Films that deal with ecology, co-existence between man and nature, and preservation of the earth's environment will be competing for a brand new award, the Toyota Earth Grand Prix.

Opening night of the festival kicks off with John Woo's $80 million historical Chinese war epic Red Cliff, starring Tony Leung. Red Cliff is the most expensive Asian movie ever made, and it broke box office records in China when it opened there this July. A sequel is already set for release in January 2009.

Actor Tony Leung has great range. He broke my heart in the subtle romantic film In the Mood For Love at the Palm Springs International Film Festival a few years ago, but he's equally at home in the thrilling Infernal Affairs trilogy, which was the basis for the Academy Award-winning Leonardo DiCaprio film The Departed.

Director John Woo is best known Stateside for the silly action flick Face/Off starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage.

TIFF's closing night will end with a screening of WALL-E, about the little trash compactor who could. It was one of my faves this year, though I thought the first half of the movie was much stronger than the second half.

Altogether, 300 films from 73 countries will be shown at the fest.

Sarah S.

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From not so great to at a loss for words:

First up, An Empress and the Warriors. Now that is an awkward title, but just the least of all the absurdities. Set at the beginning of the Warring States Period (475 - 221BCE), our story takes place in the kingdom of Yan as they attempt to fend off their rival, the Zhao. The plot revolves around the ascension of the Yan king's daughter, Yan Feier (Kelly Chen), to the throne after his untimely death. She is then trained in the military arts by the king's vanguard, Muyong Xuehu (Donnie Yen), until she ends up lost in the woods after escaping an assassination attempt on her life. There she meets a mysterious doctor, Duan Lanquan (Leon Lai), who she eventually falls in love with and from whom she learns the beauty of the world and the value of peace.

Yeesh. This movie was just too all over the place. The costumes and set pieces were impressive and at times they reminded me of Jet Li's Hero, but the acting was just way off for most of the film that they are an injustice to the visuals. Donnie Yen, who I regard nearly as high as Bruce Lee (and that would be higher than Jet Li), should stick to the modern Hong Kong crime noir he fits perfectly in. The princess was annoying, and so I wasn't surprised to learn that Kelly Chen is a singer-actress -- she was trying very, very hard. And the storytelling was too disjointed for me. The film starts strong but then splinters in midway as the characters get thrown in so many directions. Muyong is one-dimensional, and he wouldn't have been if the film didn't drop him off after forty minutes as it segued into a contrived love story in the forest. Halfway through, the movie felt like two in one -- The Notebook and Braveheart. Braveheart was good, but I didn't even bother with The Notebook.

I've never felt ripped off by a Torrent before. (No wonder there were hardly any seeds.)

Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon really had potential. Action was awesome. Production was pretty good. Story was serviceable. It had the three elements of a summer blockbuster movie, but it was exceedingly dry. Cold. One review used a good word -- canned. For a character-driven film, I didn't feel the character at all. This reminds me of Spider-man 3 where he was up against so much, but you didn't care. Not because you knew he would remain in one piece -- you just didn't care.

And it's a tragedy because Andy Lau, the lead who plays Zhao Zilong, really gave it his all. This is among the best performances I've seen from him, but then again he was too distant. Perhaps what did this film is was the uneven and relentless pace of it all. The film covers a whole thirty years of Zhao's career from a neophyte to the greatest general of all, and yet we barely get any sense of how he was able to go from point A to point B. Just imagine having a Superman film that starts with him escaping Krypton, then the next scene is his debut in Metropolis. He's still iconic and cool, but when he does all those good things he does, it fails to resonate because we didn't get to meet the Kansas farm couple who taught him why to do good. That's pretty much the case with Zhao Zilong here. He handles that spear pretty well, but we never get that sense of why. For a character piece, that's pretty damning.

The next three films all vie for the top spot.

Central Asia is beautiful.

The problem with me is that when a film is bad, there are so many ways to skin it. When a film is good, it's the opposite. I run out of things to say. But I'm pretty clear where I stand with Mongol. It's probably one of the best movies I've ever seen and it does for Genghis Khan what Batman Begins did with Batman -- and I worship Chris Nolan's vision. Ordinary viewers will get a sense of this film's gravitas and epic proportions, but critics will see through all that and call out all the storytelling cheats this movie had to make. For instance, the last twenty minutes of the film could be expanded to at least an hour.

The road Temujin traveled to become Khan is arduous, but when it finally happens we get a first person narrative. Then there is that other matter with a plot device used in the final third of the film involving a monk and showing Temujin as a man of character -- their plot gets resolved with a written epilogue in the end. I read somewhere that this movie is only the first of a trilogy. I still hope it happens. Perhaps then it can begin literally where this one ends, and follow that cinematic mantra, "Show, don't tell."

But my real beef with Mongol is something I just can't turn off when watching a historical epic. The movie is just too historically inaccurate for a biopic of Genghis Khan. While we can argue that we scarcely have any sources, we at least go by what scholarship has considered to be the defining account, The Secret History of the Mongols. Apparently the Russian director, Sergei Bordov, had to go with other sources -- allegedly copies of The Secret History translated in Russian -- but this just doesn't explain all the liberties he had to take. So as a forewarning to all friends, family and students I may see this with, shut me up early or I will ruin this film for you. I can just imagine how annoying it would be for someone to say "that didn't really happen" while it just did on screen.

Then again I just slot this film under the banner of "historical fiction" and we're good to go. But for all those looking for that defining moment in his youth when he dealt with his brother Bekter, look elsewhere... but I digress.

Kuri Obi (Black Belt) falls in the category of "at a loss for words" but let me say a thing or two. I've fallen out of love with Japan over the past years. I started teaching Asian history with a deep interest in Japan but that faded as I branched out to South Asia and the Middle East. With regards to films, I've gotten deeper entrenched in the Hong Kong/China axis and never really got around to fancy Kurosawa, et al.

But this film just makes everything so current for me. Kuro Obi is a story about Karate. That's it. The story couldn't be any more simpler than two students under one master following their own separate paths, until they meet once again to discover who is truly deserving of their master's black belt. Taikan, the elder and more senior, searched out for strong opponents so he could prove his mastery of the art. Giryu, the younger and more modest, went down a path he did not choose and is every bit characteristic of his kata -- effortless and yielding to the fates. The film is so Japanese in its minimalism, yet it's portions of action and fight choreography are generous enough to showcase Karate in a beauty I've never seen before.

Reviews call this "the thinking man's martial arts movie." Within it is a majesty I haven't seen since Hero, and maybe not even since then.

Red Cliff is better than I have ever imagined. I realize that "better" doesn't really betray how outstanding this film is, but it's a word that keeps me from sounding like a screaming prepubescent fangirl.

Be clear that this is a big budget, blockbuster movie. This is not trying to win points for sophistry or sophistication but it actually can. This is a John Woo movie and I recall that he directed one of my favorite movies of all time: Face/Off. And with nothing but The Romance of Three Kingdoms to work with, this film is set up to be China's The Lord of the Rings. Well, it already is -- in two respects.

First, is that it is epic cannot be said enough. It just has to be seen. But second, it is just the first film in two, and thus a lot of the characters and plots have yet to be paid off. While there are a lot of characters to look out for and not all can even come close to Chow Yun Fat's Li Mu Bai from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon -- save perhaps for Tony Leung's Zhou Yu -- this film promises enough for us to wait for the second installment coming in January 2009.

I'll pass my final judgment then but from what I've seen, this is shaping up to sit on top of my favorites list for a long time to come.

Lust, Caution (2007): 5/5

The title says it all, really. In order to indulge in the former, they must give up being the latter, and in doing so we are thrown into a dark drama / espionage thriller. Set in WWII-era in Shanghai, a young college student gets mixed in a myriad of emotions with powerful political figure Mr. Yee (Tony Leung).

I had the pleasure of seeing this movie yesterday without knowing anything about its plot, and to those who are about to see it well, keep it that way in case you haven't spoiled it for yourself yet. What got me was the strange iffy relationship between Mak tai tai (i am so forgetful of their names in the movie haha) and Mr. Yee..,it's so dangerously wrong but you can't overlook the subtle sweetness in it. it's not a movie about endless trysts, nor is Lust, Caution a period flick. It straddles the fence between negative emotions of hate, lust, anger, frustration and sprinkles them all with excellent cinematography and a brilliant score. A rarity, this is!

Barbie Hsu explained that she would love to have a collaboration with Andy Lau and Tony Leung, she said "It would be great if we can be husband and wife." Barbie also explained that she would choose Andy as her husband. she made a statement saying "I feel that he would protect his wife, Tony is romantic, suitable to be a boyfriend."

Ashes of Time Redux

GRADE: A
Director: Wong Kar Wai
Cast: Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Maggie Cheung, Brigiette Lin, Tony Leung Chiu Wai
Rated R for some violence.
Runtime: 93 min.
Release company: Sony Pictures Classics
www.sonyclassics.com/ashesoftimeredux

To be released Oct. 10, 2008.

You don't often encounter films with the breadth of Ashes of Time Redux, films which function as enhanced narratives that aspire to the level of fables or myths.  1994’s original Ashes of Time was the first film put out by Wong Kar Wai’s newly christened Jet Tone Productions, and it was during a two month break in Ashes’ production that Wong and his ideal cinematographer, Christopher Doyle, shot the lark that became Chungking Express – and without intending to disparage his subsequent works, I suggest that 1994 is the best year of Wong’s career.

In China there is an esoteric genre called Jianghu that has steadily seeped into international regard and popularity, Jianghu films being, basically, ancient fantasy martial arts stories – perhaps you’d recognize Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Hero as the most accessible of these to American audiences.  Ashes’ story comes from Louis Cha’s Jianghu novel, The Eagle-Shooting Heroes.  Starting with two 70 year old legendary characters and working backwards, Wong presents Ashes as a series of vignettes which detail the meaty middle years of these two characters before time would remember them in its own way.  Main character Leslie Cheung plays the future Lord of the West, now in his mid-30’s, utterly jaded and withering away in the desert, hiring out wandering warriors to others in need of a little force (he’s kind of a ‘producer’).  Four notable passersby make up the tales of Ashes: old loner friend and future Lord of the East (Tony Leung Ka Fai), a heartbroken brother/sister [sic] who almost stabs herself in the back,  Yin/Yang (Brigitte Lin), the soon-to-be eponymous blind samurai (Tony Leung Chiu Wai), and a rash, indefatigable young warrior (Jacky Cheung) whose exuberance touches even the jaded man.  Said jaded man confines himself to watching time pass around him, trapped in his memories of the love that was lost (Maggie Cheung) because of pride.  Ever the romantic, Wong’s characters see little of the world beyond their own hearts.

Ashes of Time Redux restores the original film print to the highest quality that was possible from the original - which, while not perfect, is very, very pretty.  The original 2nd rate synth score was rearranged and recorded, and a few scenes were shot and added, including digital titles.  7 minutes have been shaved from the length of the original due to lost footage - despite that, Redux feels perfectly concise.  As Wong favors it, the film's action is generally filmed at a low shutter speed, creating frenetic blurs of fury and superhuman combat that, frankly, are almost impossible to follow.  Clearly that isn't the point - the "idea of violence" is meant to be transferred to the audience.  Ashes of Time was an adaptation and a reinvention; Ashes does to the Jianghu genre what Wong's touch does to most products – sensualizes and melodramaticizes.  I found Ashes to be possibly his best work because of the scope involved in the telling of the story… but that’s just because the minutiae alone are not enough to sustain my interest – ironically, Wong’s contribution to film is inarguably his singular brand of ‘minutiae sight.’

But ‘minutiae sight’ is a process, a formula, not a story.  Perhaps this is why Wong’s films get old once you know what to expect.  Incidentally, Ashes is narrative unlike most films you’d see, and regarding your understanding of the product, it really helps to know the sort of film you’re getting into before it starts.  It’s a very singular flavor that most Americans are not prepared for.  Prep by viewing the trailer, at the least.

Wong’s technique of filmmaking is highly instinctual; he feels his way through a situation, a script, a story.  In that sense, Wong was at his freshest when he was young and enterprising.  International acclaim and the luxury of time have relaxed him – inevitably – and the questions that drove him into the business, the strong questions, have been dealt with.  Now Wong must adapt and evolve his technique and the nature of his stories if he is to continue improving as a filmmaker.  Regarding his current aesthetic, he peaked in 1994 and has expounded on and formalized that technique ever since.  My Blueberry Nights proved that this technique is growing stale.  The Lady From Shanghai (no relation to the original) will be next.

Hero is a staggeringly beautiful film, drenched in earthy colors and supple textures. This is less an action movie and more akin to a ballet with characters soaring through the air, defying gravity and moving with incredible grace. So don't get me wrong - I admire Hero enormously for its visual flair and superb choreography. It's just I also found it a hollow experience emotionally.

Set over 2,000 years ago in a China that was still divided into warring states, Zhang Yimou's Hero tells the story of a nameless warrior who arrives at the court of the head of the Qin dynasty. This nameless warrior presents the King with the swords of three of his greatest enemies - the assassins Broken Sword, Flying Snow and Long Sky - and is asked to tell the story of how he killed each of them.

The nameless warrior is played by Jet Li and is thrilling in the film's action sequences but stuggles in the quieter moments. This is not Li's fault, rather it is a problem intrinsic to a character who will not reveal his identity or his nature to the film's other central character, the King. Nameless, personality-less characters are all very well, but it is hard to establish an emotional connection with one.

Fortunately the accounts the nameless warrior gives are far more intriguing than the framework narrative in which they are presented. There are several accounts of precisely how the nameless warrior came by each of the weapons, with distinctive color palettes and textures.

Several moments are staggeringly, memorably beautiful. I defy anyone to view this film and not be impressed by the use of water in a fight scene set in a chess house or to marvel at a gorgeous scene filled with falling reddish leaves as a character lies dying. Not to mention an incredible sequence where arrows rain down on a calligraphy school.

These sequences also feature two other important characters, Broken Sword and Flying Moon. Unlike the nameless warrior, they are more fleshed out with clearer motivations. Their relationship is the only emotional hook that really stuck with me, unfolding slowly with each retelling of events.

After the nameless warrior gives his account of how he acquired the swords, the King of Qin challenges his account, dissecting it and presenting his own version. Predictably critics have compared this to Kurosawa's Rashomon yet the similarities are only superficial. Yes, both films feature unreliable narrators but Hero fails to sustain its central mystery and has a clear conclusion.

Perhaps the other significant difference is that whereas Rashomon's themes are philosophical, Hero's seem more political. Despite the King of Qin being portrayed as a warmonger and a despot, the film argues that it is better for the country to be unified under a brutal dictator than divided into factions. A nationalist tone that makes me uneasy when I think about China's status in the world today. It made me wonder if the intention of the film is to argue that it is better for a country to be strong than to be concerned with rights and freedoms. Not a message I am all that comfortable with.

However Hero's politics and themes cannot detract from the scale its achievements. Its visuals are vivid and memorable and the film is well-cast, although it does not make the most of Jet Li as an actor. I may not be entirely comfortable with what the film's apparent messages but it is impossible not to be affected by the lush cinematography or the film's beautiful costumes and sets.

Everyone is familiar with the conventions of the Hollywood film narrative. This isn’t a reason not to study Hollywood – or to take the conventions for granted. Hollywood, as befits the dominant institution in cinema across the world, is highly dynamic and constantly evolving in terms of film narrative. However, it is often difficult to analyse the films you know best. It helps to have some ‘distance’ from the films we study and one way to do this is to study some films that are ‘not Hollywood’ in order to make comparisons. Often by ‘comparing and contrasting’ similar films from different systems we notice much more about them than if we looked at only one system.

Hero is a film that is recognisable as a traditional Chinese genre, first from literature and then from cinema. The wu xia pian or ‘martial chivalry film’ has gone through several cycles of popularity in the cinemas of the ‘three Chinas’ (‘mainland China’, Hong Kong and Taiwan) since the early 1950s. The genre has been affected by events outside China, not least the worldwide success of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (US/China/Taiwan/Hong Kong 2000). The director of Crouching Tiger was Ang Lee, a Chinese-American who made the film as a tribute to the films he had enjoyed as a child in Taiwan.

Hero could not have been made on the scale (i.e. with the budget) that is apparent on screen without the success of Crouching Tiger. Although Hero has a Chinese director, Zhang Yimou, he is known in the West for his ‘art films’, most of which have been melodramas – not ‘action films’ in the Western sense. The four big stars of Hero are divided into two who are widely known for ‘non-action’ roles in Hong Kong Cinema (Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung) and two genuine martial arts stars who have moved from Hong Kong to Hollywood (Jet Li and Donnie Yen). Because of these ‘global considerations’ and the backgrounds of the individuals concerned, Hero could not be a straight ‘martial chivalry’ picture – and this means it will have found different audiences, who will have ‘read’ the film in different ways.

Narrative Structure
Hero uses the narrative device known as a ‘flashback’. The film starts in the present (a ‘present’ 2,200 years ago) and then Nameless begins to tell his story, allowing narrative time to be ‘re-wound’. But there is a twist since it becomes apparent that Nameless may not be a reliable narrator. He is prompted by the King to remember things differently, so that we experience some of the same events twice with different outcomes as the stories are re-told. Towards the end of the film, the narrative returns to the present and in this final sequence we experience events in parallel – what is happening to Nameless in the palace and what is happening to Broken Sword and Flying Snow in the mountains.

This kind of narrative structure is not unique, although it is unusual. It fits a genre set in a ‘pre-industrial society’ where there are no cameras or audio recorders, no ‘evidence’ of what happened. It is part of an ‘oral tradition’ where people tell stories and within a wu xia it works because one aspect of a duel between warriors is ‘sizing up’ an opponent. Defeating an enemy is not all about action. It also involves psychology and out-thinking an enemy. Interestingly, one of the most famous films that used a similar structure was Rashômon (Japan 1950) – a film which director Zhang has referred to as an influence. Rashômon is set in 12th century Japan where a man is murdered and his wife raped. The accused is allowed to tell his story, which is very different from the wife’s. Then he changes his story and a witness gives a fourth version. The film raises the question “what is truth”. In Hero we get at least three different narrators. Nameless begins the story, but is then interrupted by the King and later by Broken Sword, both of whom recount their own experiences which Nameless would not necessarily know.

The different versions of events in Hero refer to an assassination plot (and a great romance) but the film does seem to end with a ‘resolution’. Nameless dies a hero’s death and Flying Snow dies with Broken Sword dead in her arms. China is eventually unified. But is this the end of the ‘story’? Because of the history of the writer-director and the nature of the wu xia genre, what do we take away from the story? Are we confident that the second version of events is more truthful than the first?

Questions of colour, cinematography etc.
The writer-director of Hero, Zhang Yimou, trained as a cinematographer in the Beijing Film School and emerged in the early 1980s as one of the ‘Fifth Generation’ of Chinese filmmakers. Several of the filmmakers from this period became famous around the world as their films received screenings overseas and won prizes at festivals. In the late 1980s China emerged from a long period of isolation from the rest of the world and many of the films seen in the West were interpreted as saying something about the history of China under Mao Zedong in the 1950s to 1970s – not directly, but by means of metaphor.

Zhang Yimou began as a cinematographer and then moved on to become a director. He quickly established a reputation as a director with enormous visual flair and in particular, the use of colour. At the beginning of his directing career he made three ‘period melodramas’, Red Sorghum (1987), Ju Dou (1990) and Raise the Red Lantern (1991). Ju Dou was set in a dye-works and you can probably work out from the other two titles that ‘red’ figures strongly in these films. All the films are very carefully ‘composed’ and controlled, so that each image is almost like an art photograph. At the centre of each image is a very beautiful woman, played in each case by Gong Li. In his last few films, Zhang has used his new protégé, Zhang Ziyi, who in Hero plays Moon.

A cinematographer who rivals Zhang Yimou for visual style in East Asian cinema is Chris Doyle. Although Australian by birth, Doyle settled in Hong Kong to learn his trade and became associated with the films of Wong Kar-Wai. Through this connection, he, like Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, gained a profile in the West. Doyle has been a very ‘experimental’ cinematographer pushing forward the boundaries of what can be achieved on film. The combination of Zhang and Doyle was bound to be special in some way. Complementing the two is Tan Dun, the composer of the score for Crouching Tiger, but generally not a prolific composer for cinema, being known in China and internationally for his symphonic work for the concert hall. The score uses traditional instruments and chants, but is also carefully mixed with sound effects, e.g. in the fight between Nameless and Sky, the sound of rain, the clatter of the blind musician’s stick, the clash of metal when sword meets spear etc.

Colour
Zhang Yimou’s previous work is relevant to an understanding of Hero, simply because it sets up an expectation that the colours in the films design will in some way have a political message. There are five sequences where a colour either predominates are is made ‘significant’ in a scene:

• The King of Qin’s palace is grey/black, enlivened only by splashes of red. This forms the beginning and the end of the story and the overall feel of this sequence extends into the first fight between Nameless and Sky;
• Red dominates the first version of the story by Nameless in which he describes the calligraphy school, the attack by the Qin army, the stabbing of Broken Sword and the subsequent fight between Flying Snow and Moon;
• Blue becomes the colour for the second version of the story;
• Green is the colour for the story that Nameless doesn’t necessarily know since it covers the first meeting of Broken Sword and Flying Snow and also the failed assassination attempt;
• White is the final colour, dominating the deaths of Flying Snow and Broken Sword and alternating with the black sequences back in the palace.

What meanings might we give to each of these uses of colour? Zhang Ziyi only appears in the scenes away from the palace so she doesn’t appear in the ‘black’ scenes. In an interview she gave this response to a question about the other four colours:

. . . Hero uses the four colours, Red, Green, Blue and White, to tie in four different segments of the story. On the other hand, each of them also contains a different story. Green is the representation of reminiscing, blue is the struggle among the three of them [Nameless, Broken Sword and Flying Moon]. The layout is unique; it’s unlike traditional wu xia films. It has quite a bit of artistic love story. In addition, Hero is not a typical wuxia movie – its main theme is in no way the same as the past wuxia films, which are mostly about the seeking of vengeance or vying for the ultimate martial arts manual that leads to endless fights and killings. It is about the love and compassion of the heroes of the world, their magnanimity, and has a kind of international spirit. The costumes in Hero are also very special: one character, one design, and there are four different colours. I feel that it’s something very modern, in as much as being avant-garde. (www.wu-jing.org/News/M01/2002-01-Zhang-Ziyi-Hero.php)

And here is Zhang Yimou in another interview with IndieWire magazine:

IW: How did you come up with the color changes in the film: red, white, blue and green?
ZY: Hero is not a traditional martial arts movie. It’s very structurally presented. I like Rashômon, and thought I could use different colors to represent different parts in the movie.
IW: Why those particular colors, red, white and blue?
ZY: There’s no particular meaning to each color. I just needed the colors to represent . . .
IW: Points of view.
ZY: Yes, yes. Each color represents a different period and different [way of telling the] story . . . (www.indiewire.com/people/people_040827hero.html)

Zhang suggests that there is no relationship between the particular colour and what happens in the sequence. Perhaps we should be suspicious of any director who makes this kind of statement (he could be ‘playing’ with the interviewer, or perhaps he was just bored). Even if Zhang did not consciously choose a colour, we as the audience will respond to colours differently. Red is most often associated with ‘passion’ and ‘danger’. This is true in every society – red is the colour of blood. It has a further meaning in China where it could be a reference to the victory of communism. Blue is often a cold colour associated with water, whereas green is often associated with calm. White is slightly problematic since in some cultures it relates to purity and in others to death. White is the colour of mourning clothes in many parts of Asia.

If you want some more ideas about what the possible meanings of the colours might be, a detailed discussion is available on this website: www.spcnet.tv/movie/hero/movie_hero.shtml This review raises many interesting points about the mise en scène of Hero. Author R. Hu suggests that it bears all the signs of Zhang Yimou’s approach to mise en scène: “the use of water, blood red colours, pigments, drapes/fabric, aerial shots and box-like architectures”.

The palace of Qin is a good example of the ‘enclosing architecture’ (Zhang has said that he chose black to represent the Qin Dynasty), as is the interior of the calligraphy school. Contrast this with the ‘open’ exteriors, in particular the lake and the desert. Hu’s review is very long and detailed and it is only possible to highlight some of the points here, but you might like to consider:

The King of Qin’s version of the story which is shown in blue and has a strong circular motif (think of the circle of library scrolls within which Nameless performs the trick with the cup). This is repeated but with a subtly altered mise en scène in the white sequences. The circle represents the king’s view of strength and unity and blue is suggested as the colour of imagination (this is how the king would like the story to have unfolded?).

A great deal seems to hang on the ‘excess’ of water and the contrasting drought in the desert scenes. How many times does water seem to be important? When Broken Sword first meets Flying Snow it is by a waterfall, when Nameless fights Sky it is teeming with rain. When are the other times that water is featured?

“Although much is said about the various colour themes in this film, yet many do not similarly acknowledge the distinct construction of the mise en scène belonging to the various colour schemes. From the box-like enclosure of the Black/Grey sequences, we move into the disjunctive and disunited labyrinth of the Red sequence that contrasts with the perfect unity of the Blue sequence, the fluidity of the Green sequence and the vast expansions of drought and negative space of the desert scenes in the White sequence. The final moments of the film brings the viewers back full circle into the coffin-like confinement of the Black/Grey sequence which begins the film. Yet interestingly, the final shot of the movie is that of the Great Wall of China which though is a wall meant to exclude and confine, yet nevertheless expands into the distance so far, its end is that of which cannot be perceivable by the naked eye.”

Narrative resolution
The reactions of audiences towards the film in the West (it is more difficult to assess what they might be in China) often contrast what they perceive as a technically brilliant film with a rather disturbing political message. The ‘hero’ is a man who sacrifices himself to allow the King of Qin to unify the warring states and establish the Chinese Empire. This does not go down well in the West and many commentators have criticised Zhang Yimou who in the past has been both praised and damned for the assumed political messages of his films (equally, but in the opposite way, in Beijing and Washington). Much of the debate hinges on the final text that appears on the screen. In the Miramax version in the West it says ‘Our Land’, but Chinese scholars have suggested that the Chinese script actually means ‘under heaven’ or ‘the world’. Is the act of sacrifice that Nameless makes for ‘Chinese’ people or for all people?

It might be helpful to consider the importance of all the emphasis on the calligraphy and the symbol of the sword in the film. This importance comes from Broken Sword. Who is the real ‘hero’ of the film? Is it Nameless who certainly seems to be the main protagonist? Is it the King of Qin who creates the Empire of China? Or is it Broken Sword, from whom the whole idea of sacrificing oneself for the ‘greater good’ comes? It might be worth exploring what you think is the purpose of the love story between Broken Sword and Flying Snow and how this relates to the resolution of the film’s narrative.

Genre
If we want to understand the complexity and depth of the filmic narrative, it is essential that we know something about the genre elements in the film and what these might mean in terms of the expectations of the audience.

Hero has been described as a ‘wu xia pian’. Mandarin and English are different kinds of language and therefore translations are open to interpretations. We will work with a translation that suggests ‘martial arts chivalry film’. Such films are not well-known in the West with only Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Zhang’s follow-up film to Hero, House of Flying Daggers (2004) getting any kind of wide release. Western audiences are aware, however, of more contemporary martial arts films from Hong Kong, such as those of Bruce Lee in the 1970s and Jackie Chan in more recent times. Also, many audiences are familiar with the choreography of martial arts as it has been imported into Hollywood action films – everything from The Matrix trilogy to the Charlie’s Angels films.

Wu xia is a distinct genre and the martial arts ‘action’ is located in a period setting and in the context of specific conflicts related to the honor codes of the warriors. This means that:

• the films are rooted in the specific cultural context of pre-modern China;

however

• the repertoire of these films will share certain elements with similar genres in other cultures, e.g. the chanbara or ‘swordfight’ film from Japan and the ‘swashbuckler'/musketeers/knights tales from Europe and America. There could also be links to westerns and gangster films – those in which a notion of honour, loyalty and responsibility are important.

The important cultural roots in China mean that the actions of ‘warriors’ in wu xia are linked to forms of philosophy and traditions of training which involve apprentices and masters (so that in Hero, Broken Sword is attempting to master calligraphy and marry it to his swordfighting skills and Moon is his apprentice/page etc.). Warriors recognise each other according to the ‘schools’ which have trained them and will often remark on the quality of skills demonstrated. Other elements include:

• ‘super powers’ – warriors are able to leap high and long and to hang in the air, their swordplay is more accurate and swifter than seems possible and they can defeat whole armies of lesser warriors;
• related to these super powers, wu xia may also involve other fantasy elements including witchcraft, ghosts, out of body experiences etc.
• the contests between warriors often take place in a specific location, away from the fictional world of mere mortals – often in a world of mountains, rivers, lakes and forests (jiang hu)
• jiang hu is often in a state of ‘chaos’, caused by wars or corrupt officials who have recruited warriors to do evil things – the good warriors therefore have a mission to restore the balance in jiang hu and the ‘real world’
• the mission may focus on some form of lost sacred object, often a scroll, a sword etc.
• narratives will often focus on a hero with a mission who has to overcome some form of disability (thus blind or one-armed swordsmen are not uncommon);
• families or ‘surrogate’ relationships are important, so that the son or daughter of a warrior may follow a parent into training;
• the tradition of female warriors is not new and can be traced back to 1920s cinema in China (see Reynaud 2003). The modern female warrior possibly dates from an important Taiwanese film directed by King Hu, A Touch of Zen (1971).

Looking through this list of elements it is clear that Hero does use several elements from the repertoire.

• male and female warriors (Nameless, Sky, Broken Sword and the King), Flying Snow and Moon, all except the King with ‘super’ powers;
• there is a sense of jiang hu in the location of significant duels at the lake and in the forest etc.;
• there is a sense of ‘chaos’ – arguably created by the King’s initial actions and then the hatred and revenge engendered in Nameless and Flying Snow in particular;
• the focus on calligraphy is strong and Broken Sword’s mission to bring swordsmanship and brushwork together is a driving force in the narrative.

However, as the filmmakers have indicated, Hero is not a ‘pure’ or traditional wu xia. There are other elements that are important. The romance between Broken Sword and Flying Snow is essential to an understanding of the narrative. The questioning of the love of one for the other, the ‘tests’ of love, the anger and jealousy at suspected betrayal etc. are all elements from the love story. (Even if the jealousy was not ‘true’, it still features as an element.) These elements don’t invalidate an approach to the film as wu xia, instead they make it a richer and more complex text because they are essential in any reading of the narrative.

References and Further Reading
David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson (1997, 5th edition) Film Art, London and New York: McGraw Hill
Gill Branston and Roy Stafford (2002, 3rd ed) The Media Student’s Book, London: Routledge
Nick Lacey (1998) Image and Representation, London: Macmillan
Nick Lacey (2000) Narrative and Genre, London: Macmillan
Sharon Lin Tay (2004) Review in Sight & Sound, October

The explication of basic concepts in genre offered in this pack is extended in the resources pack on Key Concepts: Genre published by BFI Education Projects and itp publications in 2001.

Websites
http://www.heroic-cinema.com/eric/xia.html
http://members.tripod.com/~journeyeast/wuxia_pian.html (David Bordwell)
http://www.kungfucinema.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuxia
http://www.spcnet.tv/movie/hero/movie_hero.shtml
http://www.monkeypeaches.com/hero/interview01.html
http://www.wu-jing.org/News/M01/2002-01-Zhang-Ziyi-Hero.php
http://www.indiewire.com/people/people_040827hero.html
http://www.cinedrama.de/LFNY/lfny1.htm
http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/03/26/sexual_politics_chinese_martial_arts.html (Reynaud)

Essay or discussion questions on Hero

1. How is the art of calligraphy represented in the film? Which of the characters is most associated with calligraphy and what is it that they do?

2. What is the role of the character Moon in the film’s narrative? What does she do and how significant is her role?

3. How strong is the love between Flying Snow and Broken Sword – how is this love represented?

4. How would you describe the ‘quest’ or ‘mission’ that drives the narrative of Hero?

5. List the main sequences in Hero according to the dominant colours (of costume, decor etc.). How would you explain the difference between the red, blue and green sequences?

6. How many of the ‘genre elements’ of wu xia have you seen being used in Hollywood films? Select one or two examples and explain how the same elements might be shared by Chinese cinema and Hollywood – and how they might be used differently.

7. How would you describe the King of Qin? Is he a sympathetic character or is he a villain? What kinds of evidence do you take into account in your decision?

8. There are several fight scenes in the film. How does the director attempt to make each fight different so that we don’t become bored?

9. How is sound used in the film? Are there moments you remember when a particular sound or passage of music is essential to understanding what is happening? Or does sound always simply support the image?

10. Why do you think water plays such an important part in several of the fight scenes?

The thing about death is that it’s so final. And the thing about the death of someone else is the absence. First the person was there, then he or she isn’t anymore. There was a warm physical being who could laugh and cry, and then there’s a void. That’s what makes death sad.

I feel sorry for the Tony Leung character more than the Tang Wei character.  I am assuming that this is the general sentiment. And I’m saying this not because I’m biased towards the actor, but because his character was so alone. He loved her and perhaps at some point he might have realised that she loved him too, and that’s why she told him to run, but he didn’t have a choice but to put her to death, and then he had to live with her absence. And what kind of existence did he lead anyway? It’s no wonder that the Chinese government deemed the movie unpatriotic as this traitor was actually a very sympathetic character. Tony Leung is an amazing actor. Anyone who takes his or her job seriously will be able to relate to his character’s dedication and work stress, and that is while being aware that he’s doomed from the start coz his side is definitely losing. He’s a tragic anti-hero.

Absence is the scariest thing. The absence of a loved one; for me personally, the absence of God. That, I think, is the worst feeling. Absence makes the heart grow fonder is a load of crap. Just ask my dog.

Freitag, 22.08.08 | 23.55 - 01.30 | ZDF

(Infernal Affairs 2 - Mittwoch, 27.08.08 | 00.20 - 02.10 | ORF 1)

Ein spannendes Drama rund um zwei tragische Helden, die jeweils auf der anderen Seite des Gesetzes Maulwurf und Polizist zugleich sind: Seit zehn Jahren arbeitet Yan (Tony Leung) als Polizeispitzel im Umfeld des Triadenbosses Sam (Eric Tsang), sein gleichaltriger Kollege Ming (Hongkong Superstar Andy Lau) macht als Informant für Sam und mit dessen Hilfe im Polizeiapparat Karriere. Beide führen parallele Leben, beide sind ihrer Rollen überdrüssig, doch hoffnungslos in ihnen gefangen. Furioser Auftakt der Trilogie, der Martin Scorsese als Vorlage für "The Departed" diente.

Wong Kar Wai

2004

Tony Leung, Li Gong, Faye Wong, Ziyi Zhang

2046 es la tercera parte de una serie que comienza Kar Wai con la película "Days of being wild" (estrenada en 1991), y que fue sucedida por "Deseando Amar". Así, 2046 retrata la continuación de la vida amorosa del personaje principal Chow Mo-wan (Leung). En esta ocasión, él se ha convertido en un exitoso escritor de periódico, en donde relata historias de ciencia ficción, que son reflejo de sus propias experiencias.

Durante el desarrollo de la película es posible ver un desfile exhaustivo de personajes (la mayoría femeninos) que se involucran sentimental, física, intempestiva o esporádicamente con el personaje principal. 

Es posible ver a lo largo de la cinta, la vida de excesos, desequilibrios, y soledad del personaje principal, que se ve amparado bajo la sombra de su profesión y sus anhelos.

Así, 2046 es una película que habla sobre el amor, pero no sobre aquel que es duradero y factible... sino sobre aquel que llega a destiempo, ese que no funciona porque "no es el momento".

Todo eso se ve reflejado en diversos detalles de la película:

• para empezar su extensión, que sin querer se vuelve un juego para el espectador... cuando parece que ya se ha terminado, continúa... cuando crees que ya no aparecerá nadie más... aparece
• los cambios constantes de velocidad... eso es un juego del tiempo, de la idea de la permanencia y el deseo de que "este momento no se termine jamás".
• El juego entre la realidad y la ciencia ficción... que refleja el "presente" de la película entremezclándose con el futuro (de la historia que escribe Chow). 
• El mismo año 2046
• La sensación del tiempo reflejada en el día que parece noche y la noche que parece día

[audio http://fayewongtoday.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/lau-fei-fei-with-tony-1994.mp3]

(added to YouTube by whiteboardsandy 14 Aug 2008)

]]> http://inn33dfr33dom.wordpress.com/?p=615 Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:50:23 +0000 inn33dfr33dom http://inn33dfr33dom.pt-br.wordpress.com/2008/08/06/tony-leung-chiu-wai-weds-carina-lau/ Wedding Venue: 29-room Uma Paro,Bhutan.

Wedding Cost: HK$30mil

Wedding Meal: HK$1mil nine-course feast which include lobsters, caviar, oysters and matsutake mushrooms. Prepared by a three-Michelin-star chef flown in from The Oriental Hotel Bangkok.

Wedding cake: Five-tier cake jetted from The Oriental Hotel Bangkok.

Mementos: Necklaces blessed by the Karmapa Lama and chopsticks engraved with the couple’s initials, T and C.

Click here for full report.

lov3 m3,n33d m3,want m3 and fr33 m3

Other than the fact that it's based significantly on the Chinese story of the Three Kingdoms, Red Cliff is your typical epic movie. I estimated that 40% of the scenes are on the battle field and 30% didn't make any sense to me. I spent a lot time waiting for the 300-like battle scenes to end and the plot to progress. This is a very long time spent considering how long the movie was. I'm even more surprised to find that I've only watched Part I.

Despite my distaste with the prolonged fight scenes, I really liked this movie. The cast is wonderful, again the male roles dominating the female. Tony Leung from Lust, Caution playing a convincing and admirable general. Takeshi Kaneshiro (金城 武) previously appearing in House of Flying Daggers is Zhuge Liang, a cunning strategist for the good guys. As for the villain, Cao Cao (I italicize villain since Cao Cao is a hero in other stories, it's just for this movie that he is the villain), Zhang Fengyi does a great job portraying his passion and his heartlessness.

As for the females: the production crew managed to make Lin Chi Ling, a famous Taiwanese model, look like your average girl, and Zhao Wei's hairstyle and dress make her look twice her age! I won't go into more details about the characters or the plot (which you can read below) since I don't have a great grasp on all that history. I do question how western audiences will be able to distinguish the two battling sides! The men, except for Zhuge Liang, all dress in dark armor and the flags carry Chinese characters. Not to the mention a plethora of minor characters who appear randomly on the battle field.

Lastly, I couldn't help notice the resemblance between the set for the Red Cliff and the many strongholds in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, especially the one that was under siege. Please excuse my lack of LOTR trivia knowledge.

See English Trailer

Watch the entire movie on Crunchyroll! With English Subtitles too!

Interesting facts:

• Director John Woo said in an interview with CCTV-6 that the film will use primarily the historical record Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms as a blueprint for the Battle of Red Cliffs, rather than the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. As such, traditionally vilified characters such as Cao Cao and Zhou Yu will be given a more historically accurate treatment in the film.

• Red Cliff is to be released in two parts totaling over four hours in length, with the first part premiering in July 2008 and the second in January 2009. Outside of Asia, a single 2½ hour film will be released in January 2009.

• With an estimated budget of US$80 million, Red Cliff is the most expensive Asian-financed film to date. (Source)

Basic Historical Background

In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minster Cao Cao convinced the fickle Emperor Han the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms of Xu in the west and East Wu in the south. Thus began a military campaign of unprecedented scale, led by the Prime Minister, himself. Left with no other hope for survival, the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu formed an unlikely alliance. Numerous battles of strength and wit ensued, both on land and on water, eventually culminating in the battle of Red Cliff. During the battle, two thousand ships were burned, and the course of Chinese history was changed forever. (Source)

Plot of Episode 1

The film opens with a scene in the Imperial Court of the Han Dynasty in Xuchang in the summer AD 208. The Prime Minister Cao Cao requests for the Emperor Xian's permission to launch a campaign against the warlords Liu Bei and Sun Quan in southern China, whom he considered to be rebels against the Han Dynasty. The Emperor hesitated, but reluctantly agreed after Cao Cao spoke of his contributions and loyalty to the Han Dynasty (rescuing the Emperor when he was in exile, uniting northern China). A court official Kong Rong openly challenged Cao Cao, denouncing him as a traitor with the intention of usurping the throne. Kong also claimed that Liu Bei and Sun Quan had no intentions of rebelling, especially when the former was the Emperor's uncle. Subsequently, Kong Rong was executed and Cao Cao was put in command of the Imperial Army and set forth on his campaign.

Cao Cao's mighty army conquered the southern lands with the force and speed equivalent to that of a tidal wave sweeping over the shore. Meanwhile, Liu Bei had abandoned the city of Xinye and was leading his army and civilians who were unwilling to be under Cao Cao's rule on an exodus. However, Cao Cao's calvary caught up with Liu Bei and a great battle ensued near Changban. Zhang Fei, sworn brother of Liu Bei, had personally led a small group of soldiers armed with reflective shields to hold off the enemy while buying time for the civilians to escape. As the enemy soldiers approached, Zhang's troops used their shields to reflect sunlight into the eyes of the enemy's horses, throwing them into chaos and seizing the opportunity to strike back. At the same time, Zhao Yun set off in search of Liu Bei's wives and son, whom were separated amidst the chaos. Zhao Yun found Lady Mi, who was desperately trying to protect the infant Liu Shan from being seized by enemy soldiers. She was severely wounded and commited suicide by drowning herself in a well after entrusting Liu Shan to Zhao Yun. Zhao Yun fought bravely and managed to break out after being surrounded by the enemy.

At the same time, Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei's chief advisor, managed to bring Guan Yu, sworn brother of Liu Bei, to assist Zhang Fei. Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu bravely held off the enemy until the last group of civilians had evacuated. Guan Yu stayed on alone to hold off the enemy and was surrounded by several enemy soldiers. He threw his halberd towards Cao Cao, barely missing the latter by an inch. Later, Cao Cao gave orders to let Guan Yu off, saying that Guan Yu could have killed him earlier but decided to spare him.

After the battle at Changban, Zhuge Liang set forth for Wu on a diplomatic mission to negotiate for an alliance between Liu Bei and Sun Quan. Sun Quan was in the midst of a dilemma, unsure whether to oppose Cao Cao or surrender. His advisors had been desperately trying to persuade him to surrender, while his military officers were advocating war. Zhuge Liang urged Sun Quan to form the alliance with Liu Bei against Cao Cao, but Sun Quan replied by putting his hand on Zhuge Liang's shoulder and saying that he needed more time to think about it. Lu Su then brought Zhuge Liang to meet Wu's great viceroy and chief commander of Wu's army Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu was busy training his troops at Chi Bi with Gan Ning. Zhuge Liang had a short discussion with Zhou Yu about war. A scene was featured in which Zhou Yu demonstrated his appreciation for music and the strong discipline enforced in his army.

Later, Zhou Yu went home where his horse had just given birth to a foal. His wife Xiao Qiao was overjoyed as though she had a child of her own. Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu had a music duet in which their ideas were conveyed by playing the zither. Through their performance, Zhuge Liang understood that Zhou Yu supported war against Cao Cao. Meanwhile in Cao Cao's camp, he had just recruited two new generals named Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, both of whom were surrendered generals and well-versed in naval warfare. At the same time, Cao Cao also boasted of his army's might and expressed his desire to possess the beautiful Xiao Qiao. At the same time, Sun Quan had finally made up his decision to form an alliance with Liu Bei and launch a war against Cao Cao after a tiger hunt. He drew his sword and sliced off a corner of the table, saying to his subjects, "Whoever who speaks of surrender shall end up like this table!" Sun Quan appointed Zhou Yu, Lu Su and Cheng Pu as the main commanders of his army.

Zhou Yu and his generals went on a tour of Liu Bei's camp, exchanging ideas and having insights into Liu Bei's army. They formulated a plan to engage Cao Cao's army, which was moving towards Wu on both land and water. The first battle started, with Sun Shangxiang, Sun Quan's younger sister, luring Cao Cao's vanguard army into the Eight Triagrams Formation, where Cao's army was utterly defeated by the allied forces. Cao Cao learnt of the defeat, but showed no disappointment at all. He proceeded to lead to his army to camp on the opposite side of the river, directly facing the allied army's camp at Chi Bi. At the same time, the allied forces were throwing a banquet to celebrate their victory.

Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang had a discussion on the new plan to combat Cao Cao's forces. Zhou Yu stated that Cao Cao's next move was still unclear although they had scored a victory against Cao Cao's vanguard army. Zhou Yu then said to Zhuge Liang that he hoped they would not become enemies in the future, and if that is so, they would each serve their respective lords. By sending a pigeon he had cared for the past few days to scout Cao Cao's army, Zhuge Liang discovered the enemy's formation. The film ends with Zhou Yu lighting his minature-sized ships on a map based on the battle formation with a torch.

The plot continues in episode 2. (Source)

This part of the story is one of the best part in The Romance of Three Kingdoms, also known as The battle of Chibi 赤壁之戰 . The allied victory at Red Cliffs ensured the survival of Liu Bei and Sun Quan, gave them control of the Yangtze. In this movie, it only mention the pre-war part of the battle of Chibi, including how this battle started and how Zhuge Liang & Zhou Yu came to know each others.

I remember during school time, beside The Journey to the West, this is the other main novel that I repeated at least 3 times. I love zhuge Liang, CaoCao, Lui Bei, Zhang Fei and of course the unbeatable General Guan Yu & Zhao Ji Long

This movie is definitely better than the earlier movie I watch, The Mummy and I cant wait for the 2nd part of the movie to be release.

It was some years before I finally watched the film myself, and when I did, I appreciated all those things that others have spoken enough of - its simmering sensuality, its restraint and its canonical status as a paean to impossible love are but examples. But I will confess: there was nothing I adored nearly as much as Maggie Cheung's cheongsams.

When I think of the word "exquisite" I think of Kristin Scott Thomas in The English Patient, her fine hair and features glowing in the desert in that other magnificent story of impossible love. When I think of the word "elegant" I think of Maggie Cheung in that blue cheongsam with the roses, telling the husband of the woman having an affair with her own not to get an apartment where they can meet and, clandestinely, write. From scene to scene, carrying with delicate grace a different cheongsam in each one, she held me transfixed. But the blue one - that's the one I want.

Although they look nothing alike, in my mind, the cheongsam is like the saree, a garment about which I am passionate. Both are explosively sexy in their sheer subtlety. They burn slow. They smoulder. The cheongsam obscures even the clavicle, but observe Cheung's voluptuousness of hip as she climbs up and down stairs and try to tell me honestly that it doesn't mesmerize you more than a cornucopia of cleavage.

Maggie Cheung in In The Mood For Love is like a Shanghainese print advertisement from the 1930's come to life. I've always had a love for those. Like Hindu calendar art, they are astoundingly gorgeous kitsch that few people seem to care about. Beautiful women with little roses in their hair and willow-like grace selling beer, soap and other assorted irrelevances; I wish the artistic value of these ads survived alongside their motives in the modern world.

I don't think I will ever have a poster of that film on the walls of any house I live in again. But I will have those old prints. And when I do I will think not just of how pretty they are, but of every association they connote: bazaars I wandered in looking longingly at frames, knowing that there were no homes or walls in them that were mine enough then to place them on, people I knew, films I loved. I will dream of China.

We travel to run away. We travel, like Tony Leung in the same film, to whisper our secrets into the souls of buildings and trees and hope they never escape into the lives we return to. And sometimes we cannot travel at all, because the places we yearn for exist only as either memory or mirage, and so we watch.

Perhaps one day I will go to China to find myself a blue cheongsam with roses on it, because you can be anyone you want to be where nobody knows you. I'll sit in some café deliberately evocative of a bygone Shanghai and think of the incandescence of my friend the poet-countertenor Cyril Wong singing Chinese opera in a small theatre in Jakarta last year. I'll be as embarrassingly strange and guilty of wanting to possess the exotic as Nat King Cole's heavily-accented rendition of Quizas Quizas Quizas, yes, but at least I won't deny the heartbreak beneath wanting any of it in the first place.

An edited version appeared in The New Indian Express. “The Venus Flytrap” is my weekly column in the Zeitgeist supplement. Previous columns can be found here.

Red Cliff is currently the hottest movie to hit town. I remember two Saturdays ago, Richard and I were so frustrated because we can't find a cinema which offers Hancock.

The nice thing about this movie is even though it's in Chinese, the English subtitles are well translated. The movie has a star-studded cast with a world-renowned director. The movie is based from the famous Chinese novel "Romance of Three Kingdoms".

The movie has elements of action, romance, lust and humor. The story is about the battle between Cao Cao and the group of Liu Bei & Sun Quan. Liu Bei is a noble leader who has several loyal generals and a good strategist. They were driven off from Xinye in a battle at the beginning of the movie. Zhu Ge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) thought of setting up an alliance with Sun Quan (Chang Chen) to fight against the eight hundred thousand strong army of Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi). He was successful in getting Sun Quan's support and assisted them when Cao Cao's army headed to the Southern lands.

Red Cliff was commandeered by Zhou Yu (Tony Leung). He is known for his brilliance in naval tactics and music. His wife, Xiao Qiao (Lin Chi-ling) was the object of desire of Cao Cao and was the implied reason why he wanted to invade the south.

However, prior to the arrival of Cao Cao's land army to Red Cliff. They were ambushed by the combined forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei. Each of the generals were given a chance to showcase their strength and prowess. In the end, they won and headed back quickly to their camp as Cao Cao was seen moving towards Red Cliff by boat. Cao Cao's naval fleet encamped at the land opposite Red Cliff and thus ended the movie with a "To be continued." HEHEHEHE!!!

Have a great memory for fashion…. Especially at the basement of Landmark Ralph Lauren

There was a corner, "RRL (Double RL)" since 1x years ago….
The cozy and Western American decoration, plus nice shopkeeper….
And of course, the great vintage style of fashion were memorable…….
……..
…..
…..

However, if you would like to buy RRL now, then you might take a trip to Tokyo instead….

………..If you were visited RRL at Landmark, I would say, the above Tokyo division is unable to replace the corner in Hong Kong…….

http://ralphlauren.jp/global/V2/default.asp?cid=8&langid=4&ab=fd_japan_interior

PEACE

http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/hiphopmusic00/

http://www.myspace.com/hiphopmusic00

http://blog.myspace.com/hiphopmusic00

http://hiphopmusic00.wordpress.com/

Please do not copy the personal photos and wordings

All rights reserved by HHM (MoNaMi TM)

Anyway, Makiko Esumi is Kou Shibasaki with the gams of Misaki Itoh. Prettier version of Kou Shibasaki, i feel. The rest of the cast I hadn't cast my eyes before; goes to show how ancient this classic drama is. Still, I'd watched "Iguana No Musume" which was aired in '96 so this can't beat that. What's age when it's a good show.

Shomuni is amusing in an offbeat style, somewhat reminscent of Hero. Well, it's still too early to say. Shall down the entire show when i have the time.

Next up was In The Mood For Love. because i was in the mood for Tony Leung.

There was a part that i really liked.

Chow : In the old days, if someone had a secret they didn't want to share... you know what they did?
Ah Ping: Have no idea.
Chow: They went up a mountain, found a tree, carved a hole in it, and whispered the secret into the hole. Then they covered it with mud. And leave the secret there forever.
Ah Ping: What a pain! I'd just go to get laid.
Chow: Not everyone's like you.

The chinese title 花样年华 is actually a title of a famous song by Zhou Xuan. The song is still lingering in my head, like a bittersweet aftertaste. It's those kind of song you gotta buy yourself a vintage gramaphone just to listen to it. Spin the LP and suddenly the room's filled with old school chinese charm.

I finally caught the Red Cliff with YY today. I find the movie very draggy but it's fun to watch. I think Tony Leung and Takeshi is very cool. HEH!

Then we had dinner at Waraku.

The food was so-so only. My ramen was not up to my expectation. The soup is alright only. The pork was hard and not nice. The chawanmushi I had (no pic) was not as nice as the one at kushin-bo. HAHA.

Then we walked around Central and Clarke Quay and had nothing to do.

THEN!

Duck had to sms me and tell me that he's at Tampines Mall and I got excited because I wanna spy him! HAHAHA. He refused to tell me where is he going so I gave up. AND HE SPOTTED ME AND WAS STANDING INCHES AWAY FROM ME! So bloodly unfair! I think I'm blind. And he told me that he wanted to smile at me but I looked away. HAHAHAHA. IDIOT!

Those are just about the perfect wedding photos. No cheesy looking each other in the eyes, pastel pink studio backgrounds. The colours! Her Vera Wang gown and his ivory suit are so gorgeous.

Tony Leung is kinda like the perfect guy to me. He is understated-cool personified, suave, handsome, he exudes intelligence. There's this still, but penetrating air about him - AGAHH.

Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love, Infernal Affairs... I always end the movie pining for Tony Leung (HAHA - especially so in Happy Together! Lots of gay action for a straight man. I was sooo jealous.)

You know all those celebs who get hitched as and when they feel like it, or have mad sex without a care for what will happen to their kids, and then divorce due to irreconcilable difference.. Tony Leung and Carina Lau have been together for over a decade TWO DECADES!!! (omgwtfbbq again - that's just about as old as I AM!!!!) and I just feel like they'll never be like that.

Okay that's not my problem, but never mind.

I LOVE TONY LEUNG!!!!!!!!! Just like I love Nuno Bettencourt. And... the rest will be unveiled sooner or later.

Sorry the last two posts have been so fangirlish.

Via Fash-Eccentric

That should be me next to Tony instead... Sue, photoshop my pic to replace Carina's can??

Aw, look at that face. He's all of 46 but still so boyish and youthful. Carina's one lucky woman to have Tony (and that 12-carat Cartier engagement ring).

«Il vero amore è sempre tragico, infelice. Un amore realizzato è noioso nella vita come nei film». Così parlò Wong Kar Wai presentando 2046, seguito ideale di In the mood for love: stesso attore protagonista (Tony Leung), stessa città (Hong Kong) e stesso motivo ricorrente del ricongiungimento alla Cina nel 2046, stessi particolari che tornano (il segreto confidato all’albero). Film raffinato e sontuoso in puro stile Wong Kar Wai, 2046 in prima battuta parla dell’impossibilità di riconciliarsi con il passato, parla quindi di rimpianto, di destino, dell’incapacità di ricominciare davvero: questi sono i muri invisibili che imprigionano il protagonista in una vita fatta di passioni intense e transitorie, incapaci di restituire l’innocenza, perduta assieme al grande amore (non a caso Maggie Cheung, l’attrice di In the mood for love). L’impressione è però che il film ci parli d’altro, di un’unità spezzata in maniera definitiva: ogni donna è qualcosa della Donna, ogni donna è proiezione parziale del Desiderio, ma nessuna donna è La Donna. Così, si potrebbe dire, nessuna parola è La Parola, nessuna lingua è La Lingua, quella divina, perduta, la cui distanza inavvicinabile ci consegna al disorientamento e all’insufficienza.

È un film di speculazione profonda 2046, i cui temi nascosti sono l’impossibilità del ritorno all’Unità, l’essere gettati nel mondo senza potersi mai ricongiungere con l’Origine, l’umana condanna alla traduzione del Verbo, che possiamo solo avvicinare e alla cui verità saremo estranei fino alla fine. Il virtuosismo di Wong Kar Wai va di pari passo con la riflessione ermeneutica che il film mette nascostamente in campo, perciò il suo cinema è perfettamente coerente: la sua ricerca stilistica è il tentativo di dare al cinema, alla pellicola, il dono della sensibilità, come se la finzione potesse sul serio ricostruire la percezione e l’emotività, superando la differenza tra corpo ed espressione, la differenza tra anima e carne, superando il dualismo umano. Tentativo tragico e disperato come le domande che pone 2046, un film molto bello, molto impegnativo, da vedere assolutamente. Annotazione affatto oziosa: molte musiche del film sono di Peer Raben, compositore di quasi tutti i film di Fassbinder e in 2046 troviamo addirittura il rifacimento di Each man kills the things he loves, aria che Jeanne Moreau sussurrava in Querelle de Brest (1982). Che Wong ci stia sottilmente suggerendo un orizzonte perduto del suo cinema?

2046, di Wong Kar Wai, Cina, 2004, 129 minuti

Cast: Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Gong Li, Chang Chen, Kimura Takuya, Carina Lau, Faye Wong, Zhang Ziyi

Uscita: 29 ottobre 2004