The Mist

先說電影本身，很震撼，發人深省。Mrs Carmody 有我以前認識的某美國隊伍軍人的影子：宣揚宗教的人，除非本身可以超越人類自私，貪婪，恐懼的個性，否則和獨裁者差不了多少。豆瓣上的評論很好，討論也很有意思。超市的人大概可以分為信自己和信他人的人。信他人的人，就是那個沒用的超市技工，一開始逞英雄，遇到考驗時第一時間垮了，然後他不斷尋找可靠的領袖作為自己的精神寄託，先是男主角，後來是Mrs. Carmody （我不同意稱呼她為瘋婆子，因為我覺得她由始至終不是在發瘋，她是有意迷惑大眾從而鞏固自己的權力）。信奉他人的人看上去很可悲，但是人類往往就是這麼可悲的動物。世態炎涼，變幻無常，存活下去需要力量，需要理想，而在絕處時刻，人的心靈更顯脆弱；信自己的人，靠理性思考，靠行動去對抗現實的無奈，但是理性的終極是狂妄。就像美國前總統Woodrow Wilson在一戰時宣揚美國會以“理性“（reason) 去處理國際政治那樣偽善，不切實際。

如果說，男主角最後開槍射殺自己的孩子是兌現對孩子的承諾（Billy在超市要求爸爸保護自己不讓怪物吃掉），那為甚麼其他人也甘願 “自殺”呢？槍本來就是屬於女主角的，她臨死時臉露懼色，為甚麼她不選擇自行了斷？為甚麼寧願把自己的命和自己的武器交到別人手上呢？也許人在極度恐慌的情況下無法顧及那麼多；也許經過了那麼多恐怖的場面後，車上的人都把精神和信任寄託在唯一的英雄身上；也許這是電影情節需要；我想在某程度上，當時車上的人並不是原意被男主角“行刑”，而是原意被 “理性”行刑。車上的老人說 “我們至少嘗試了”––嘗試勇敢地闖入迷霧當人，嘗試用自己的雙手主宰自己的命運，嘗試以理性判斷下一步的行動，甚至到無計可施了，寧可以理性來推算未來（電影尾端的一片荒涼，龐大的怪獸等等是在製造環境證據讓車上那些以‘理性’自居的人相信已到了窮途末路）也不原意相信未來的不可預測性。觀眾可以用事後的目光輕鬆的說句‘為甚麼不等一下呢？等一下說不定就有救了.’但是從當時的情況推斷，從車上的人的觀點出發，真的有必要等救援嗎？經過 Mrs. Carmody的荒誕鬧劇，你想他們仍然相信會有救星嗎？

5個人4顆子彈是導演刻意安排，但是理性的極限是結局的重點，也是整套電影最有感染力的地方：在超市時面對觸鬚，各種自然界的怪物，人類當中的敗類，理性顯然是較好的選擇；David也一次又一次地向同胞們證明理性的效用；但是到了對目標毫無頭緒時，理性拜倒了。在迷霧中，在無法掌握可靠數據的情況下（沒有電話，沒有雷達，沒有任何通訊儀器），相信理性有其代價（他們所有人都付出了那沈重的代價），但要放下一直深信不疑的理性是很難的。這大概是導演想傳達的訊息吧：相信絕對的理性等於不理性，但是美國一直以來依靠科學和理性思維帶來的斐然功績把美國人困在一輛沒有燃油的車上，無法前行，這時要人們反思具首位的科學理性價值觀是很難的。一直以來男主角的判斷都很合理，不然他不會有一群忠實的支持者，所以他才會不顧一切堅持理性。沒有科學帶來的成就，沒有其他意識形態的襯托，沒有其他國家衰亡的比較，美國人甚至乎所有現代人類不會如此崇拜科學精神，理性主義。突然說要反省，談何容易？

理性的悲劇，象徵著人類文明的極限。科學曾經照亮人類的社會，在迷霧中為人們開路，但是迷霧是無窮無盡的，為科學留下一點空間，為下一代積一點福吧。

Pilot

在地球的另一邊觀看香港的繁華鬧市，都會人的感情掙扎和生存空間比真正踏足這片喧譁的土地來得更為真實。因為隔了6000多里的距離，我可以更客觀的去剖視我曾經接觸過的一切。地鐵列車，紅色小巴，街頭巷尾，唐樓門前的霓虹燈曾幾何時都那麼熟悉，但是我卻沒有深厚的體會。就像我在香港長大但一點不瞭解香港的歷史一樣。我不是唯一的一個。原因是在香港長大的孩子大部分沒有餘暇去顧及歷史，大家都為生活奔波勞命––所謂的“揾食"––然後拼命的去消費和吃喝玩樂。這就是香港人的生活態度，work hard, play hard, 沒有去想想這種 "work/hard" 模式是完全沒有任何意義，而且節奏也不是自己可以控制，最終得益的是大財團，大企業。香港的經濟發展倚賴香港人對這種“work/play" 不成文協議的同意和縱容。都說香港人工作壓力大，所以要放鬆，去旅行，浩浩蕩蕩地上飛機，離開香港人自豪的赤蠟角機場，下飛機，指手畫足評論人家的機場怎麼落後怎麼不如香港，到達酒店，吃飯，血拚，胡亂拍照，買一大堆手信，回港，派手信，上載那些沒有焦點的照片，繼續上班。又回到原來的工作週期。這是一般人的生活／旅遊循環。在2008年我感到厭倦了。

Goodbye Lenin

Goodbye Lenin: a masterpiece of a familial history against the backdrop of the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The core message, as I interpret it, is that each individual try their best to adapt to the colossal social change that results from the uneasy interaction of the discrepant political ideologies. Alex made tremendous efforts to create fictional representations of the capitalized East Germany so as not to upset his socialist-bent mother who was in coma during the fall of the Berlin Wall. Some of the fabricated news he produced with his friends are simply hilarious!

Yet the film is also full of meticulous symbolism and metaphors to contrast the deceptive exposures and uncomfortable experiences of people trying to make sense of the two political systems.Wolfgang Becker is very skillful in using different representations of signs at different critical moments to deliver the changing conceptions and understandings of these signs. One good example to illustrate this point is the two-timed blindfolding of Alex’s mother. She was blindfolded at the beginning of the film after she was discharged from the hospital. She lied to her children about their father’s departure and was “married to the socialist fatherland” after that. She was blindfolded again toward the end of the film on the drive way to the garden house. This time she confessed to her children about the truth of their father’s escape, which unequivocally debunked the cruel socialist regime. She “lied” again by pretending to believe in the fabricated news Alex prepared for her the last time even though she was already briefed by Alex’s girlfriend about the truth. The message the director wants to get across through showing the different reactions of Alex’s mother towards the blindfolding plot––a sign symbolizing the disguise of truth–––is the continuous construction of deception for different purposes. In a way, her mother came clean about her propagandized feeling about idealized socialist goods because her husband was forced to leave the country for his non-affiliation to the party. However, the deception continues after her confession for protecting her son’s dignity and feeling. Alex was convicted that his mother “never learned the truth” in her coffin, thanks to his hardwork. It was Alex who was “blindfolded” unconsciously in his flawless facade and filial piety. At both occasions, his mother used deception to achieve what she thought was good for her children, to their oblivion. The repetition of deception also implies that there are only selective interpretation of history. Nobody in this film is crystal clear about the holistic picture of the social history. Everyone knows a little and endeavors to fit the bits and pieces of the history that they grasped to fit in their existing framework to make life bearable for each individual.

Here are some well-written quotes from fellow reviewers on imdb, way better than I could ever have put it:

"Against this tapestry of myth we watch contemporary politics play out, trying desperately to spin events into frameworks that reinforce our desires for justice and virtue."

"We are all Alex, trying to reconstruct a new view of history that makes us more proud of where we come from. We invent and reinvent history to suit our needs and like Alex, do so in the name of providing a safe environment (or better way of life) for others."

The Great Happiness Space

Finally putting an end to the unplanned Monday’s movie marathon, thanks to this award-winning documentary produced in 2006. At first I assumed the Great Happiness Space would be delightful and colorful (given its title and the cover page) but not quite expected to go so deep as to uncovering the psychological malaise among the Japanese youth.

Counter to my predication, it is NOT a (syndicate) tale of Japanese gigolo/entertainer wealthy women in Japan, rather it is a reality-cum-documentary film recording the real lives and interviews of the male employers (hosts) and the male customers working in the second largest city in Japan: Osaka. Incidentally, the entertainment spot is located in Minami, where I had visited in winter 2008 with my then-fiance. Had I been more responsible for planning my travels, I would have been more informed of the cultural role and impact of these places that I was lucky enough to leave footprints.

Back to the film, if you think that this business is just a harmless form of entertainment, where young, good-looking men are paid to fondle with the spendthrift women, or even a triumph of feminist rights of some sort, you couldn’t have been more wrong. It turns out that most female customers gave away their normal lives to work as cabaret girls, call girls, and even prostitutes (fuzoku) in order to afford the exorbitant costs in these host clubs. In exchange, the male hosts praise these girls, drink with them, and make them feel important and “loved”. Having understood the female psyche to indulge in self-deceitful dreams, the male hosts confessed “we sell dreams, that’s our job.” It really saddens me when one of the female client related, “I am not buying guys, I’m buying times.” As if there are no better ways to burn their energies; as if the only way to acquire a positive self-image is through telling lies and engaging in a mutually hurtful act of fooling around where both parties feel guilty and shameful of what they did in order to make money and make themselves “happy”.

The system needs a break. But the revolutionary forces will not come from within. Here the male workers seem to get it “people are not always strong, esp. when they are alone.” This is where a communal action comes into play. Through education, persistent resistance to evil temptations, consciousness-raising, and genuine sharing and respect, we can fight off these immoral and malicious money-sucking businesses. We need to be strong, not for some transcendental mighty goals, but simply for getting what we want. Is money what people really want? Or is it a means to the more primitive human needs? Money in the form of printed paper can never be the ultimate goal for what we are fighting for. Money can only be meaningful in stratifying and stimulating social relationship. A bucket of gold loses its luster if you lost track of what you really want in your life. This is why the idolized and highly paid male host wants a trustable girlfriend after all. And he realized what he lost is way more expensive than what these girls pay him: the ability to trust, and love other human beings.

We need more people to respectfully heal these damaged souls, we need to rescue them (not through a man-made sculpture and a text of gospel) but to help them gain perspectives, to realize that there is alternatives, that meaningful human interaction is within the realm of reason and hope, that history is replete of strong, solitary peoples enduring hardship and loneliness for something much more desirable and authentic. All in all, people (esp. girls) need to understand that nobody can take control of your own life unless you allow them to.

I highly recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in understanding Japanese subcultures.

some so-and-so movies n the 80s

The rat race–set in LV, the Strip. The reality show “the amazing race” was inspired by this show. Pretty funny. Recommended if you want a peep of the VIP room at the top of Venetian and ridiculous gambles the nouveau riche enjoy. Also good for some much-needed laughter.

The Princess bride–not a fan of a classical linear plot culminated with the beautiful, charming princess getting rescued by her plebeian love. Over-rated in American folklores, but pretty harmless for a family to kill an evening.

The edge of heaven

The Edge of heaven (the German original title is Auf Der Anderen Seite) is set in Bremen (Germany) and Istanbul (Turkey). The story incorporates the elements of political activism, economic hardship and homosexuality as the unexpected encounter and departure are coincided throughout the storyline.

The Turkish immigrant father-son living in German met the Turkish prostitute in the same city. Then the son was convicted to help out the education of the prostitute’s daughter after his father accidentally killed her. Meanwhile, Ayten, the daughter of the prostitute who fought for the Turkish communist resistance group escaped to Germany. Ayten met a female German university student and they fell in love. The mother of the German girl was not happy with Ayten’s stay. Ayten was busted by the police and a political asylum was not granted. Lotte (the german girl) rushed to Istanbul, hoping to help Ayten get out of the prison. And here is where the two separate story threads intersects: Lotte found herself at the bookstore run by the Nejat, the Turkish son whose purpose is to help out Ayten and stayed with Nejat. Up until the end of the film, Nejat still did not know of this intersecting point. The story was rolling on: Lotte was innocently killed in an accentual shooting by juvenile pickpockets Lotte’s mother came to Istanbul to reclaim her daughter’s body. She found Nejat and liked to stay in the same room Lotte used to live in. She read through her daughter’s diary and understood her commitment in helping out Ayten. I couldn’t resist my tears from falling off my cheeks as she told Ayten that she forgave her and even wanted to help her. Ayten was very touched. You can tell she felt responsible for indirectly causing Lotte’s death. So she signed up for a repent with the Turkish government and was discharged. She met Lotte’s mother as Nejat forgave his father’s crime and waited for him along the coast.

One of my favorite European movies integrating political activism with personal vicissitudes.

some of the science jokes that I like:

• Men are mammals and women are femammals (Linnaeus would have ben apologized and Schiebinger’s critique would have been obliterated)
• Galileo showed that the earth was round and not vice versa. He dropped his balls to prove gravity (Kepler would have been angry that his first law was violated: a posthumous contravention rather than a posthumous eulogy)
• All animals were here before mankind. The animals lived peacefully until mankind came along and made roads, houses, hotels and condoms. (almost mistake it for a feminist critique of modernization and sexual oppression. The resemblance of condoms and mankind is uncanny)
• Mare Curie did her research at the Sore Buns Institute in France. (feminists would be mixed in their reactions: the historically misogynist institutional culture at Sorbonne coupled with a gender-charged title)

• Algebra was the wife of Euclid. (why not make it the descendant of 九章算術？）
• Geometry teaches us to bisex angles (Will George more attracted to Geometry because of his role in “bisexing”?)