Singapore Dreaming

The story of this Singapore family brings out a question on how to seek happiness in ordinary life. The Poh’s family in this movie well represents a typical Singapore family.

The host of the family named Poh Huat works as a lawyer’s clerk. His dream is to enter the upper social class and enjoy luxury life. Being disappointed by his current status, he forms the habit of buying lottery tickets in the hope of winning and making his dream come true. Poh’s wife is a typical Chinese housewife. Her daily routine is buying groceries, cooking, cleaning, and making herbal tea. She sacrifices her own life for the good of the whole family. Besides financial problems, small conflicts exist among the family members. The hope of family, their much loved son, lies and spends most of his parents’ money. He doesn’t even come close to success and have difficulty finding a job. The daughter is not satisfied with her family apparent favoritism for the son. When Poh strikes the lottery and wins two million dollars, it seems all the problems can be fixed. However, it is a test given by god to the family on how to seek true happiness in life.

The favoritism for a son is quite common in the older days, and it is still currently practiced by some conservative families. The reason for this phenomenon can be traced back to thousands of years ago when farming is the major production power of the society. A son can provide more labor to a family while a girl will increase a family’s burden. The idea has come into existence for so long and it has been deeply rooted in people’s minds. In modern days, a lot of Chinese families may still favor a son. It’s an old custom, and people do it without a rational reason. I think only the solution to this problem is to leave it to time. The Chinese society is changing fast and some of the people are probably not ready yet.

It is very interesting to hear a mixture of four different languages when the family is sitting around the dinner table. The family members mostly speak Fu Jian dialect and English. Sometimes they use Mandarin as well. Later I find out there is a forth language called Singlish. The pronunciation and grammar are different from standard English. It is based on English, but it is also influenced by Malaysian language, Fu Jian dialect, Cantonese, and Mandarin. The language is formed during the long years of many different ethic groups living together.

It surprises me that some Chinese customs can be better preserved in Singapore than in China mainland and Taiwan. Old and new both exist in this internationalized country. Different cultures keep influencing on each other and form the unique culture of Singapore.

Once Were Warriors

The movie we watched last Thursday was very unusual. By only looking at the tile “Once Were Warriors”, it’s hard to know what to expect from the movie, because it sounds like a war or science fiction film. Nevertheless, when you start the movie, better fasten a seat belt, and be ready for the shock wave.

At first, for a little while, I think it is peaceful. A man and a woman are in love. They have some kids. It looks like a seemingly happy family. There is no danger, but, the next moment, I become so upset that I can’t stop thinking HELP THAT POOR WOMAN!! Oh my goodness! The man is devil! He should not be categorized as human, and I spend the following hour worrying about whether the woman is going to get beaten again.

New Zealand is a beautiful country in my impression, but the movie reveals something not so beautiful. Domestic violence is not a new topic, but it is striking me so fierce when seeing it on the screen. The strength of men ought to be used to build and protect his family, but this, on the contrary, becomes the origin of destruction in this movie. Beth, who gets beaten by his husband Jake, wants to fight back, but, maybe terrified by his violence or in the hope to save love, she thinks things will better if she gives Jake another chance. Things do not turn out as she wishes, though. Jake let her down every time.

Violence is not the only theme of the movie. Moreover, there is love, the love of a mother, which is also a nature of human, or more expansively, the whole live species. Beth has a Maori heritage and the influence of her culture is strong. Her strengths lie in her devotion to her family and her heritage. Jake, sometimes, also shows his love to the family. He works to feed the family when he is not drunk; he brings back seafood for his children.

That is little comfort, though, as their daughter is struggling to accept adulthood, their youngest son is heading towards juvenile detention, and their oldest son is fast on his way to joining a brutal gang. Worst of all, Jake is a heavy drinker. Various problems arise and they are tearing the family apart. Beth does her best to hold the family together, but she can hardly make a change which is because of Jake's drinking and carelessness of his family's dissipation. Jake insists it's best to drink away the problems and quit being so "soft" on the kids. These finally lead to a terrible strategy.

The movie is bloody and gloomy as my professor warned us before class. I still think it’s worth watch. I’ve watched many movies, and a lot has already faded out of my memory, but this one is going to stay with me for long.

Rabbit-proof Fence

Rabbit-proof Fence, which is based on a true story, discovers the dark history of the aboriginal people in Australia from 1910 to 1970. What the government is trying to do at that time is to “save” the “half-caste” children from their aboriginal identity and help them fit in the white society. The government forcibly takes the “half-caste” children away from their parents, and put them in the special detention centers which are set up for training. There they are trained very strictly. They are forced not to speak their own language or perform their own custom. They are even told they have no parents, and any child who breaks the rules will receive punishment in a little wooden house.

Molly feels sick of the life in the Moore River Native Settlement. She manages to escape with her two sisters Daisy and Grace. Neville, head of the detention center, is very pissed off. He desperately sends out trackers and police to capture the three girls. The girls’ journey is tough, but fortunately they meet some kind hearted people who offer them food and even shelter some times. Due to Molly’s cleverness and determination, Neville’s “perfect” plans never work out. They successfully hide from the tracker every time. Almost near the end of the journey, however, Grace is cheated by a stranger and is caught by the trackers. There Molly and Daisy missed Grace forever. Following the rabbit-proof fence, the two girls travel 1500 miles and finally get home.

During their scene of escape, the director also gives us an overview of the Austrian vast landscape. The environmental change from coastal region to deeper inland is huge. At the beginning of their escape, there are forest and rivers. Gradually, the green color vanishes, and it is substituted by almost yellow. Where Molly and her sisters live is a semi desert. Not a lot of plants can be found except some dry trees. Water is quite scarce as well. From what I have seen, life of the aborigines is in great harmony with the nature. They hunt for animals that can be found around, like lizards. Sometimes, they also live on birds’ eggs. I think nature is sacred for them, since I see them admire eagles a lot.

What are you going to do when the government kidnapped your children? It’s truly a heart breaking time for thousands and thousands of aboriginal parents. Molly and her sisters are only the lucky ones, but tens of thousands of children remain separate from their mothers. During the long 60 years, they are educated by the white and even forget who they are and the origin of their culture. Body injuries can be cured by medicine. Broken hearts can be cured by time. Lost of self identity is the biggest harm, because it can never be found back again.

Eat, Drink, Man, Woman

Eat, Drink, Man, Woman is one piece from Ang Lee’s “family trilogy”. Ang Lee is a famous director from Taiwan who has won many international awards. He is famous for Brokeback Mountain and Lust, Caution. Both of his movies receive lots of criticism, but it also wins him great fame. I think they are all probably banned in China mainland. When these movies came out, they occupied the front page of ever newspaper, and that’s where I know the name Ang Lee.

The movie tells the story of an old chef Chu who is beginning to face the embarrassment of life after retirement. The big get-together dinner he cooks every weekend can no longer attract his three daughters. They have all grown up, and there are things for them more important than eating with their dad. The death of his old friend is big shock for Chu and takes him long to recover. Though his three daughters are very busy, they care about Chu’s later years in life. When they are planning to find Chu a new love, they are all rocked by the news that Chu is actually in love with Jinrong who is considered as the “forth daughter” in their family.

This is the first movie I saw which is directed by Ang Lee. I think it’s a good one. He shows us that he is not ordinary by using hints, symbolism and other movie making techniques in the film. You have to think when watching in order to get a better understanding of the theme. The story mainly focused on food which is important for every culture and especially important for Chinese. As a country with a history of thousands of years, Chinese culture can be largely represented by its food culture. The food diversifies from place to place. Almost every province has its own eating habits. The diversity increases by distance. For example, people in the north eat bread (steam bread) and wheat, and people in the south seldom eat any steam bread at all. Their staple is mainly rice. What’s more, in western part of China people eat extremely spicy food, but, on the east side, people prefer mild. Climate differences also contribute to food diversifications. The old generation in Taiwan is mostly from the main land. I think their food is more similar to Guang Dong food judging from what they eat in the movie.

Chinese food is also very popular in America. Many times, people ask me whether the food here still taste Chinese. To be honest, the answer is a big negative no. Chinese food in America has been greatly affected by American fast food culture. In order to survive in business, the food making procedure is greatly changed and so does the flavor. In fact, cooking Chinese food is very time consuming. It probably takes me an hour to cook one dish and I know there are some that may require half a day. It gives me a good reason for eating outside!!

Beijing Bicycle

This movie is quite typical which reminds me of several other Chinese movies, like “In the Heat of the Sun”, etc. “Beijing Bicycle” is banned in China main land probably because it truly reveals the social conflicts in China. Some violence is also involved.

The movie gives us a good picture of what Beijing is like. It is an old city with modern architecture. Here the old and the new can coexist well which makes the city very unique. It’s definitely one of the fastest developing cities in the world. The speed of change surprises me every time when I went back to China. It changed most significantly during the year 2008 due to the Olympics. There are so many building under construction. When you are in the city, you can feel by yourself that the city is booming every day.

“Beijing Bicycle”, however, reminds us that, besides the skyscrapers, there are also people under poverty living in little brick houses. The seventeen-year-old Gui is one of those people from outside Beijing. He finds a job from a courier company and is promised that he will own his new bike after he earns six hundred RMB. He works really hard, but when his dream is about to come true, his bike is lost. Gui drops into desperation.

On the other side of the story, Xian is a school boy from Beijng who is the same age as Gui. Because of a poor family background, he feels inferior sometimes though acting proud. After his father misses his words for several times, and also as a way to win “face” in front of his friends, Xian steals money from his family and buys a second hand bike. He doesn’t know the bike is actually the one that Gui lost. The story approaches a climax when Gui finds out the bike he lives on is “stolen” by Xian. He tries his best to get his precious back, and there starts the struggle between the two boys who are trying to guard their own dreams.

The movie can be defined as a movie of youth, but it also explores some other social issues. A small portion of people in Beijing are not only physically poor, but also mentally stressed. They struggle hard to fit in the city life, but most of the times they feel unwelcome and even receive discrimination from other social class. People under such status deserve more care from the society and that is what the director trying to tell us here. The boy from the countryside, the school boy, the babysitter, the grocery store owner, and the boss of the courier company actually share a common destiny, but are only presented in different ways.

Veer Zaara

Honestly speaking, I’ve never seen an Indian movie before. It may sound a little weird as our countries are so close and their movies are so famous. I really appreciate it to have a chance to watch my first Indian movie in class, and I love it so much. I am so impressed by their music. It sometimes sounds mysterious and sometimes burst into happiness and joy. There are about six to seven pieces of songs throughout the whole movie, which makes it more like a song and dance drama. It seems everyone in the movie can sing and dance well. I know movie magnifies things, but it is sure that music is an essential part of the Indian people’s lives. Being a guy who looks clumsy when dancing, I do envy these people.

“Veer Zaara” is telling us a love story beyond the borders. The two lovers, Zaara and Veer, are separated apart for twenty two years. Veer, who is an Indian Air Force official, quits his job and spends twenty two years in the prison of Pakistan to protect Zaara’s reputation. Zaara, the daughter of a Pakistan politician, stays in India for twenty two years to fulfill Veer’s dream. With the help of an idealistic Pakistani layer named Saamiya, the two in love are finally reunited, and they returns to India together. Things have changed a lot. Veer turns from a young handsome man to an old man who has suffered great pain. Zaara is no longer a young pretty girl, but a middle age woman with gray hair. However, what has never changed is their love, which was found in two happy days twenty two years ago.

The conflict between Pakistan and India is a historical problem. There are injuries and deaths on both sides. Are there other ways to solve the problem besides by political and military force? Maybe the movie “Veer and Zaara” is giving people another message. When Veer is wrongly put in prison for twenty two years and when the judge releases Veer from prison and apologizes on behalf of Pakistan, he doesn’t show any sign of anger and nor does he complain. He chooses to forgive. What power can support the friendship between man, between countries, and between civilizations? It is the willingness to forgive. Forgiving requires courage. A man who never knows to forgive will never learn to love. That’s the lesson I learn from this Indian movie.

Run Lola Run

“Run Lola Run” is a fast pacing, game like movie. The mission for Lola is to get 10,000 marks in 20 minutes and save Manni. The game is played three times and has three endings. In the first trial, Lora fails to get the money and has to help Manni rob the supermarket, and ends up shot by the police. Mission fails. In the second game, Lola succeeds in robbing her father’s bank and gets the money, but Manni is run over by an ambulance, so mission fails. In the third round, Lola wins consecutively in the casino and earns more than 10,000 marks. Meanwhile, Manni gets back the money he lost. Manni is saved and they become rich. This time mission complete!

It is surprising how little things can change the rest of one’s life. This reminds me of the movie Butterfly Effect. They both have the idea of changing a little in the past which will lead to changing a person’s whole life track. The movie also shares some ideas of the Eastern cyclical belief. In the east, it is believed that people’s spirit will come back to life again after death but in different forms. Next time you wake up. You may be a man, but you can also be a cat, a dog or even a bug. Then the whole life cycle starts again. I think people in the east won’t be too surprised by the concept when watching the movie.

This movie can also be defined as a love rescuing movie, but, mostly, it is men rescuing women where heroism stands out. Here we see Lora, a skinny girl, rescuing his big man! It is telling us time has changed. The traditional characters can be switched, so here is a clear declaration of feminism. In the movie, we find that woman is always running, thinking and finding ways to solve the problem. Man, however, remains at rest. It seems man in this movie can’t change a thing and all he can do is to wait for his fatality. Woman is trying to change everything and she is even using time magic! In reality, the roles played by men and women are changing significantly. As time goes by, changes may become so significant that maybe one day man will really need women to rescue!