“馒头长大就不骑牛了，坐火车，坐飞机，那时候，日子会越来越好。”
To Live by Zhang Yi Mou (1994) is a socially and politically aware film that was banned by the China government and the director himself was barred from filmmaking for two years. Out of the Zhang Yi Mou films that I have watched, To Live would be my favourite. Watching this film two years back in class, I barely had any interest in the movie when it started – I thought the movie would be grim, serious, tragic and too politically involved, yet my initial feelings were wrong, at the end of the movie, the plot left a lasting impression on me.
For my response to Days of Being Wild by Wong Kar-wai (1990), I have created the following poster, using bold red as the background and the traditional Chinese characters of the movie title in the foreground.
Gong Li is transformed into a frumpy, down-to-earth, silly yet adorably stubborn village woman in movie The Story of Qiu Ju by Zhang Yi Mou (1992), very unlike her performances in other movies of Zhang Yi Mou’s that portray her in roles that are highly sensual, feminine and tragically themed.
Hanabi by Takeshi Kitano (1997) is a film that speaks more with violence rather than the use of dialogue.
Watching 12 Storeys by Eric Khoo (1997) was very much “Singaporean-identifiable” to me, with stereotypes of the characters in our society that I can easily relate to.
The movie starts with an unexplained suicide of a young man, even though it is clear that the plump and withdrawn lady San-San contemplates suicide, yet, the plot begins with the young man ending his life; and slowly unfolds the stories in the movie with the ghost of the young man occasionally being the silent narrator (we see him appearing in random scenes – especially those when sorrow is felt).
Raise the Red Lantern by Zhang Yimou (1991) traces a young lady Songlian’s marriage into the wealthy Chen family, in which she realises the power struggles among the wives and she herself pitting against the domestic battles confined in the walls of the courtyard house, eventually losing her sanity after many turns of events.
Nang Nak by Nonsee Nimibutr (1999) is a Thailand horror movie based on an ancient Thailand legend which spoke about a female ghost Nak’s undying love towards her husband, which entailed her lingering spirit by her husband Mak’s side and eventually, wrecking lives in the village when there were attempts to inform Mak that Nak is actually a ghost.
Eating Air by Kelvin Tong (1999) is a heavily Singaporean flavoured film, about an Ah Beng who falls in love with an unassuming girl, yet ended up losing his life to honour his friendship with a fellow street hooligan.
