Life and Cinematic Art

From A Few Good Men to the 2009 remake of Sherlock Holmes, I look back at twenty years of watching cinematic movies.

It all started in a Christchurch, New Zealand cinema, when I saw The Last Emperor on a nippy autumn night.Thoughts about dynastic troubles in an agricutural community as far as you can get away from the stiffness of the Forbidden City!  It was a sign of the future, though, for Kiwiland was to become the favourite choice of location shooting in in the years to come.

Cinema Paradiso was the first non-English and non-Chinese work of cinematic art that I fell totally for.  I was overwhelmed by its nuances, its tones and its message. Toto the child, with all his enthusiasm for screening projector movies, was portrayed so emphatically in this film it spoke of  a universal longing for home after a life time spent away.  The Mexican production Y Tu Mama Tambien spoke too of unbridled youth, but in another place and time. Life is Beautiful from Italy brought the cinema art form of ironic humour to handle the unbearable life in a World War 2 prison camp. Amelie and Chocolat were magical insights into the apparently ordinary journeys of individualistic women actually determined to make the most out of life.

Hollywood still ruled and Bollywood was not that influential in my choice of movies, but so-called art cinema became accessible.  I was swept away by the unique wave of film art from an emerging China trend, fighting hard against the Hong Kong genre that dominated my teenagehood. SBS channel in Australia opened my eyes to the frank nudity of Euro movies; the style of Japanese cinema, especially its enchanting and engrossing manga movies; the dryness of new wave cinema in Taiwan; the exciting vibrance of Spanish movies; and  the power of effective and yet controversial subtitling.  The long continuing James Bond genre was significantly refreshed by the arrival of actor Daniel Craig. 

Gems appeared like gold gleaming on a clear river bed - Forrest Gump; Slumdog Millionaire; a revamped Caprio-inspired Romeo and Juliet; Wall-E; The Da Vinci Code; The Wedding Banquet; Billy Elliot; Lovers of the Arctic Circle; Sleepless in Seattle; Hero; Indochine; The Crying Game; The Pillow Book; Saving Private Ryan; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Motor Cycle Diaries; and Monsoon Wedding.

The most impact an Australian movie made on me came from Strictly Ballroom, with its liberating tale and moves set in my adopted city of Sydney. Australian cinema halls seemed rather empty for most of the time, with popcorn and drinks costing almost the same price as the value tickets paid in advance.Prescilla, Queen of the Desert, left inner city Sydney on a bus, but in the end, made more impact on its reflections of a part of the current Australian community, more than the musical Moulin Rouge and the so-called epic Australia.

Echoing my cultural heritage, I can still visualise the cool vibes from Hong Kong's Days of Being Wild and China's Raise the Red Lantern.  Movies were even made in my birth hometown of Penang, especially Anna and the King and Beyond Rangoon.  The past two decades also saw the transformation of the Singapore industry through its colloquail Singlish language films and its growing examination of its unique demographics.  Asian films moved more away from physical violence to the subtleness of our inner souls, the underlying unspoken message behind the reality and the liberation of public nudity.

The American movie Superman Returns was shot in New South Wales, so I could recognise the location shoooting venues.  The start of the Millennium was agog about the latest version of the Titanic and the close of the first ten years thereafter saw Avatar, both brought to you by James Cameron.  The remake of South Pacific the musical with Harry Connick Junior did not detract my fascination with the original made in the late fifities.  It took a certain level of patience, fascination and obsession to go through the serial movies  - whether they are Lord of The Rings, Spiderman, Shrek, The Matrix, Harry Potter, Batman, X-Men, Saw, Home Alone, Transformers, Narnia or the Tom Clancy action thrillers.

Disney Studios had a good run in the nineties with traditional animation work to be seen by audiences of all ages, like The Lion King and Beauty and The Beast.  With Pixar, the writing was already on the wall for the arrival of sophisticated graphic works with complex special effects, as illustrated by Jurassic Park, Independence Day, the Incredibles and The Dark Knight, with work done by several support teams based across the globe, coordinating in creative unison to somehow produce remarkable outcomes  - and whose team member names are listed in detail in the rolling credits at the end of such movies, accompanied by at least three audio tracks to cover them all.

The more things seem to change, they more they remain the same.  Just like the apparent daily routine of life, it is amazing to know that we still sit in a darkened hall; can still have the sugary laden popcorn and coke; get charged more for putting on 3D glasses; and have emerging addicts feed into this type of media, despite competition from the internet, electronic games and mobile phones.  Like the great classics of the past, whether in print, song or stage, the cinema still churns out pieces to enthrall, entertain and remind us of hallmark moments in true life. 

Does life imitate art, or the other way around?  Maybe it's both.  We can have cinematic releases at the touch of a button and need not make a date out of it; books however continue to form the basis of flim scripts; and the commercial temptation of making sequels underline the reality of required funding to make this form of essentially what is entertainment. Movies have always made each of us dream and imagine, whether it be the lot of socio-economic disadvantaged villagers or the pampered teenager in advanced economies - how the genre will take us next is one of fascination itself, while providing us the romanticised sentiments from personal experiences watching movies in childhood with our parents or sitting next to our first real courtship love.

Trivial But True

About Me

I am not keen on the same kind of retail outlets in most Australian shopping centres (we need variety and uniqueness!); individuals not communciating when they can - and should; global warming;  racists who dare not speak their mind but operate behind our backs; baggy jeans; people asking how are you but do not really want to know; the FOX News channel; sex tourists;  people without compassion; politicians who benefit themselves more than the voters who put them in the first place; vehicle drivers who belch exhaust and think they are cool; sludge snow; haughty persons; working too hard for nothing; hairy backs; loud mouthed women and men with attitude; cheap perfume (you can smell it!); individuals who take credit for things they did not do; double standards; plastic Christmas trees; people who stab you in the back (okay, not literally, and actually much worse); people who take you for granted; being singled out for extra security checks just for being an East Asian male, when I have not broached any thing required; team leaders who exclude you from celebrations and only include you for problems; restaurant owners who have three sesions an evening and restrict your dining time at the table; not being able to window shop after hours; and people who make a show of forgetting that you have treated them well.

and I love:
lying on my back and take in the view of clouds rolling by on a big blue canvas sky; looking at swimming goldfish; discovering budlings springing out of the moist soil; making the most out of a challenge; reading a book on a dark and stormy night; cooking with whatever I have in the kitchen while the rain pours outside; the blue of the ocean and sky; chatting with mates; discovering new places; re-arranging things; once in a while, being caught in a time warp with nothing planned; watering plants, wherever they are; celebrating festivals; surprising someone special, and more; getting out of the comfort zone and testing unnatural limits; sharing, doing and giving something without expecting anything in return; giving my time and resources to make someone happy or grow, when I do not need to: special individuals who do not say much but whom you know love you in the only way they can, under the circumstances; meeting pro-active leaders and operators, whether on an airflight or with a innovative acting guy or woman in retail anywhere; talking with individuals with experience (aka elderly people); talking with individuals who have fresh-eyed perspectives (aka youngsters); taking the less travelled road; spending time with family; being drawn into laughter by humorous mates; eating Mum's home cooked food; house parties; and getting things done.

Straits Chinese Curry

My Wine List for the Holidays

Thank You For The Music

The start of the Millennium is but a distant memory. The commencement of 2009 is more recent, but as we approach the second decade of the 21st century, here are some of the individuals who have energised me in such positive ways on my life’s journey this past year, mentioned in no particular order:


Mum – Madam Foo Gaik Hwa

Mr Dylan Smith

Uncle Jimmy Foo and Aunty Winnie

First Cousins Mu Lan and Susan Chan

Second Cousin Roy Lim

The Campbell Family of Woonoona, NSW

Mdm Roma and Mr Peter Karak

Niece Adelyn Yong

Aunty Foo Gaik Keow

Ms Lim Bee Keok

Mr Yap Boo Ann

Ms Lillian Ong

Mrs Janice Tinham

Mrs Charmaine Wan and her daughters Ashleigh and Caitlin

Mr Lim Yew Ting and family

Mrs Rosanne Humble

Ms Tan Mui Na

Mr Pete Cusack

Uncle Hong Beng and family

Mr Richard Bennison

Mr Robert Sim

Ms Joyce Cheam

Mr David Mason

Mr Dane and Mr Nathan

Mrs Nicky Bishop

Mr Andrew Mulligan

and more