All about Lili Chou Chou / Riri shushu no subete (Japan, 2001)

I was told to watch this movie by my friend far away, she said it's a movie almost no one understands but that I would like it. And like everything she ever said: She was complete right!

It's film that is not easy to be understood but it is a very good one, though it will hurt every inch of your soul.

I am talking about All about Lily Chou Chou by director Shunji Iwai. It's difficult though to explain what this movie is about. I guess you could say it's a movie about growing up. Growing up in an absurd Japanse popculture and growing up as virtual indentities. One of the best coming of age movies ever made, I dare to say. How dofficult your life can be in your teens, when no one can understand you but yourself or an idol who seems to write her songs for you.

This movie lacks almost everything most people are looking for: like a good storyline, clear characters and the development of this. It is no ta bad thing it all...it points the finger at the problems in such a society like Japan where the pressure to be succesful is too high. Childs get bullied in the most heavy ways and the lack of open communication makes it worse. It's about getting hurt over and over again, about boys who get bullied and turn themselves in the meanest bullies there are. About trying to find your way out of this hellhole on the internet where you describe your own world, the ether you live in. About escapism through music.

This movie consists entirely of pain and loneliness, it will feel like a knife through your heart. The music is almost too great and with the scenery and the entire cinematography is brilliant.

Not too many will like it I am afraid but in my eyes it's a modern day masterpiece that gets you in every way possible.

Tears for you / Nada so so (Japan, 2006)

When you visit my site I guess you will notice that most films I watch are not the most happy ones. So when you think this time the movie has to be funny or happy, I have to disappoint you again. But what I can offer, is a film about love as strong is at can be. And to be honest.... when loves seems to be too perfect.... how can it end happy anyway. Destiny has a cruel way of pushing the most beautiful moments out of his way!

The film 'Tears for you' (Nada so so) by director Nobuhiro Doi is a film which stars Satoshi Tsumabuki and Masami Nagasawa, is about two half-siblings who are lft by there dad in at a very young age. The boy takes care of his sister in any way he can. she is able to go to a good school so he works to earn money. His dream is to have his own restaurant in the future but it isn't going that smoothly, he is deceived by some con-artist and his sister wants to live on her own because she loves him too much. Then he gets ill....

This film is all about love, not the common boy-girl relationship but a more difficult relationship between two half-siblings. A situation that is hard anyway. It's very subtle, and that makes it very beautiful. Not that it is an innovating movie, because it's not... you always know in which way the story will evolve but it's not even necessary. The things the director wants to do, he does perfectly, fantastic scenes about the chemistry between siblings which is totally believable.The sister calling her brother niinii (big brother in Okinawa accent) can be a bit irritating in the end though.

Even though it's very subtle, it is a very emotional film too so make sure you bring some tissues with you.

And to remember, watch the beautiful song during the ending credits cause you will be given a brilliant scene afterwards.

nd for my special friend and soulmate who lives far away:), I hope you will like this one too. I wish you wellness and happiness, it's hard missing you.

Column on film with my participation

On the first of May there is a new edition available of 'Academia', an online magazine and resource for academic librarians. Sarah Buck-Yasin has a column about movies in this magazine and she asked me (among others) to participate in an investigation about the oscars. What are the oscars to you and do they really reflect the finest in film? The reactions of several people (including mine) are published for this month, so why don't you take a look at it!

http://www.ybp.com/acad/film/film0508_1.htm

KT Tunstall live at Paradiso, Amsterdan 29-04-2008

What a perfect evening to go to our capital to see a concert of KT Tunstall. It was just a day before our Queensday and the night of the concrt it is called Queensnight, everybody dresses in orange and parties all night long.
In the fantastic pop temple 'Paradiso' KT Tunstall was the queen in my eyes! What a brilliant concert it was. An amazing performance with one of the most stunning voices I ever heard.
She started with a few famous songs like 'Other side of the world' 'Little favours & 'Hold on', the audience was completely going mad already. One of the most brilliant songs was 'through the dark; which she played on the piano and the country-folk song 'Ashes'. It made me happy that one of the band members played the contrabas, such a beautiful instrument which has it's charm. It's a shame you don't see this instrument too often anymore.

And ofcourse she was performing 'Black horse and the cherry tree', what a stunning moment was that. everyone wnet wild when the first notes were played and she played it with an orange hat, our queen would have been proud. In the end she played my favourite 'Saving my face'. The feeling it gave me is just beyond words.
She had her funny moments too, at about 21.30 in the evening it was the time for random facts like 'cat's urine glows in the dark' and the brilliant 'do you know in England nothing rhymes on orange?'

Well too say in short, a fantastic night which won't be forgotten! After the concert it was time to see the completely filled streets with partying people in Amsterdam.

The restless / Joong-cheon (South Korea, 2006)

I did not have very high espectations of 'The restless' (Joong-cheon), by director Dong-oh Cho, starring Woo-sung Jung and Tae-hee Kim. I just was a bit afraid it would be a second 'The Promise'.

I have to admit it suprised me in a pretty good way. I didn't like all the action scenes, and also some of the special effects weren't very good but still..this movie has something which is really interesting. The dying scenes were really great, a bit like the vampires that returns to dust in blade and angel but this time it's really amazing!

The story is okay, a typical romance story in a kind of fantasy/action way. The acting is okay as well, though I won't say it is good all the time.

What did suprise me in a very good way? Well here is just a simple anwer: The scenery.

The scenes between the actionscenes were stunning, one of the most beautiful I ever saw. In these scenes you feel the magic, you feel the beauty of the world the director wanted to suggest.

The clothing is brilliant, the landscape is very, very beautiful and these are the things that made this film really worth watching.

Fans of flying martial arts movies can't miss this one, but also people who wanna watch just beautiful scenery with stunning detail should give it a try!

Field of wild flowers - Remember?

Do you remember the fields that are filled with wild flowers? Do you remember the scene in 'house of flying daggers' in such a field?
It's one of the best scenes in the entire movie, it's a complete change of colour when they enter there. Zhang ziyi looks stunning in the clothes she wears (Takeshi Kaneshiro makes ajoke about her clothes cause she wears men's clothing: "I will ask every woman to wear men's clothes", and he is completely right).
Do you remember he rides his horse to pick wild flowers for her? Accompanied by such great and emotional music (I guess it's called 'lovers').

Remember my poem I wrote once about such a scene? Someday I'll take you there, hold your hand and show you the beauty of nature. Feel the wind gently touching your hair and hear the soft sound of a bird far away.

Do you remember there are so much more things to do, so much more memories to make, remember you have have to make them with me.

For you

Even if you are going through the most darkest moments of your life, I pray for your happiness. That you will be well soon and can lit the world again with your smile.
Whatever the future will bring 'In my heart there always be a place for you for all my life'. For you, I will try to stay happy, even though darkest nightmares are filling my head.

There you'll be - Faith Hill

Nobody knows (Dare Mo Shiranai) (Japan, 2004)

'Nobody knows' (Dare mo Shiranai) is a Japanese film by Hirokazu Koreeda. It's about a single mother who moves into a small appartment. At first it seems she has only one child, but two more childs are hidden in suitcases, while another child has to picked up at the train station.

This mom leaves her children to chase her own happiness and her twelve year old son has to be responsible for her children. As you can guess, money is short and the children have to find a way living without gas, water and electricity.

It's based on a true story but this film is less miserable. The children seem okay, while in real they were poorly developed (they couldn't go to school).

This film is really great. It contains all things necessary. Though it's painfull to watch there are sweet warm and funny moments. Above all it is heartbreaking to watch, luckily it doesn't rely entirely on the tragic part of the story. Though in the end it will probably make you feel very depressed.

It lacks any action, but if you wanna try some great film which you have never seen before you just have to go to get this film!

Diary of June / Yu-wol-ui il-gi (Korea, 2005)

Diary of June is also known as 'Bystanders' and to my opinion that is the better name for this movie.

It's a film which in the beginning looks like a normal detective movie which has it's funny, exciting and sad parts. But it is more than this. When I finished it I only had one thing in mind, that I just saw a very disturbing movie.

The stoty deals about a boy who has written an advanced diary. In school he always gets bullied and in his diary he desribes how he would kill them. It's a way of releasing his pressure. After he committed suicide, his mother (which is played by the always fantastic actress Yunjin Kim, most people will know her for her role in 'Lost') who is a bit psychic starts to really kill the guys which her son described in his diary. She was an old friend of the detective that leads the investigation.

Like I said.. this story seems interesting but also not very fresh. And than the empasis in this movie starts to change. It doesn't deal too much on this child and his mother (ofcourse they are important and the focus point in the story) but it deals about 'bystanders'. People who see things happen but don't dare to raise a hand or lift a finger.

To be honest, probaly 90 % of all people would do nothing when something bad happens. We keep telling ourselves 'it has nothing to do with me'. And this film shows this message clearly, how such thoughts will ruin you and how you can get lost in life cause you also could never forget those moments.

It's disturbing to see how a teacher knows this kid is being bullied but thinks it will end sooner or later, how two girls see that another girl is being held by a few guys and about to be killed just turn a blind eye and walk on. The end is very different from most movies!

And this makes it an interesting movie to watch and a pretty good one too. In my opinion they could have made more of it but maybe it would be too heavy than. Now it's a bit cold and not too close, but I guess when it would have more emphasized on your feeling it would have been too hard to watch. Not a very famous movie, but when you have the chance...please watch it. It deserves it!

Ninja Festival and ethnic Zhuang celebration

Today some wonderful pictures of Festivals in Asia!



In Iga, Japan, there is a festival during the first from April till the sixth of May. This city, with a population of 100.00 attracts about 30.000 visitors. It features ninja-inspired dance performances, competitions and opportunities to practice ninja skills.



In China there is another festival. It's a traditional festival that is called 'San Yue San', which means that it is the third day of the third months acoording to the Lunar calender. It's a celebration of the Zhuang ethnic group in Wuming, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Aoi Miyazaki and what makes her one of the most beautiful actresses on this planet

There are moments in life when you walk on the street or are watching a movie you get hit by the absolute pure beauty of a person. At that moment you seem to understand the essence of beauty. What does attract you so much is not really clear but it just does. This magical force that totally surrounds you.
Well it happened to me as well. While watching the Korean drama ‘Virgin snow’ (First snow - Gyeoul yeonga)I was introduced to the Japanese actress Aoi Miyazaki (Tokyo, 1985). And I have to admit, I was completely stunned by her beauty. She has something that is pure, something that really finds the way to soften your heart.

What is it that she possesses? Yes, she is really, really beautiful, but not in the standard kind of way. In this movie she doesn’t wear sexy clothing, but just plain white clothes in the beginning. Maybe white adds to her purity.
In Asian cinema there is a total different culture of the clothing people wear. Where in the western countries we often see too much of a person with too tight shirts in Asian cinema (especially in China and Korea) it’s more reserved. It often does not even accentuate the body but it really makes the body. Because you have to compensate the attention is brought back to the beauty or purity of clothing. And this is what makes an actress already far more beautiful. One of the best examples is when Aoi Miyazaki wears a red Kimono in Virgin Snow. It’s just beyond words, true beauty.
True beauty still lies in the face of people and this is what, in my opinion, makes Aoi Miyazaki one of the most beautiful women on this planet and in Virgin snow she is in the bloom of her beauty. Her purity and softness of her face will get to anyones heart.

Memorial ceremony in Fuzhou

On the 6th of April there was a memorial ceremony held in Fuzhou, East China's Fujian province. The 420th anniversary of a death was celebrated this day. So you ask who is this lucky one? Well he is called Qi Jiguang, a general in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). He is famous for his fighting against Japanese pirates!

It's very clear indeed that China's still don't like Japan, so you have to honour your heroes with a memorial day! But ofcourse it is wonderful tradition is still being continued. Maybe I even will look for further information on this man, this Qi Jiguang.

Brotherhood of war / Taegukgi hwinalrimyeo (South-Korea, 2004)

The Brotherhood 0f war is a movie that deals about the war in the beginning of the '50s between communist North- and democratic South-Korea by director Je-gyu Kang.
Two brothers have to go into duty and fight against the communists. While Jin-Seok (Won Bin) is a student, Jin Tae (Jang Dong-gun) is a shoemaker. Jin Tae wants his brother to be safe and to return home so he's got into the plan to win a special medal which allows his brother to go home. To get this medal he has to volunteer for very dangerous operations which is disliked by his younger brother.

Slowly they both grow into very different persons, which is beautifully shown as the impact a war can have on a persons personality.


This film contains heavy violence, one of the most shocking scenes I even seen in war films like the execution of common villagers. It's not really focussed on history but rather on the emotional parts of individuals. It's about exploring your own evil when you face war, something you never seen before. People who change into something dark, who don't recognize friends anymore but only see light in killing the enemy.

One of the most impressive and interesting parts can be seen when the South-Koreans (with help of the United Nations, seem to have liberated (or defeated the communists at) North-Korea. Nothing is less true, the next shot shows us the coming of at least 100.000 Chinese soldiers whohave come to help North-Korea.
It's a really strong movie about a war that in western culture seems to be a forgotten war.

9 Rota (9 th company) (Russia, 2005)

This is a Russian movie directed by Fyodor Bondarchuk and deals about the war between the Soviet Union and the Taliban in Afghanistan. Young recruits are sent from a boot camp to Afganistan to protect hill no. 3234. It takes place in 1988 (close to the end of the war)

I guess the storyline can be compared to that of Full metal jacket. The first part of the movie the characters are introduced and being trained in a bootcamp and the second part deals about the unknown hills and caves where danger ever is to be found.

I have to say just like the heroic characters that we often see in Hollywood cinema we see people some strong fighters who wants to fight for glory but there are also characters that are scared, or one is a painter that goes to war to see the beauty of it.

I have to admit I had to grow into this film but when you do it will keep you in chains. The brilliant shots of indegineous villages were you feel the discomfort everywhere, a blind old man stares and the Russian soldier keeps shouting Haram, Haram. Is anybody to trust, even of they are old or young?

And honour to the Russians, Afghanistan was taboo for a long time in Russia. They left the country cause the Soviet Union was falling apart, but they did not win the war. They did not win, even though they knew the country/landscape. So once again the question raises, what do the Americans do in Afghanistan? This country has never been liberated and not a war against it has been won. Once again it won't happen.

I think it's great Russia seems to understand their mistakes as well, maybe in the future finally westerns will understand that Russian soldiers are also humans and I never understood why they are forgotten for WWII. All glory to the North American continent but without the Soviet union and their sacrifices at Stalingrad we would never be liberated.

Well it was a great movie with plenty of action, drama and the total nonsense of protecting some hills. Not a happy movie, but the reality of the insanity of war.

Cherry blossom

Due to the fact that I watched 'memoirs of a geisha' last night I was pleasently surprised that I found some beautiful pictures about cherry blossom in Japan in the Chinese-international newspaper chinadaily.com.
It is beautiful and mysterious, makes you long for Geisha's in Kimono's.