by lightning 7 times in my life." ~ Old man on wheelchair. Interpretation A: Everyone will encounter roughly more or less than 7 disasters in his/her lifetime. Interpretation B: This statement could instead be "I could've been struck by lightning 7 times in my life." Perhaps this old man ever witnessed situations where others were struck, when they were doing very routine or ordinary things, like feeding the cow or getting the mail. He keeps thinking that those people who were struck could've just been him, because he could've just done those routine tasks too, therefore he said that he's just lucky to be alive. The nostalgic lightning 1-second clips and the old people in the nursing home, all serve as teaching material for Benjamin, to take life easy.
1) Life could be good or bad now, but you'll never know what you're going to get. Life is unexpected, life is like the unpredictable storms which kept the whole film running. Life is of storms. e.g. The hurricane which kept changing directions when Benjamin's diary was read aloud by his daughter.
2) Take the chance and do something you like, because in the end, life is emptiness and nothingness - "everyone will end up in diapers". e.g. The commissioner's wife taking the chance to get involved in an affair with Benjamin and had the rendezvous of her life. e.g. Benjamin going on the sailing trip to see the world and thereafter had many of his first experiences.
3) Appreciate everything for what they are - some people are born to make buttons, some dance, some are mothers. Life never goes the way we want it to be, we have to accept things for what they are. e.g. Benjamin was born odd, his father couldn't accept it, didn't love him as he was, thus he led a guilty life and had a sad ending even though he was very rich. The black woman loved Benjamin as he was, and was happy all her life even though her job was to take care of old people.
4) Life sometimes isn't about hard work, it is also about luck and taking chances "Life is determined by the decisions you make, and those you didn't". e.g. The commissioner's wife tried to swim across the English Channel when she was young and ambitious, only to give up because of a storm. When she grew older, her ambitions began to fade away. But when she grew really old, she tried again to swim across and she made it.
5) "I was struck by lightning 7 times in my life." ~ Old man on wheelchair. Interpretation A: Everyone will encounter roughly more or less than 7 disasters in his/her lifetime. Interpretation B: This statement could instead be "I could've been struck by lightning 7 times in my life." Perhaps this old man ever witnessed situations where others were struck, when they were doing very routine or ordinary things, like feeding the cow or getting the mail. He keeps thinking that those people who were struck could've just been him, because he could've just done those routine tasks too, therefore he said that he's just lucky to be alive. The nostalgic lightning 1-second clips and the old people in the nursing home, all serve as teaching material for Benjamin, to take life easy.
The Silence
(2006 TV Movie)
"Okay" for home TV...... (yawn~)
21 April 2007
This definitely is not a movie for a film festival - shows how lousy the board at the Singapore International Film Festival (SIFF) are. The synopsis for this film is very luring, but you'd be very disappointed if you're watching this at a film festival. The Australian High Commissioner made an opening speech before the screening of this show, stressing that the Australian shows picked for the SIFF are all iconic (of Australia). But this is not at all a special show, it's a CSI kind of drama, few rhetorical devices used, no artistic cinematography involved, no meaningful theme involved, therefore not a show for a film festival. I would also not recommend it for a mainstream cinema screening. This film is not exciting enough for entertainment, neither is it intellectual enough for any academically critical review, that's why the low number of reviews here. However, this is an "okay" show for home TV, if you've got nothing to do......
Paheli
(2005)
A most beautiful movie
9 August 2006
This is the most beautiful Hindi movie I have seen so far. Of course, I would still prefer Veer-Zaara and Devdas plot-wise, but the scenery in this film is simply breathtaking. The director does an excellent job in capturing all the picturesque sceneries from all the most suitable angles. The utilisation of the architecture and the colorfulness of the costumes complement the cinematography greatly.
This film is not just about a grand visual experience. The romance theme in it is very commendable as well - the condemnation of "loveless" marriage and the lauding of true love however difficult to attain.
Although surreal, this show is unlike The Lake House, where you would feel a little unacceptable after watching because of its time factor separating Reeves and Bullock, and the love between the 2 not able to project an effect of realness. Paheli is a dream, yet it is so real, or rather, so many of us hope it would happen to us so much.
This film is not just about a grand visual experience. The romance theme in it is very commendable as well - the condemnation of "loveless" marriage and the lauding of true love however difficult to attain.
Although surreal, this show is unlike The Lake House, where you would feel a little unacceptable after watching because of its time factor separating Reeves and Bullock, and the love between the 2 not able to project an effect of realness. Paheli is a dream, yet it is so real, or rather, so many of us hope it would happen to us so much.
Shiver
(2003)
This film isn't worth a low rating even for international standards.
8 January 2006
My wife asked me to watch this film together. When I crawled into the blanket with her, I was a little put off by the sight of a Hong Kong actor (Francis Ng) with a gun in his hands. "It's bound to be a typical HK police-catch-thief movie", I told her, not having seen the title. But after a while, I found that it was the type my wife loves Ghost Movie!!! Although it did not turn out to be purely of that genre, I was impressed by the scene where Athena Chu was brought to a crime scene by her psychotic sense, especially when she was looking down the steps and the murderer holding his victim suddenly flashes past her!!! That was the scariest part I thought, with brilliant cinematography. However, the alternate exchange of scenes of Athena at home and Francis at work prompts viewers to expect a scary scene thereafter. And the building up of tension inside Athena when she tried to switch off the lamps and shut the doors and hide herself under the blanket to bring out the scary scene was easily anticipated. With both good and bad the scary portion has to offer, the thriller side of this movie was pretty well written foreshadows were excellently executed, and "clues" to rescue Athena (especially when Nick Cheung said before he pulled the trigger: "I'm the only one who can save your wife") led viewers to think that only Nick had the key to unlock the chains. It was through the detector's ability to link up all the "clues" and decipher Nick's words that he found the way to save his wife. This film is not action only, instead, it had a very strong theme in love and marriage, emphasized by the words of Athena when she was about to die. Although the cause for Athena's images of the supernatural was later revealed to be hypnotization by Nick, Francis' absence in marriage due to work was existent beforehand and is the key to her psychological vulnerability. Although it can be argued that the last scene explained her inherent psychotic capability, I would prefer to think that Athena was prone to psychotic sense only when her husband ignores her requests to stay with her and their time together should not be interrupted by his job, and this supports the theme of love and marriage of this movie. Overall, this is the best Hong Kong film I have watched so far, and the company of my wife definitely added to my rating of it!!!
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