Khalil Fong (方大同) has always been one of my favourite Chinese singer-songwriters. He has a beautiful soul/R&B vibe that is a breath of fresh air in the Chinese popular music scene, especially in Hong Kong. The amazing Khalil Fong recently released Timeless, an album of covers of some of the songs that have had a major influence on him. (My copy is in the mail!) From English to C-Pop to M-Pop, it’s clear that a diverse range of songs have influenced Khalil and made him the great artist that he is today.
Two of my favourites are Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You, made popular by Glenn Medeiros in the 1980s, and 紅豆, Faye Wong’s classic. I know what your first reaction is going to be: the sappy 80s song Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You? Really? REALLY? And taking on Faye Wong song? Wow. The kid has got musical guts. But trust me, it’s great. Khalil Fong puts his own spin on these two songs and makes it his own. LOVE it.
And for all the critics, remember, he’s paying tribute to these songs; he’s not making an exact replica.
Have a listen and enjoy! I’m sure you’ll fall in love with him too! And yes, I do have a major crush on Khalil Fong. He makes me blush.
Khalil Fong – Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You MV
For the first time in many years, I was finally able to catch a couple of flicks at the Vancouver International Film Festival. Unfortunately, many of the films I wanted to see was during work hours but I was able to catch the Korean film Mother. I really wanted to see this film for three reasons: 1) It got rave reviews in Korea when it first came out; 2) It’s Korea’s official entry for Best Foreign film at the Academy Awards; and 3) It stars Won Bin. Done.
Directed by acclaimed Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-Ho, Mother is, simply put, a film about a mother’s relationship with her son and the lengths she will go to for him. The veteran Korean actress Kim Hye-Ja plays the mother to Do-Joon, Won Bin’s character. Do-Joon, a grown man with a mental disability, is cared for by his mother, a herbalist and acupuncturist. Do-Joon is unemployed and spends his days hanging out with and emulating his friend Jin-Tae, a man who he looks up to. One day, the police arrest Do-Joon and accuse him of murdering a high school girl. His mother is devastated by the accusation and heartbroken when no one is willing to believe that her son is innocent. Her lawyer belittles her and the police refuse to acknowledge that Do-Joon is innocent. Frustrated that no one is willing to help her, she goes off to investigate on her own in order to prove her son’s innocence.
Mother is a very simple film that is wrapped in layers of complexity. The story is actually quite simple and, at times, very predictable. In the simplest sense, it’s about a mother trying to prove her son’s innocence. On a deeper level, it’s about the complicated and uncomfortably close relationship between a mother and son. Although there does not seem to be anything overtly wrong displayed in their relationship, their level of closeness does make the audience feel uncomfortable in their seats. The filmmaker does a great job in making the various complex relationships in the film seem okay but not okay at the same time.
The acting in the film is quite good. Kim Hye-Ja steals the show with her portrayal as the desperate mother. Although Won Bin was featured heavily in the various promotions for the film, his performance was simply a little above average. Perhaps it’s because it’s his first role since returning from his military stint? The acting skills seem a little dusty. Or perhaps it was the complicated character he had to play? Either way, the film was the Kim Hye-Ja show. Jin Goo, who plays Jin-Tae, also performed admirably even though he wasn’t asked to display great range. The audience is asked to both loathe and appreciate his character at the same time and Jin Goo pulls it off.
While the film is, generally speaking, quite good, there are definitely areas that could be tightened up a bit. The film was unnecessarily long at 2.5 hours. Although I appreciate that the director needed to slowly unfold the story, I thought the various layers just made the whole film feel very lethargic at times. There were simply many unnecessary scenes that don’t add anything to the story or to the development of the characters.
Another area of the film that I found troubling was the portrayal of the female characters. Other than the mother, almost all the other female characters came off as being ridiculously aggressive (the older characters) or sexually promiscuous (the younger characters). I’m not sure what exactly is the point of having characters in this way as it adds nothing to the story other than reinforce some negative stereotypes about women. For example, the murdered teenage girl in the film is characterized as someone who is sexually promiscuous and sleeps around with various men. This aspect of her character is made clear in the film but for no reason at all.
Despite these two major weaknesses, I would argue that it’s worth it to watch this film. It is indeed a very interesting film and tells a story and portrays a relationship that one would hardly see in any mainstream Hollywood films. And if that doesn’t interest you, you should still watch it even if it’s for no other reason than to watch Kim Hye-Ja’s performance. She can definitely teach many of those K-Drama queens a thing or two about acting. Check out the trailer with English subs below.
I apologize for falling off the face of the earth this past month. I’ve been busy with a variety of projects and things will get even more hectic soon. Why? I’ll be starting a new job next week and I’ll likely be swamped for the next few months. But I will still try to update.
Anyways, a couple of weeks ago, I attended a showing of the Japanese comedy Adrift in Tokyo at Pacific Cinematheque. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t know anything about this film prior to watching it other than the fact that it was extremely popular on the film festival circuit and in Japan. And the critics were certainly justified in giving the film rave reviews.
Adrift in Tokyo is a comedy directed by Satoshi Miki and starring Jo Odagiri and Tomokazu Miura, two of Japan’s most popular actors. The film tells the story of Fumiya Takemura (Jo Odagiri), a university student who owes a ton of money to loan sharks, and Aiichiro Fukuhara (Tomokazu Miura), the man in charge of collecting these debts from Fumiya. One day, Aiichiro decides to give Fumiya money so he can pay off his debts. But there’s a catch. Fumiya must walk with Aiichiro around the bustling Japanese capital of Tokyo. The ultimate destination is the police station of Kasumigaseki, where Aiichiro will turn himself in for a crime he committed. The basic plot of the film sounds quite simple but it’s much more complex. Through their Tokyo walk, Aiichiro and Fumiya will tell a charming story about friendship, family and companionship. There are no antagonists or protagonists in this film. It’s simply about a journey two people take.
The comedic moments of this little film comes from the various people the two main characters encounter during their journey through Tokyo. Yes, there’s some exaggeration to heighten the comedy, but the diversity and essence of the various characters of Tokyo are revealed. There’s comedic value in pointing out the truth about people and their daily lives.
The acting in this film is superb. Jo Odagiri and Tomokazu Miura both do a fantastic job in portraying their respective characters. They are light, charming and, more importantly, relatable; you will find yourself sympathizing with them. The film also boasts a strong supporting cast. Yuriko Yoshitaka is excellent as the quirky high school girl Fufumi and Kyoko Koizumi adds a nice balance and strong female presence as Makiko, Fufumi’s aunt and Aiichiro’s fake wife. While these four actors and actresses give excellent performances as the primary and core cast, the many other supporting actors and actresses, who play the various characters encountered on the journey, also give memorable performances. The acting really did play a huge role in the success of the film.
And even if the story or characters don’t interest you, the film is great simply for a glimpses of Tokyo. The director Satoshi Miki tries to film at a wide range of locations in order to give the audience a better understanding of the diversity of Tokyo. For those from Japan, I think it will give you a different perspective on this beloved Japanese city. And for those who are not familiar with Japan, this film will make you fall in love. (Side Note: I’ve been to Tokyo once before and wasn’t 100% impressed but this film gave me a whole new perspective and made me want to go revisit the city.) So, really, there’s no reason not to go see this film. Two thumbs up!!!
This past Saturday, my best friend Em and I went to Whistler to celebrate the fourth of July. Who cares if we’re not American. Anyways, in addition to enjoying the sunshine and trekking around Whistler Village, Em and I went ziplining! It wasn’t some random decision. We decided to go ziplining as a way to train for the Amazing Race. Yes, the Amazing Race, which is the best show on television. Em and I are both huge fans of the show and once the competition is open to Canadians, we are ready to rock it. And even if we never make it on the Amazing Race, we would have still had a ton of fun!
We went ziplining with Ziptrek Eco-Tours, the major (only?) adventure company in Whistler. We went on the “Bear Tour”, which is the most basic but don’t let it fool you, it was still mega fun. We had two awesome guides (Zu and James) who not only told us a lot of interesting facts about the Whistler area, but they also made all the zipline participants feel super safe. There are a total of five ziplines but I wish there were more! Everytime I took the first step off the tree top platform to zip, I was nervous but a second later, I’m enjoying the beautiful view. In addition to the ziplines, the hiking was super fun as well. We mainly walked along the tree top stations, which are connected by suspension bridges, stairs and, of course, ziplines. The view is just beyond amazing.
It’s hard to really describe the experience. Check out the photos (more on my flickr account) and videos (more on my youtube account) below.
Me Ziplining in Whistler – Ziptrek in Whistler, BC
The View While Ziplining – Ziptrek in Whistler, BC
Em Doing an Upside Down Zip – Ziptrek in Whistler, BC
Okay, fine. So The September Issue is supposed to be about Vogue but Vogue is Anna Wintour. Anna Wintour is Vogue. So, really, The September Issue is about Anna Wintour. Thus, the Anna Wintour documentary.
For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, The September Issue is a documentary about Vogue, the legendary fashion magazine. The documentary team follows Anna Wintour and her Vogue team around and observe how they go about to put together the September issue, which is THE issue of the year. Seriously, it’s like 700 pages!
The trailer is out and, as expected, it has a bit of that Devil Wears Prada vibe. This makes it more entertaining but can come off as a bit unoriginal. It seems that anything about fashion editors now have that Devil Wears Prada feel. A bit boring but sort of awesome as well.
