Kick Off

Kick Off (Shawkat Amin Korki, Iraq/Iran, 2010)

Iraq still remains an unstable country for its people even after the overthrowing of Hussein's government. But without being noticed by the press, people would never know the following story on news. Mr Korki inherited the neorealism of the acclaimed directors such as Kiarostami, Panahi and Majidi during his time living in Iran and made this powerful second feature film.

The story starts with a delightful scene in a deserted stadium which has become a village for refugees of different ethnicities. A guy is trying to hold a soccer game not only for the wealth of the people but also to encourage his little brother who lost his leg in an terrifyingly common accident.

There's also a girl from the next door who cares for the guy and his family. They have an affection towards to each other, but they both had to hold it back because of the difference of their ethnicity, so the tragic side of the story starts to appeal.

Despite of the well-going of the preparation, they had all sorts of problems coming along. Though the troubles didn't haunt them continuously, there's an inevitable fate coming right at them that they couldn't ever see. Life is just as unpredicted as the outcome of the story to the audience.

Mr Korki bravely made this film under a very difficult situation. and the result is very effective and accessible. The color and the shots were beautifully designed. But besides being a part of the neorealism wave, he put in the metaphors that were greatly used such as the films are seen early on and a horse in the end, and this is how his film appears so unique among the Iranian or Kurdish films that we are familiar with. He's talented for sure, but most of all, his sincerity can be felt every second in the film, and this is simply what a film needs eventually.

Phobidilia

Phobidilia (The Paz Brothers, Israel, 2010)

Isolation is definitely a modern syndrome. In this internet era, everyone can do almost everything at home without walking out of the house one single bit… except for the REAL interactions. This film debut by the talented Paz brothers from Israel is based on a novel under the same name by Izhar Harlev about this whole globalization impact on individuals.

Our hero here is a young guy with some kind of mental disorder in public places, so he had to build up a world of his own detached with outside world completely. This would seem like a perfect life style for many people living in the modern world, but if you think the carefree would last forever, think twice.

When the old housekeeper Grumps gave him an limited time notice to move out, the obstacles of his perfect life came along one after another. Under the pressure of not being able to keep the house, his life was also interrupted by a cable company saleswoman Daniela. But the once-seemed obstacles gradually became a cure for his anxiety of making contacts with real human beings.

On the other hand, after being disturbed, his affection towards to the lovely webcam girl Jessica also turned into paranoia and denial. He started to aware of the emptiness of the world he lives in and let Daniela invade his heart. Surprisingly, instead of being threatened, he felt a refreshing liberation.

Though there're subplots about the past which cause his syndrome and a hint of the holocaust shadows that are hard to get rid of from Grumps, this is more of a new Israeli cinema that concerns about the younger generations not only in Israel but worldwide. It has the vitality that we couldn't find in other Israeli films with serious themes. Does this mean a whole new Israeli direction has begun? At least we know the great filmmaking of the country has widely attracted our attentions.

2010 Taipei Film Festival Journal: Day 3

Day 3 26/Jun/10 Sat

After grabbing some food at a Cantonese restaurant, Ms Bergroth and I went to the second theater venue, Shin Kong Cineplex, for Ms Bergroth for briefly saying hi to the audience before the first screening of "Last Cowboy Standing" in the film festival at 1.00pm. Then, we had some coffee at the Starbucks downstairs of the theater, walked to the temp. office in the main theater building to get Ms Bergroth's airfare and sat at a cafe near by to wait for the Q/A session. It went well all in all, but there were still a couple of obsessive people in the audience who made it feel intense at one point. The photo shoot and the autograph for the audience came right after, the audience responded very passionately. I believe ms Bergroth was very pleased to get so many good responds, there was even a review mentioned about it by a famous local critic on the newspaper.

Ms Bergroth went back to the hotel to work and rest a bit. I stayed at the office until around 7.15pm and head to the hotel to meet up with Ms Bergroth. We planned to see a Brazillian music documentary "Beyond Ipanema." It was interesting but not so impressive. I took Ms Bergroth and Ms Kirwan, who also went to the screening, to Bistro O, a bar in the alley of Shida rd., to get a few drinks and continue our chatting. Steve joined us later on. It was a good timing to go because Mojito was finally available. We all had a relaxing time there and stayed until 3am! Thankfully they enjoyed it.

2010 Taipei Film Festival Journal: Day 2

Day 2 25/Jun/10 Fri

I met up with Ms Bergroth at 11.00 to get more time for lunch before the grooming appointment at 12.30. At first, I was thinking of taking her to an all-day breakfast serving place near the Beauty Salon, but it happened to be being redecorated. So I just chose another one close by. We had so-so pastas, but the price was not so bad. We arrived before another guest Ms Amy Kirwan, the actress who's here with another film in the competition "Eamon," but it actually took longer time for Ms Bergroth to get her grooming done, but she looked very good so the waiting was very worthy. That's also why we couldn't make it to the greeting before the first opening film which was good as well because it was raining.

At 3.45, Ms Bergroth got changed a more formal outfit for the opening ceremony. During the waiting for the interview, both Ms Bergroth and Ms Kirwan got their looks enhanced,. Finally, it's time to crash into the reception hall and get some food before the second opening film. Ms Bergroth didn't bring her card to exchange with the guests who came to greet with her, so we got a quick taxi back to get them. Thankfully it was worthy the effort, I saw Mr Gon Lee, Director Ang Lee's brother and a film distributor and I know he just distributed the most successful Finnish film last year "Letters to Father Jacob," so I suggested Ms Bergroth to say hello to him. I think it went well, Mr Lee and his wife were both very nice. It can be a chance for Ms Bergroth's film to be distributed here.

We went into the theater to wait for the film "The Forth Portrait," a Taiwanese film also in the competition, starts at 7. It was better than my expectations, and I believe Ms Bergroth and Ms Kirwan both liked it. Afterwards, both guests, Ms Kirwan's host Li-Yue and I spent the rest of the evening having beer and conversations about films. It was absolutely a great time.

2010 Taipei Film Festival Journal: Day 1

Day 1 24/Jun/10 Thu

I was both thrilled and nervous back in the position after 2 years. I am also thrilled to have a full schedule this time. As it started off today, I set off for the airport around 2pm cos I didn't want to be in a rush and of course in case if the flight arrives earlier. Luckily, there was a bus to the airport about to leave when I get to the station around 3.30, and I arrived at the airport at one hour later. It showed the flight will arrive on time, so I took my time waiting there, but it didn't feel long at all.

I started to stand right in front of the exit gate, Ms Zaida Bergroth, my first guest and whose name I was more than embarrassed to fail to pronounce correctly, came out of the gate around 6.10. We got in the limo, I found myself still speaking unnaturally, but at least for once I didn't sit with the guest in the back and made myself also a guest. I showed off a little bit of my research online, but I'm glad that I have some sense in films and kept the conversation from falling into entire boringness.

We arrived at the hotel around 7.10 I think, Matilda, planner Ms Yu were there to welcome the guests. To my surprise, there were more than 3 guests who have arrived. Good to see my old colleague Ivy as well. After discussing, Ms Bergroth and I agreed to meet at 1pm the next day. After we saw the guest off in the elevator, I went to the office with the crew. It was a lucky decision cos firstly, I didn't think of getting my ID, secondly, the schedule was uncertain. We finally made the conclusion which is to meet up at 11am, get lunch and go to the beauty salon for Ms Bergroth to get the grooming for the opening ceremony in the evening. Not a bad fist day of my comeback after all, at least it wasn't raining.

My Filmmaker-Hosting Experiences

Gratefully I've got another chance to host the filmmakers at a local film festival here in Taipei City. I've had three prior experiences, two are for the bigger one called Golden Horse which is always held near the end of the year, one is for the same one which I'm about to start with again. I could't help wondering what the filmmakers I've hosted or met have done or are doing afterwards which I've wondered ever since after the great time we've spent together. I felt extremely privileged to have the chance of knowing them, so I briefly surfed on the internet for their updates, and these are what I found so far:

2007 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival

Arthur Dong

Mr Arthur Dong, who made the incredible documentary about the history of the Chinese filmmakers in the USA since the very first one to the presently famous Ang Lee back in 2007, is a very devoted documentary filmmaker, so his next film might have to be waited for another decade, but I do sincerely hope that we won't have to wait this long. Though it's definitely not everywhere, if you're interested, I believe it's still available on DVD on Mr Dong's site, DeepFocusProductions.com, so are his earlier award-winning films. Also an extra tip, "Hollywood Chinese" is voted 8.3/10 on IMDb, very impressive rating. I had the best first experience from hosting him twice in a row. He came again for the award ceremony in which he won the Best Documentary award as we all expected two weeks later after his arrival for the opening ceremony. Both him and his partner Young were very kind and generous to me, and even their 3-year-old son Reed was fond of me which I still have no clue why he was. We still mail each other Christmas cards.

David Mackenzie

I was also lucky enough to have a brief chatting with the famous Scottish filmmaker Mr Mackenzie, who was here with his another award-winning film "Hallem Foe." Afterwards, he made a hollywood film "Spread" starring Ashton Kutcher and Anne Heche which is well-known for its explicit sex scenes. I wasn't surprised about it since his films always more or less contain the expressions of human desires. In his upcoming feature "The Last Word," besides re-teaming up his "Young Adam" cast Ewan McGregor, there're also other big names like Eva Green, Connie Nielsen and Stephen Dillane. The cast itself is appealing enough.

Tony Ayres

Mr Ayres' film "The Home Song Stories" was a major contender in the Golden Horse Awards that year, nominated for 7 awards in total, including Best Picture. It ended up won his actress, the outstanding Joan Chen, another Best Leading Actress trophy and also himself an original screenplay award. Mr Ayers and my guest Mr Dong have known each other ever since back in the old days, so I was lucky to know this Australian-Chinese filmmaker whose films, I later realized, that I've seen in the film festival a few years back. We even partied together to celebrate both of their winnings. Mr Aryes made a TV-movie "Saved" in 2009.

2008 Taipei International Film Festival

Bryan Chang Wai-Hung

Mr Chang was(I'm not sure if he still is) the chairman of Hong Kong Film Academy. As also a director, he is very well-known as an independent filmmaker in HK, but he's not so well-known outside of HK because of the same reason. He was here with his film "First Born Unicorn." It's a very experimental film, the ideas are interesting but could've been better-executed. But Mr Chang isn't like the eccentric underground filmmakers we've always imagined them to be at all. He's just simply easy going and would walk a long way under a very humid weather just to see the city more. I even had the privilege to meet some very extinguished film critics and workers because of him. It was surely a great time to listen to their ideas.

Laurent Lavolé

It was absolutely a pleasant coincidence for me to get to host Mr Lavolé, an independent French film producer. He has worked with big names like Catherine Deneuve and Élodie Bouchez who he praised a lot, but most notably, he constantly praised the Taiwanese actress Shu Qi as 'stunning!' He was here for a Brazilian film "Mutum" which is focus on one of his favorite subject matters of children. Because it was selected in the new talent competition, and the director Sandra Kogut couldn't make it here due to some visa issue, so he came to represent the film instead. He was such a nice guy and kindly introduced me to his dear filmmaker friends, the Chinese producer Zhang Xianmin who also acts from time to time(he played one of the major parts in Lou Ye's "Summer Palace") and the Taiwanese writer/director Su Chao-Bin. He even called his assistant to send me a copy of "Après Lui," a French film which he produced, right after I said I've never seen it. He went on to produce another children-oriented film "A Brand New Life" by the French-Korean director Ounie Lecomte and a French crime drama "The Queen of Clubs" by the French new talent Jérôme Bonnell.

Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette

I didn't host Ms BL who is from Montréal, Canada officially, but since she's in the new talents competition as well, we saw each other often enough. She was with her film "The Fight."(The original French title "Le Ring" means "The Ring" as for the boxing match stage literally in English, but she thinks people would be confused with her film, the Japanese horror-cult and its Hollywood remake) There was one day, her host wasn't available, so she went to Longshang Temple, one of the tourists' attractions in town, with Mr Lavolé and me. During the tour in it, I showed her how the Chinese praying is answered by asking if her film will win or not, and the answer was a straight yes. A few days later, she did win in the competition. Was it me who bring her the luck? Or is it destined as answered? I only know that I was very happy for her. She released a documentary "Les Petits Géants" in 2009. It focuses on 5 of the kids who were the major acts in an interesting showcase of an Verdi-opera adaptation.

Yves Christian Fournier

Mr Fournier was another director in competition from Montréal. I was lucky to be able to see his film "Everything Is Fine" after their departures and was very fascinated by it. It was nominated for several major Genie Awards and won the Best First Film Award in the following year. I was happy for him wholeheartedly.

Delphine Kreuter

Ms Kreuter is already a French artist for a long time before she made her first film "57000km Between Us" which won the second prize in the competition. It's just as interesting as she is. She's so fun to be with, so even Mathieu Amalric took a part in the film without barely getting paid(well, I believe so). Ms Kreuter stayed for a whole months to experience more of the city. I met her a couple of times while she was still in town. Hope I can reunite with her in Paris when I visit there this summer.

Martin Duffy

Mr Duffy is from Ireland and based in Berlin. He started off as a film editor and released his directorial debut "The Boy from Mercury," which he also wrote in 1996. He was here as a jury member of the official competition awards but also with this debut film. It's warm and tender just as the person himself. I've luckily had a pleasant conversation with him. His last film "Summer of the Flying Saucer" was just released before his arrival here, and he worked as a film editor again in 2009 for an award-winning documentary "Komeda: A Soundtrack for a Life" which was made by his wife, who's also a filmmaker, Claudia Buthenhoff-Duffy.

Andrzej Jakimowski

Mr Jakimowski was another great guy who was also a 'new talent' in the competition with his second film "Tricks." He was harmlessly described as the hot shot among the contenders since he was already a regular winner in the worldwide film festivals. But he acted nothing like a hot shot at all. He walked in the rain with us, took the subway with us, joined us at the welcoming party and had to put up with our smoking when he only just quitted it. I sincerely hope to see his new film as soon as possible.

2008 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival

Xie Fei

The Golden-Bear-Award winning Chinese director, Mr Xie, was the head of the jury of the NETPAC award for outstanding Asian films in the Golden Horse Film Festival in 2008. He has stopped making films after his last one "Song of Tibet" and became a full-time professor. His winning pieces "Woman Sesame Oil Maker" and "Black Snow" are considered important modern Chinese films. He was also invited to be a guest professor at the Art University of Taipei, so I got to watch his film debut "Xiangnu Xiaoxiao" in his last class which I finally attended. Even beyond my expectations, it was so well-made. Hopefully, Mr Xie will pick up another project sooner than I thought.

Ilkka Järvi-Laturi

Mr JL was here to attend the creation-investment conference for his new project "Kiss, His First" since it has a Chinese-related story. It was my first time as a professional translator, so I was afraid of not being capable of doing it. But it turned out fine(at least I think so), and Mr JL also generously gave me a copy of his early work "City Unplugged."(a.k.a. "Drakness in Tallinn") He has worked with big names like Bill Pullman and Irène Jacob in his last piece "History Is Made at Night."(a.k.a. "Spy Games") I'm happy for him because "Kiss, His First" has been archived on IMDb as in pre-production, so this will be his first film in 12 years if it releases on the date as listed.

There were also a few filmmakers I had a brief conversation with such as the talented Thai director Aditya Assarat who was here with his first film "Wonderful Town" and the Israeli director/professor Noam Kaplan who came to promote the israeli student films. I also made quite a few good friends who I worked with like Gretta, Yaxing, Ivy, Arthur, Matilda, and Tess etc., so these are all even more so valuable to me. The filmmakers I'll be hosting this time are the Paz Brothers from Israel with their film "Phobidilia" and Ms Zaida Bergroth from Finland with her film "Last Cowboy Standing." Both films are in this year's new talent competition. So I am looking forward to have another fun and fulfilled interactions with all the filmmakers I will meet.

Short Reviews of Wong Kar Wai Films

As Tears Go By, 1988

Wong Kar Wai showed his rebellious intention of unwilling to compromise to commercialized HK film industry with this feature debut wrapped up cleverly in an audience favorite gangster-themed subject. Though the filmmaking was very rough, you can still tell that this is a very unconventional HK movie. Even Maggie Cheung once said it was Wong who enlightened her acting talent. But I believe it was Jacky Cheung who got the showiest role. The repeating Cantonese cover of "Take My Breath Away" by Sandy Lam still sounds so classic in the film.

Days of Being Wild, 1990

A massive leap for Wong from "As Tears Go By," he proved himself the most daring and worthy HK director with this deeply nostalgic piece about people can never find a substitute comfort if they never had a root where they feel belonging to in the first place. Even so, they would still be obsessed with finding that root which they may never find. The film was so beautifully made with the big name cast to celebrate the born of a new master together. A great first chapter of what I call the "Nostalgia for the 60's" trilogy.

Chungking Express, 1994

The most stylish modern urban tale ever made, and Wong only took a very short time to make it. It contains two parts, the first part is an opposite-attraction story with a double meaning, the second part is a hide-and-seek, lost-and-found story. The characters from different parts passed by each other which I think responded to Kieslowski's chance theme. It seems like borrowing from "The Double Life of Veronique," but this is what makes it even more interesting to me. Faye Wong's film acting debut was unforgettable with her cool Cantonese cover of the Cranberries's "Dreams."

Ashes of Time, 1994

After so many years, it hasn't gone with the wind like its title. Instead, the film gradually became a cult's favorite. Wong was probably the only director who insisted to film a martial art piece in actual locations instead of in the studios. He was notorious for the endless spending and delaying, but he is ironically esteemed now for his insistence, especially after the huge success of Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger." Even it's loosely based on the favorite wuxia novel "The Eagle Shooting Heroes" by Louis Cha, the film continues Wong's constant theme of the regrets and loss of love.

Fallen Angels, 1995

The originally-planned third act of "Chungking Express" is actually very far from the delightful tone. This more experimental piece by Wong is a daring mix of film-noir and black comedy. It also can be seen as a modern extension of "Ashes of Time" with a contract killer, a killer's agent, a woman who seeks revenge and a deaf guy who tries to get attentions. All of them found nowhere out tragically, but after the depressing and self-destructing process, Wong still gave us a brighter ending.

Happy Together, 1997

Wong made this film with a multiple meaning. As HK people tried to get away to the other side of the world because of the return to China in '97, Wong took them there with two gay characters who were inspired by Rainer Werner Fassbinder's themes of loneliness and isolation. "Each Man Kills the Thing He Loves" which was composed by Peer Raben in Fassbinder's "Querelle" can be used to describe the relationship of the leading roles perfectly. But instead of actually leading them to death as originally planned, he gave them a chance to be reborn or to regret and atone which everyone should get as well.

In the Mood for Love, 2000

The long anticipated Wong Kar Wai film didn't fail everyone's expectation. It continues the simple two-character act of "Happy Together" and surrounds them through out the entire film. This following chapter of the "Nostalgia for the 60's" trilogy arrived 10 years later with the character who showed up at the very end of "Days of Being Wild" and finally became a real part. To me, it inherits the suspenseful atmosphere in Michelangelo Antonioni's "Eclipse" which keeps the audience hanging and craving for more after the end.

2046, 2004

The final chapter of the "Nostalgia for the 60's" trilogy is Wong's most ambitious work to date. It went back to the multiple storyline of "Days of Being Wild" and "Ashes of Time" with a big name cast again. Though it was nothing like "In the Mood for Love" which everyone anticipated, it's still very fascinating and full of Wong's trademark signatures. To many people, it shows Wong's self-indulgence. To me, it proves that Wong is still the same person who is unwilling to compromise as he was when he released his debut back in the 80's.

Eros, 2004

This whole project was to celebrate Antonioni, but his part was ironically the least favorite of all three parts. But the collaboration by three of the most celebrated filmmakers alive is still very much worth to celebrate. Wong's part is acknowledged as the best with a simple story surrounds a young tailer and a high-class prostitute which has rich metaphors. Soderbergh's part is very experimental and playfully interesting. The master's part is mostly about the presentation of the erotic images, but it either shows it all or nothing depends on different perspectives.

My Blueberry Nights, 2007

Wong's first English feature returned to the delightful with a slightly sentimental tone of "Chungking Express." Regrets, loss and heartbreaking characters, Wong mixed all his old materials and make it into a collaged road film as a homage to the classical American genre. Norah Jones feels like an extension of Faye Wong without the mysterious and careless. David Strathairn and Rachel Weisz's part was a reprise of "Happy Together." Natalie Portman's gambler responds to Gong Li in "2046." As for Jude Law, he's the delicious blueberry pie that no one orders except for Jones.

To Each His Own Cinema, 2007

Another collection of short films which gathered the 33 distinguished directors/co-directors in the world to express each of their point of views about their passion, cinema. It is a feast for movie buffs but too few of the segments can actually impress the audience. Wong Kar Wai's part was poetic as always but not as memorable as his other short films. The most impressive ones were still from the provoking directors such as Cronenberg, Polanski and von Trier. Lynch strangely became an Easter egg in the DVD.

Ashes of Time Redux, 2008

The martial art classic was finally restored which it definitely deserves to be. Instead of made only for a new DVD/Blu-ray release, Wong decided to re-edit and re-score it to make it a re-release to the theaters. But Wong's director's cut is even shorter without ever picking up the footages on the editing room floor. The quality is for sure enhanced, but the presentation of this redux apparently doesn't satisfy all the die-hard cult fans.

Cinematized Eileen Chang

I finally watched "Love in a Fallen City" directed by Ann Hui and released in 1984 a few days ago and witnessed what people said was over-carved about it. In fact, there wasn't any problem with the words in it. The problem was Hui's method, especially as a female director, wasn't as good as Stanley Kwan's or Ang Lee's later on. Of course, some people would say Kwan can't be put in the comparison because he's gay, and Lee is famous for being incredibly anal. But I saw a few interesting resemblances and connections from these Eileen Chang adaptations.

The Hong Kong and Taiwanese audience probably knows more that Chow Yun-Fat was a acclaimed actor in realistic and romantic genres before he became the hero in John Woo's movies. Hui was naturally one of his benefactors. The leading role in "Love in a Fallen City" made his unrestrained but affectionate image. Mabel Cheung's "An Autumn's Tale " was even one of his representative works. But everyone took him as an action figure for granted after Woo until Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" which dug the romanticism out of him again. But he was in fact the second choice after Jet Li passed on it. Comparing to the delicate quality and face features of Rene Liu who portrayed Eileen Chang herself in a bio-TV series, the leading actress Cory Miu in "Love" might fit Chang's traditional yet resolute quality better. Though she was criticized for not being traditional enough and plainly acted, I, however, think she presented the most vivid character out of Chang's writings to date, but she didn't fully develop her acting skill shamefully.

Wu Chien-Lien, who played a major part in Lee's "Eat Drink Man Woman," was casted as the female leading role in Ann Hui's "Eighteen Springs" later on. It was an interestingly interactive interlude. Joan Chen, who was originated in Shanghai, is fully westernized and naturally the best choice for the Red Rose in Stanley Kwan's "Red Rose White Rose." Winston Chao, who was discovered by Ang Lee, was transformed from the modern gay yuppie in "The Wedding Banquet" to the womanizer in early twentieth century Shanghai in "Red." He was also casted as Eileen Chang's first husband Hu Lan-Cheng later on. Ang Lee also casted Joan Chen in "Lust, Caution" as Tony Leung's wife. There seems to be also some sort of a Eileen Chang curse to end acting careers. The White Rose in "Red" Veronica Yip was married and retired soon after it. Anita Mui in "Eighteen Spring" died at a young age. Tang Wei in "Lust, Caution" was casted away by the Chinese government after playing the instantly classic role. But she seems to be benefited from Chang again by getting a role in a newly released HK film. Maybe she'll play another role in another adaptation of Chang's someday later. Tony Leung and Joan Chen won their Golden Horse Awards together twice coincidentally, Ge You in "Eighteen" was already a Cannes Best Actor winner, and Leon Lai in the same film also won his Golden Horse Award later on. The late Taiwanese director Fred Tan's "Rouge of the North" is the only film adapted from Chang's fully-English-written novel to date. It also won a supporting actress a Golden Horse Award then and is the only film adaptation I haven't watched yet.

From "Love" to "Lust," besides Chang Zheng for "Rouge" and Lee Pin-Bing for "Eighteen," the rest of the dps were all westerners. It makes me wonder if it fits Chang's taste more by looking through a westerner's eye. Tony Hope for "Love" only shot five films in HK, and "Love" was the last one. There seems to be no record of showing his latter works. Christopher Doyle was naturally chosen for "Red" after his famous retrospective work in "Days of Being Wild," and the cinematography did make the film look outstanding. It didn't look like the same case for "Lust" but more like Lee's preference of recruiting the well-collaborated crews from previous works. For example, Frederick Elmes, who joined the film industry with David Lynch, worked with Lee in three of his films, "The Ice Storm," "Ride with the Devils" and "The Hulk." He is also Jim Jarmusch's preferable cinematographer. Rodrigo Prieto, who was nominated for an Oscar for "Brokeback Mountain," was firstly noticed for Alejandro González Iñárritu's "Amores Perros," which was beaten by "Crouching Tiger" at the Oscars in the Foreign Film Category. He must be given loads of reference films by the constant homework-giving Lee. His outstanding effort won himself a grand technical award at Venice Film Festival.

Lee recruited Lai Pan, the double Golden Horse Award winner for "Red," as the production and costume designer for "Lust." He, as a Korean, seems to know better about the period than the other HK and Taiwanese professionals. As for the score, the score of "Love" by the HK pop music godmother Lam Man-Yee still couldn't get rid of the cheesiness of HK pop music. The score of "Red" by the Taiwanese musician Johnny Chen has the surprisingly international momentum. Lee got the currently famous French composer Alexandre Desplat for "Lust." The continuously coiling melody distributes an epic spirit. The score of "Rouge" was by the late distinguished Taiwanese musician Peter Chang. I'm looking forward to its performance in the film.

Adapting Chang is of course a great challenge for screenwriters. "Love"'s Fengcho, "Rouge"'s Tan and "Red"'s Edward Lam all did it as a fan, but they didn't have much experience in screenwriting. HK blockbuster writer Chan Kin Chung showed his literate skills in "Eighteen" but fell average unfortunately, but his screenplay for Johnnie To's "Sparrow" two years ago won himself some reputations instead. As usual, Lee handed the work to his teammates Wang Hui-Ling, who wrote the teleplay for Chang''s bio-TV series, and James Schamus. The collision of east and west made the sparks that matched Lee's big picture once again and also brought Chang's adaptation to a whole new level. In fact, Hou Hsiao-Hsien's "Flowers of Shanghai" is related to Chang as well. Apart from Heng Bangqing's original chapters from Ching Dynasty, it also took references in Chang's English translations necessarily. It boldly casted the modern figures such as Tony Leung, Carina Lau and Michelle Reis, Jack Kao was the only actor who got in touch with another Chang's adaptation "Rouge" before. Chiu T'ien-Wen's delicate adaptation, Huang Wen-Ying's exquisite artwork and Lee Pin-Bing's thoughtful shots all delivered Chang's infiltration of the story.

I have a not-so-unique imagination. If Wong Kar Wai filmed "Love" and "Eighteen" instead of Hui, the result would definitely be much better. He, as a representative director for romanticism of HK cinema, is good at making atmosphere that brings extra points to a film singly. I believe anyone who have seen "Days of Being Wild" and "In the Mood for Love" would agree with me. I also believe that Tony Leung got the part in "Lust" must had something to do with his work in "In" which made him a Cannes Best Actor winner. Kwan in fact considered Maggie Cheung as the Red Rose in "Red," but that's more related to "Yuen Ling Yuk" than Wong's films.

Postscript: the film adaptations of Chang's literature works

1984 Love in a Fallen City (Ann Hui, HK)

1988 Rouge of the North (Fred Tan, Taiwan)

1994 Red Rose White Rose (Stanley Kwan, HK)

1997 Eighteen Springs (Ann Hui, HK/China)

1998 Flowers of Shanghai (Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Taiwan)

2007 Lust, Caution (Ang Lee, Taiwan/China/US)

If there were 10 Oscar Best Picture nominees... 2000-2008

2000

Almost Famous

Billy Elliot

Chocolat

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Erin Brokovich

Gladiator

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Traffic

Wonder Boys

You Can Count on Me

2001

Amélie

A Beautiful Mind

Black Hawk Down

Gosford Park

In the Bedroom

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Memento

Moulin Rouge!

Mulholland Drive

Shrek

2002

Adaptation.

Chicago

Far from Heaven

Frida

Gangs of New York

The Hours

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

The Pianist

Road to Perdition

Talk to Her

2003

City of God

Cold Mountain

Finding Nemo

In America

The Last Samurai

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Lost in Translation

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Mystic River

Seabiscuit

2004

The Aviator

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Finding Neverland

Hotel Rwanda

The Incredibles

Million Dollar Baby

The Motorcycle Diaries

Ray

Sideways

Vera Drake

2005

Brokeback Mountain

Capote

Cinderella Man

The Constant Gardener

Crash

Good Night, and Good Luck.

A History of Violence

Munich

Syriana

Walk the Line

2006

Babel

Children of Men

The Departed

Dreamgirls

Letters from Iwo Jima

Little Children

Little Miss Sunshine

Pan's Labyrinth

The Queen

United 93

2007

Atonement

Away from Her

The Bourne Ultimatum

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Juno

Michael Clayton

No Country for Old Men

Ratatouille

The Savages

There Will Be Blood

2008

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Dark Knight

Doubt

Frost/Nixon

Frozen River

Happy-Go-Lucky

Milk

The Reader

Slumdog Millionaire

WALL-E

My Top 100 Films of the Dacade (2000-2009)

1. Lust, Caution (Ang Lee, Taiwan/China/US, 2007)
2. Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, US, 2005)
3. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, Taiwan/HK/China, 2000)
4. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar Wai, HK, 2000)
5. Good Night, and Good Luck. (George Clooney, US, 2005)
6. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Peter Jackson, New Zealand/US, 2003)
7. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, US/UK, 2008)
8. 2046 (Wong Kar Wai, HK, 2004)
9. Spirited Away (Miyazaki Hayao, Japan, 2001)
10. Amélie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, France, 2001)
11. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, US, 2004)
12. Before Sunset (Richard Linklater, US, 2004)
13. Away from Her (Sarah Polley, Canada, 2007)
14. The Hours (Stephen Daldry, US/UK, 2002)
15. Memento (Christopher Nolan, UK, 2000)
16. Volver (Pedro Almodóvar, Spain, 2006)
17. The Departed (Martin Scorsese, US, 2006)
18. Batman Begins (Christopher Nolan, US/UK, 2005)
19. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Peter Jackson, New Zealand/US, 2002)
20. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Peter Jackson, New Zealand/US, 2001)
21. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, UK/US, 2006)
22. Still Walking (Hirakazu Kore-eda, Japan, 2008)
23. Taking Woodstock (Ang Lee, US, 2009)
24. 35 Shots of Rum (Claire Denis, France, 2009)
25. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, US, 2001)
26. A Prophet (Jacques Audiard, France, 2009)
27. Moulin Rouge! (Buz Luhrmann, Australia/US, 2001)
28. Erin Brockovich (Steven Soderbergh, US, 2000)
29. Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe, US, 2000)
30. Y Tu Mamá También (Alfonso Cuarón, Mexico, 2001)
31. The Reader (Stephen Daldry, US/UK, 2008)
32. Hairspray (Adam Shankman, US, 2007)
33. About Elly (Asghar Farhadi, Iran, 2009)
34. Chicago (Rob Marshall, US, 2002)
35. 4 Months, 3 Days and 2 Weeks (Cristian Mungiu, Romania, 2007)
36. Talk to Her (Pedro Almodóvar, Spain, 2002)
37. About a Boy (Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz, UK, 2002)
38. Pride & Prejudice (Joe Wright, UK, 2005)
39. The Constant Gardener (Fernando Meirelles, UK, 2005)
40. Blindness (Fernando Meirelles, US, 2008)
41. Little Miss Sunshine (Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris, US, 2006)
42. Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, US, 2004)
43. Happy-Go-Lucky (Mike Leigh, UK, 2008)
44. City of God (Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund, Brazil, 2002)
45. Atonement (Joe Wright, UK, 2007)
46. No Country for Old Men (Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, US, 2007)
47. Closer (Mike Nichols, US, 2004)
48. Far from Heaven (Todd Haynes, US, 2002)
49. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Julian Schnabel, France, 2007)
50. Ratatouille (Brad Bird, US, 2007)
51. The Incredibles (Brad Bird, US, 2004)
52. Milk (Gus Van Sant, US, 2008)
53. The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke, Germany/Austria, 2009)
54. The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Germany, 2006)
55. The Twilight Samurai (Yamada Yôji, Japan, 2002)
56. Vera Drake (Mike Leigh, UK, 2004)
57. A Very Long Engagement (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, France, 2004)
58. Howl’s Moving Castle (Miyazaki Hayao, Japan, 2004)
59. The Prestige (Christopher Nolan, US/UK, 2006)
60. Yi Yi: A One and a Two (Edward Yang, Taiwan, 2000)
61. Adaptation. (Spike Jonze, US, 2002)
62. Oldboy (Park Chan-Wook, South Korea, 2003)
63. Frost/Nixon (Ron Howard, US, 2008)
64. Silent Light (Carlos Reygadas, Mexico, 2007)
65. The Banishment (Andrej Zvyagintsev, Russia, 2007)
66. Head-On (Fatih Akin, Germany/Turkey, 2004)
67. Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro, Mexico, 2006)
68. Road to Perdition (Sam Mendes, US, 2002)
69. American Splendor (Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini, US, 2003)
70. Gladiator (Ridley Scott, US/UK, 2000)
71. Nobody Knows (Hirakazu Kore-eda, Japan, 2004)
72. The Edge of Heaven (Fatih Akin, Germany/Turkey, 2007)
73. Hotel Rwanda (Terry George, UK, 2004)
74. Billy Elliot (Stephen Daldry, UK, 2000)
75. The Queen (Stephen Frears, UK, 2006)
76. Tony Takitani (Ichikawa Jun, Japan, 2005)
77. Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky, US, 2000)
78. The Piano Teacher (Michael Haneke, France/Austria, 2001)
79. The Return (Andrej Zvyagintsev, Russia, 2003)
80. Ghost World (Terry Zwigoff, US, 2001)
81. Sideways (Alexander Payne, US, 2004)
82. Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold, UK, 2009)
83. Punch-Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson, US, 2002)
84. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, US, 2000)
85. I’ve Loved You So Long (Philippe Claudel, France, 2008)
86. The Class (Laurent Cantet, France, 2008)
87. Broken Embraces (Pedro Almodóvar, Spain, 2009)
88. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Steve Box, Nick Park, UK, 2005)
89. Mondays in the Sun (Fernando León de Aranoa, Spain, 2002)
90. Bad Education (Pedro Almodóvar, Spain, 2004)
91. Amores Perros (Alejandro González Iñárritu, Mexico, 2000)
92. The Man Without a Past (Aki Kaurismäki, Finland, 2002)
93. The Pianist (Roman Polanski, France/UK/Germany/Poland, 2002)
94. Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier, Denmark, 2000)
95. The Fountain (Darren Aronofsky, US, 2006)
96. Bloody Sunday (Paul Greengrass, UK, 2002)
97. Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright, UK, 2004)
98. Collateral (Michael Mann, US, 2004)
99. Solaris (Steven Soderbergh, US, 2002)
100. Dogville (Lars von Trier, Denmark, 2003)