Archive for February, 2007

The Oscars - some thoughts

Published on 27 February 2007 in Life and Movies. 0 Comments

1) The Departed vs. Infernal Affairs

departed-poster I haven’t watched “The Departed”, and I didn’t expect that it would win the best picture award in Oscars. I thought this award always goes to movies with social and political messages. Though Infernal Affairs was creative and good, it wasn’t particularly appealing to me cos triad movies are not my cup of tea. My impression is that over 50% of HK movies are about triads. Why do movie-makers have to give so much foci on this shrinking group of minority in society? I guess the roots lie in the fact that action movies sell.

InfernalAffairsA German film company bought the DVD rights for Infernal Affairs I & II, but they didn’t sell well here. And this company has therefore not bought the rights for III. No other companies will buy III alone because that means they cannot release a trilogy box set without I & II. It was a sad thing to hear about and I hope the winning of “The Departed” will help boost the sales of Infernal Affairs here and change the decision of the German company in buying Infernal Affairs III as well.

algore2) Al Gore

What would the world be like if he was elected president of USA 9 years ago? Would we still have the Iraq invasion and the mess we have now in Middle East? Apparently his life is more at ease than Bush, since he has probably gained 50 pounds after losing the election. The fight against obesity may be his next project. Climate change is a pressing issue, so is the huge imbalance in the appropriation of food in this world. Half of the American population is obese, and it’s time they cut down their food consumption. Al Gore should consider taking up this challenge, if he’s really not running for presidency.

lives3) The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen)

It was perhaps the most thrilling night for first-time director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck for winning the best foreign language movie, but his German critics are quite doubtful on his success, considering the fact that this film wasn’t even picked to show at Berlinale 2006. Maybe they just think the Oscar is “too good to be true”.

4) The Queen

queenA crisis in her life contributed to the success of another woman. What is ERII thinking now? 10 years ago she was on the verge of being ousted from her post while PM Tony Blair was gaining popularity at her suffering. Now, 10 years later, ERII is still here, the support for her may have restored or even improved with the movie. Tony Blair is the one to be ousted shortly. And soon, the first scene of the movie when the Queen meets a new PM will happen once again to ERII. If I were her I would laugh very cheerfully on that occasion.

Perfume

Published on 23 February 2007 in Books. 0 Comments

Perfume2Logically I should have read this before seeing the movie, but I did it the other way round, and I thought it wasn’t such a bad idea. When I read the rich and gripping descriptions in the book, the movie scenes came into my head which helped me understand the texts much better. But the book narration itself is visually-vivid enough to enable readers to visualise and perceive what is happening. The most unfulfilling feeling after reading the book is, of course, about the scent. So what will a heavenly scent be like?? No matter how descriptive the narration is, a scent can never be imagined.

Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince

Published on 19 February 2007 in Books. 0 Comments

potter6If it’s not because book 7 will be released this July I believe this Book 6 will be still sitting on the shelf. Though the story is imaginative and interesting, I think the whole Harry Potter craze is a bit over-hyped. It seems unclear to me whether the Harry Potter series are actually targetting children or adults. Book 6 portrays an extremely bleak world where everyone lives in fear. The evil is stronger than the good, and the protagonist is filled with hatred, disappointment, sadness and a vengeful heart. Perhaps Rowling is trying to pave her way to become an adult story writer, and to this end she is rather successful.

齊賀金豬年

Published on 18 February 2007 in Life. 0 Comments

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The Lady and the Unicorn

Published on 17 February 2007 in Books. 0 Comments

ladyA historical love novel by Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl with a Pearl Earring. Based on the famous tapestries commissioned by French nobleman Jean Le Viste in the 15th century, the story centred on how this work changed the lives of the painter, the Le Viste family, and the Belgian weavers. Again Chevalier demonstrated her sophisticated ability in combining fiction with minute historical and artistic details, this time about tapestry weaving. I am not quite fond of tapestries but this book successfully enticed my interest in this subject.

The lady and the unicorn tapestries are now housed in Musée de Cluny in Paris.

Berlinale

Published on 14 February 2007 in Germany and Movies. 0 Comments

berlinale

Behind the star-studded glamour on red carpets, there is actually a lot going on at the Berlinale. There is a film competition, a film festival which boasts the largest number of attendees among all similar events, an exhibition of film traders (European Film Forum), and charity-cum-political events (Cinema for Peace) etc. During this time there are endless parties to ensure that party-animals can feast from evenings till dawns.

parkWork brought me to Berlin, though of course I had not a single chance to see any movie. But I was lucky enough to meet some of the more jiaprominent “behind the scene” people in our reception, including Korean director Mr Park Chan Wook (朴贊郁, his work Old Boys 原罪犯 is one of the most conceptually violent movie I’ve watched in recent years). His latest work “I’m a Cyborg, but that’s ok” (再造人之戀, starring Rain) will be premiered in Hong Kong on March 20. Another surprise was the attendance of Jia Zhangke (賈樟柯, youngest Golden Lion (Venice) winner), though I am really ashamed to say that I have never watched his works nor recognised his looks.

The Conquest of Germany

Published on 13 February 2007 in Germany, Life and Travel. 3 Comments

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Time flies. I am back to Germany for a year already. With the help of some literature, intensive travelling and daily interactions with the locals, I have come to understand, bits by bits, about this complicated country.

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The history of Germany, esp. in the medieval period, was extremely complicated. It was part of the Holy Roman Empire and was made up of many small states. In mid-19th century it was unified by Otto von Bismarck. Their defeat in WWI and the subsequent forced acceptance of Treaty of Versailles led to resentment of German people. This together with poor social and economic environment gave rise to Hitler’s Nazi Party which advocated nationalism and militarism. Germany was defeated in 1945, but soon the Cold War began and the country was splitted into two until 1989.

The last century pretty much changed the whole German nation, not just socio-economically, but also in the mentality of the people. The Germans have painstakingly done their best to remedy relationships with other nations after WWII, compensating the victims, and any form of public display of nationalism became a taboo. This could be felt vividly during heated debates of flag waving during World Cup last year.

Regionalism remain strong throughout the country. Almost each big city has their own specialties in beer or sausages. For example, apple wine is a local specialty in Frankfurt but you will never find it in other parts of Germany.

Deutschland is definitely not a preferred tourist destination for HK people. But if you insist to come, I will recommend the following to you:

1) Berlin: It has everything - history, arts, shopping, gourmet, nightlife… suitable for all typical Hong Kongers. If you only have time to visit one German city, make it Berlin.

2) Dresden: Not to be missed by Baroque architecture fans. Wonderful view with cruise on Elbe River.

3) Munich: For Oktoberfest and the fairy-tale Neuschwainstein Schloss (New Swan Castle). For those who have more time they can try driving along the Romantic Road.

4) Black Forest: Best hiking routes and awesome natural sceneries.

Germany is not a place that one will easily fall in love with. It’s bureaucratic, inflexible, inconvenient, and lack any romantic flavour. But after a while, you will start appreciating the orderliness and efficiency. Life sometimes can be simple and good here.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Published on 8 February 2007 in Books. 1 Comment

loudThis book by Jonathan Safran Foer tells about a nine year old boy who lost his father during the 911 attacks. He found a mysterious key left by his father and started the search of the matching lock in New York city. His adventures were intertwined with the painful love story of his grandparents. The book was embellished with evocative graphics, photographs and illustrations etc., making it much more lively and easy to grasp. Every character was in trauma: the child was, the mother was, the grandparents were. Even the people whom the child met during his quest were mostly unhappy with their lives. There was no clue in the book as to how and when their melancholy will end. Time heals, perhaps. But some people never get over a war, a love affair, a person, an accident… There was an abundance of tenderness in the book despite the sad theme.

Nürnberg and the Nazis

Published on 4 February 2007 in Germany and Travel. 1 Comment

Nürnberg witnessed the boom and fall of Nazism. It was chosen by Hitler as the annual party rally base during 1933-1938 where Nazis would gather to “worship” Hitler, listen to his speeches and swear loyalty to him. In fact the rallies were important propaganda event for the Führer (leader) and the party.

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In order to accommodate for half a million Nazi members coming to Nürnberg, plans were made to build a Nazi Party Rally Grounds  (Parteitagsgelände), which included a big field for military parade, a great road, congress centre etc. Some sites were never built and those started were never finished. Today the IMG 3663Documentation Centre Nazi Party Rally Grounds is housed at the north wing of the congress centre, with the exhibition “Faszination und Gewalt” (Fascination and Terror) detailing the history of Nazism. It has a comprehensive audio guide supplemented by a lot of short films and photos.

TriumphPremierLeni Riefenstahl, German actress and director, filmed the Party Rallies on the order of Hitler and made it into a propaganda movie called Triumph of the Will (Triumph des Willens). Clips of this movie could be watched in the Documentation Centre and from it you could tell how massive and grand the rallies were. Most critics agree that Triumph of the Will was probably one of the best propaganda movies made in history. The filming techniques, images and music had been studied and copied by a lot of directors afterwards. (Visit this site to download the movie.)

After the defeat of the Germans in 1945, an international military tribunal was set up to prosecute key Nazi leaders for their crimes against humanity. The famous Nürnberg Trials took place in courtroom 600 of the Nürnberg Palace of Justice. The trials had great influence on subsequent development of international criminal court. Today the courtroom is still in use and can only be visited by guided tours on weekends.

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Nürnberg

Published on 4 February 2007 in Germany and Travel. 0 Comments

Nürnberg, a medieval town city in Bavaria state of Germany, is famous for a few things:

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- the world’s largest toys fair
- Christmas market (the most famous one outside Germany)
- Nürnberger sausages (white and short)
- Lebkuchen (a kind of honey cake often glaced with chocolates)
- Nazi Party Rally Grounds
- Nazi Prozess (the Nazi Trials)