A Millionaire's First Love

The notion of simplicity in love is the most complicated to establish. Love has baffled all of us since human existence. We celebrate love, we honour love, we sing about it, we even make moving images about it, some even hate it and bring it to grave. Yet, is love science or pure instinct and feelings? Can we even try to explain love in simple words? Ever since the Korean wave, I have noticed loads of love stories (be it on film or drama series) reach almost every corner of this part of the Asian region. I do find one thing quite common throughout these ever green subject matter called love in Korean movies - the naivete outlook towards love. I am not saying they are bad, I guess they found a way to some audiences' hearts by pulling the most sensitive chords in us, the weakness of being human. But then, why am I trying to decipher and dissect love and the treatment of love in film when part of me do believe that it can never be explained in simple terms? And what makes a love story great and ever lasting, in the minds of the audiences? To drown yourself in the made believe and fantasy like "almost out of this world" kind of love story approach like this film called A Millionaire's First Love (2006) or to get down to the gritty and dirty reality of the other side of "real love" like in CLOSER? I personally love the two extremes for I believe love has many facades, like what is being portrayed in 2046 by Wong Kar Wai. A Millionaire's First Love - I adore the cinematography and the approach the director, Kim Tae-gyun used to portray the simple love between this young couple. Hyun Bin has matured quite a bit in this film (though I have only seen him in the drama series called My Lovely Samsoon). Lee Yeon-hee is exceptionally stunning in her acting! She has that innocence of a girl-next-door that almost reminded me of Miho Nakayama in the Japanese film, Love Letter. She plays the role with such fragility that I could almost sense her pain and sadness. The chemistry between the two is quite convincing. The breathtaking yet not imposing long shots of the golden field of the village in the summer are some of my favourites. I love the opening of the film. It is also interesting, to me, to find that the film takes its time to gradually reveal its plots. It is one of the better Korean movies I have seen. Oh, thanks to my sis for lending me the film-:)

When I got my camera back...

When we were at Canon office to pick up our camera on Monday, the first test picture I took was Ryan, with his small booklet, given to all school children at school. He loves this one because the illustrations are quite hilarious. I asked him why this pose and he said he wants to hide his face behind his comic. Later in the day, when Ryan went to school and Aidan was with me, he woke up and wanted me to take a picture of him instead. So, this is the picture I took of him, with one of his (and Ryan's) favourite toys and hero action figures - ultramen! Both of them, incidentally had almost the similar poses, though taken at different times. How delightful, I thought. They do miss one another these days since Ryan started his standard one for both of them go to school at different time of the day. Growing up means taking up more responsibilities now...

The Pirates and The Two Lovers

It was a fun way to end the year 2006. I could still remember it was the first time I'd watched Pirates of the Caribbean - The Dead Man's Chest. Non-stop action sequences, loads of surprises and what amazed me the most is the character of Davy Jones in this Hollywood blockbuster - such details in the CGI make-up of the character: the movements, the fluid yet "octopus-like" texture to his face, his gestures. Gosh, you could almost believe that it is for real! It is just a film that sets out to be none other than entertaining, which is good. Never takes itself seriously than merely to lighten up your life. I enjoyed the film a lot. On the contrary, my 2007 opened with a film that is uniquely different but equally engaging, The Chinese Botanist's Daughters, directed by Dai Sijie. Beautifully shot and told, in such great delicate details, it follows the story of two women who fell "innocently" in love with each other in a place that could only exist in picture perfect postcard-like remote area of China called Kuilin. The location itself speaks a thousand words without even trying to utter a single syllabus, the silence of breathtaking beauty lulls the audience into a hypnotic state of mind, it compounded the feeling that the love between the two lovers are so surreal yet so real at the same time. A mixture of feelings is evoked. You are happy for them (why not when you so believe that you have found the love of your life?) yet you know that it will not last (tragic Chinese approach to a film). To me, it was not the stigma of the society that kills the lovers, it is partly how the story has to end...tragically to make a lasting impression, most of the time. That's why you have the typical story structure to a film. Well, doesn't that somehow mirrors life itself? Li Xiao-Ran is a very subtle actress, reminded me almost like Koyuki in The Last Samurai. She plays her role perfectly - the reservation of a Chinese woman but the boldness of a modern lady who dares to defy social constraints to pursue her own happiness. A pleasant surprise this film brings. It is pretty sensual too. Looking forward to more thought provoking films to come this year.

Finally...A Slight Make Over

I have been trying to make some minor changes to the look of my blog for quite a while already (it had never been close to success, felt almost like a facial surgery went haywire...that scary, not that I have any personal experience, just some wild imagination on my own). Today, I had finally got it a little right, though not perfect yet but I am happy with it for now...it looks like it is a decent beginning to a year after all...time to work harder and get more serious things done! Go GO JENN!

The Tool To Capture Is Temporarily Out

Our old Canon digital camera that I have been using to take all the photos I posted here is now in the workshop...I am eagerly waiting for its return. I feel as though something is missing...Zhang Yimou's Curse of The Golden Flower is not in the final list of "Foreign Films" category in Oscar. Have yet to watch the film...hhmm...I wonder why?

Janice Vidal's Do You Know...

Finding a voice at the end of the year, she appears out of the blue. We listened tentatively and her voice just filled the air and subsequently filled my heart. We were immediately mesmerized. To own such a voice is something that you could only be born with, I believe. To be discovered and given a chance to share it with the rest of the world is a gift. I love her voice. She carries such innocence in her crystal clear voice, yet comes with great feeling. It soothes the mind and lifts the spirit. I particularly adore the lyrics - very intricately and most definitely beautifully written. Contemporary and classic in a certain way, she displays great controls over even the most difficult high notes. 2006 has been somewhat a mixed year. The good and the bad. That's life I guess. Nonetheless, to be able to learn to appreciate life more, to be able to realize that life can only be how precious and important you deemed it to be, is something that is worth time to ponder on. The ever changing little space between us and another individual in our life can only be understood and deciphered if we allow it. If we choose to close and push that little gap away, we can never know the possibilities of intimacy and understanding we could reach in each other. Communication makes life easy, but it is also the one thing that could complicate matters more.

Do you know where you're going to?

Do you like the things that life is showing you

Where are you going to?

Do you know?

Do you get

What you are hoping for

When you look behind you

There's no open door

What are you hoping for?

Do you know?

Do I know what I want in my life? Of course I do, to a certain extend. For me, music fuels my writing and to look within in the process of writing, one needs that little more space and time to just walk down that path, alone. Let's work towards a better 2007!

A Royale Treat

Though our Singapore Christmas trip didn't come true, we managed to give the boys a somewhat nearer to home sort of a holiday last Thursday. We checked ourselves into The Royale Bintang Damansara next to The Curve here instead. It is elegantly situated and we were pleasantly surprised by the Family Suite. It came with a King size bed (Patrick's favourite) and two single beds (for Ryan and Aidan), each at a different wing, facing one another but separated by a sliding door. A modern touch, with nice bed linen and a comfy couch to lay back onto, the suite is extremely pleasing to the mind and body. Even the boys loved it so much. We swam, we took the kids to the curve, the IKEA playground the next morning, had a hearty breakfast and another round of swimming at the pool. I even got a relaxing spa treatment at the Royale Spa courtesy of Patrick himself. It was truly a holiday break worth escaping to once in a while.