Korean Job Discussion Forums

[rothkowitz]

I'll have to try to hunt that Ang Lee movie down.

I don't know how censorship works in Taiwan but Taiwanese certainly don't identify themselves as Chinese,which,I hope to mean,means that their films might be a bit racier.Of course,if you show too much in a film,often the spell is broken.

HK horror films do get a bit samey,though "Dumpling" was Ok,as was "The Eye"(the latter was made by a Thai brother team,but in a kinda HK style.

[rothkowitz]

Hmm...just saw an ad on TV for "Curse of the Golden Flower" with Chow Yun Fat and Gong Li.

Looked very "wushu" but that's OK for an afternoon.

My question is,does anybody know of cinemas in Seoul or Seongnam to watch non-English speaking films with English subtitles?

Does such a place exist?

[stevemcgarrett]

rothkowitz:

A scholarly study of modern attitudes conducted among Chinese of different nationalities and regions in 1996 actually found that Taiwanese tend to be more traditional in many respects than their mainland peers. But it was only one study, although using mixed methods, which is more reliable.

That said, there are two sex scenes in the movie but nothing graphic. The three Chinese actresses are quite hot and can actually act very well. One of them is known as much for her acting ability as her looks. The screenplay is excellent and the traditional cooking is sumptuous. The characters are solidly constructed rather than stock and the pacing of the film, coupled with the score, is uniformly excellent.

[rothkowitz]

Interesting that you mention cooking in an asian film.

The start of "Cyclo" seemed devoted to that.

I feel like I had more access to asian cinema in my small city in NZ.I did see some movies in a Nagisa Oshima retrospective at ArtSonje a few years back,but it's slim pickings now

OK.I think this is my mission with the school phone for next week.(No lessons until March,regular attendance for me)

[stevemcgarrett]

ALL:

Anyone else out there viewed Red River Valley with Ning Jing about the British incursion into Tibet in 1900?

Curious what you thought of it.

[rothkowitz]

Saw "Food,Drink,Man,Woman".

A nice film with some nice moments.

The denouement came as a surprise(but evidence that he was still in control of his faculties,north and south) and the second part of that unravelling-him letting go and granting his daughter her subjectivity-let the film finish.

A lot more to see than that of course.

Very nice film.SMcG,thanks for pointing it out.

[stevemcgarrett]

roth:

You mean "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman?"

Interestingly if not revealing, the ending disturbed most of my Chinese graduate students who viewed it several years ago. They felt it was highly inappropriate for the father to remarry such a young woman although it was unclear to me why. They also disapproved of the very sudden announcements of marriage, especially without the involvement of the family. Wonder what Taiwanese thought of those concerns.

[rothkowitz]

[stevemcgarrett]

roth:

There is definitely a comic element in this film, as with all of Ang Lee's early work. But don't you think the middle daughter remains closer to her father? And what do you make of the ending? I'm still unsure whether she's the one who bought the old home as a place to stay when she returns to visit from Amsterdam?

I suspect my Chinese students found the idea of family upheaval very unsettling.

[rothkowitz]

Perhaps.He does ring the bell rather than using his key in the final scene.That could fit.

[stevemcgarrett]

roth:

You know, as many times as I watched that film I never noticed that. But then wasn't she still packing up her things before leaving for Amsterdam? I think she was closest to her father in terms of personality and he was most endeared to her as well. I'd like to believe she kept the house because Chinese are quite sentimental, especially in such personal matters.

That scene at the dinner table with the soup was very poignant, don't you think? And that actress who played his middle daughter is exquisite (I forget her name).

[rothkowitz]

Actually,it makes good sense if she had bought the house as otherwise it makes having the traditional Sunday dinner in a sold house seem odd.Would make them seem too much like creatures of sentiment.

That final scene is very nice.

[stevemcgarrett]

roth:

Well, I think it was meant to be very sentimental, and unabashedly so. What I like about Chinese is that they're not ashamed to show ren qing, or feelings of the heart, when it comes to family.

[rothkowitz]

Is Jackie Chans' casting couch reputation deserved?

I'm not trolling.

[stevemcgarrett]

roth:

Whoa! Where did that come from? I heard rumors in the Chinese Internet community that he slept with Zhang Ziyi while making a film together recently but who knows? Jackie is a player, though.