title

Finding life in the nuances. 

In more commercial summer movies, the filmmakers often uses broad strokes and elaborate storytelling to draw over a cliche theme in hopes of reaching as many audience as possible.  The ideas are big and the concepts new, but many times the finer details are arbitrarily chosen that adds little to the story.  These big idea/high concept films are still fun to watch, but they don't ways reach too deep into the audience hearts. 

On the other hand, I find the most beautiful film gives a lot of attention to details and the nuances.  The great ones gives time and care to focus on what may not seem important.  These are not everyone's cup of tea, but watched with a filmmaker's eye, you can't help but appreciate the genius and difficulty in making these types of films.  In these movies, the performance of the actors are more powerful than any plot twist.  These films capture the psychology and emotion of real people better than most anything else.  If you as an audience open your mind, you can get a much bigger pay off than with any other movie.  The emotional ride these films can give you is a high that no other medium can give you. 

On Saturday, I skipped watching Ms. Hong Kong on TV to watch Ann Hui's 'The Way We Are' at the HK film archive.  The story echo'ed loudly with me and I was really blown away by the experience.  It is just a basic story about a Mother and her son living in the outskirts of Hong Kong, but the story worked so well with this basic setting.  This film is especially affective for those who understand the Hong Kong culture and the Hong Kong Family dynamics.  This film captures the everyman in Hong Kong perfectly and it mirrors back to me my own life in a very true way.  Needless to say, i highly recommend this film, and hope more people will get to see it. 

It is playing now at Broadway CINEMATHEQUE  in Prosperous Garden, 3 Public Square Street, Yaumatei, Kowloon.
http://www.cinema.com.hk/revamp/html/list_detail.php?lang=e&movie_id=3477


Here are a few other simple yet powerful movies that I recommend:  Last life in the Universe, One Fine Spring Day, Lost in Translations, Punch Drunk Love, Gummo

The Way We Are  *****

Synopsis (re-written by me)

This is a nonchalant story of decent folks living in an isolated “new” town distanced by poverty.
On is a high school student, the only child of Kwai, who lives and studies in Tin Shui Wai, a new town bordering China and remote by Hong Kong standard.

Kwai is the kind who throws her despair behind and never dodges what it takes to move on in work and life. She works in a neighborhood grocery and cares for her family and neighbors. The story goes through their everyday life during a regular summer in Hong Kong, and we get to observe and take part in a period of their lives.

Director : Ann Hui
Cast : ---
Duration : 91 mins
Category : I
Language : Cantonese (English & Chinese Subtitles)

People usually have a certain negative perception of immigrants.  Having been an immigrant as a kid in the US, I learned that quickly.  I pretty much learned to hide my past from my friends.  No one cares about your home country, no one is interested in your past life.  People want you to assimilate, they want you to be like them.  But life as they sell to you may not be what you want.  To live, you do find ways to learn and adapt, try to fit in, and build a new home and a new life.  The desire to hold on and to change sometimes put you somewhere in between, neither here nor there.


Fast forward to today, I feel I'm an immigrant once again.  I'm now back to the country of my birth, but not exactly one of the locals.  Some people would want to call themselves ExPats here, but I think I would be more proud to retain my label as an immigrant.  Either way you call it, the experiences are the same.  Like many immigrants do, we find camaraderie with people who are like us.  We go to the same places to hang out, eat and work.  I do want to make an effort to assimilate, but this time around there is not social pressure forcing me to conform.  I'm not sure what time will bring, but you never know what to expect when you leave what is familiar.  But then again, isn't not knowing all part of the fun and excitement. 

I can't exactly suggest to regular people to go and leave your home and live the immigrant experience, but for those who have, we share this unique transition phase of life that I really am appreciating more and more as an adult.  Being a kid, you wish you weren't a fob, not a stranger, not the kid w/ the funny cloths and funny accent.  Now reliving the immigrant experience as an adult, it gives me a real appreciations of what my parents went through adjusting to a new and foreign land with bratty kids in tow.  I can imagine how difficult it might have been when I now find filling out a form in Chinese impossible.  There are also other challenges in daily life that I had taken for granted.  Though it may not always be easy, I'm loving it all.  Luckily I found a great bunch of folks here along on the same ride.  You know who you are... my FOB buddies;)