Your Name (Shinkai, 2016): Mini-Film Review

Your Name (Shinkai, 2016), the highest grossing anime film to date, maintains its charm on the first viewing because it withholds key narrative information--the way it's high school characters are linked despite differences in time and space is mystifying. So, there's no wonder why the film intrigued audiences initially, for it's fun to see how all the pieces fit together. Of course, the film appeals on other levels too: the universal awkward experiences of adolescence, captivating artwork (especially a stunning dream sequence, the highlight of the film), and catchy pop music. I'm fascinated by the ways the film initially attracted young Japanese audiences. It reminds me of other film phenomenons such as Cape No. 7 (Wei, 2008) in Taiwan which retained it's staying power via word of mouth/social media and the formation of communities of viewers who return to the film multiple times.

35 Shots of Rum (Denis, 2008): Mini-Film Review

35 Shots of Rum (2008), directed by Claire Denis, depicts a father-daughter bond in today's Paris. The father, a widower, is a subway driver who returns from work each night looking forward to the simple pleasure of having dinner with his daughter, a college anthropology student. The film reminds one of Biutiful (Iñárritu, 2010), as it traces the lives of residents in a European metropolis, yet it's pacing is in line with an Ozu film. On first glance, one might feel that little happens in the story; yet the diurnal rhythms on display here open up an entire psychological world worth reflection.

Embed from Getty Images

Actor Alex Descas and director Claire Denis at the 65th Venice Film Festival

The Beaches of Agnès (Varda, 2009): Mini-Film Review

This is my short love letter to The Beaches of Agnès (Varda, 2009), a documentary I'm grateful to have seen and would recommend. It is off the wall--at times loose (the camera captures household mirrors placed on a beach) and at times structured (interviews and historical footage)--as it questions what film is and how it is that a great filmmaker, Agnès Varda--both director and subject of the camera--finds herself, and finds herself in the story of film. 

In doing so she gets the last word in each of the conversations she depicts and participates in, from the French New Wave to the present. But she doesn't resolve as the story keeps on going.

#skatethru: Skateboarding Through Various Spots, Pt. 2

Here's a series of leisurely videos of riding through a handful of spots in Oregon and California. Part 1 of this #skatethru series, with videos from China and Korea can be viewed at this link. Thanks for viewing!

San Clemente State Beach Campground, CA (2017)

Myrtle Point Skatepark, OR (2017)

Ocean Beach, CA (2016)

When people ask questions during movies...

The Terrorizers (Yang, 1986): Mini-Film Review

Edward Yang's 楊德昌 masterpiece The Terrorizers (1986) 恐怖分子 is one of the few films that I find impossible to praise too highly. I recently re-watched it for the umpteenth time and remain astounded by its opening act which, as a definitive postmodern work, anticipates the multimedia, multi-soundscape, multi-layered editing techniques often attributed to more well-known world cinema films of the 1990s and early 2000s, such as the intro. to Stone's 1991 film JFK--although Yang's technique is methodical and less dramatized, it is more than equal in terms of technique and affect.

Moreover, Yang's narrative style, which interconnects the lives of multiple urban residents of mid-1980s Taipei, perfects this narrative form well before films such as Amores Perros (Iñárritu, 2000), 21 Grams (Iñárritu, 2003), Crash (Haggis, 2004), and Babel (Iñárritu, 2006).

In addition to it's landmark qualities within film history in general, it is equally significant as an unparalleled snapshot of Taiwan in the mid-1980s as the nation transitioned into a new era in terms of its postcolonial condition. I elaborate further on this film, its critical reception, and its representation of this important juncture in Taiwan history in the conclusion of my book on Taiwan film, Transnational Representations (HKUP, 2014).

#stilllife shots: various long takes

Long takes in film, in which the camera does not move, are my favorite. I think of them as moving still life images--it's as if a painting started to move. Some of my favorite directors of the long take include Ozu, HHH, and Fassbinder.

Here are a few very brief videos I shot on my S7 for no other reason than the spirit of the still life and the pleasure of the image.

Water wheel, National Folk Museum of Korea, Seoul 2017

Cheonggyecheon Stream, Seoul 2017

Starfish at low tide, Bandon OR, 2017

Low tide, Bandon OR, 2017