Do the Right Thing

The story is about how a small incident sparked a racial riot in a black neighborhood.

Liked the plot and the interesting characters in the film! Could tell that the director was telling a story close to his heart although I was lost on some of the real life references.

Internet Movie Database Link

Mother

The story is about a mother investigating a murder mystery that allegedly was committed by her dim-witted son.

Great acting by the mother! Liked the twists and turns in the murder mystery! Was really taken aback when they revealed who the real killer was!

Internet Movie Database Link

A Summer at Grandpa's

The story is about how a young boy and his sister spent their summer holidays at their grandpa's place as their mother was sick in the hospital.

Liked the leisurely countryside life depicted and the interesting characters encountered in the film! Great acting by the two kids!

Internet Movie Database Link

Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks - Part 2: Remnants

This is the second part of a trilogy that documents people living in the city of Shenyang before and after their houses were torn down.

Liked how the inhabitants were able to act naturally in front of the camera and spoke freely about what they thought! The songs that they listened to were very nice and the snowy landscape was pretty! Felt that the ending was a bit abrupt though.

Internet Movie Database Link

Koko, a Talking Gorilla

This is a documentary about a gorilla who was trained to use sign language to communicate with her trainer.

Liked the philosophical questions raised by the interviewees and watching the everyday life of the gorilla with her trainer! Was impressed by how smart she was!

Internet Movie Database Link

The White Balloon

The story is about a young girl who wanted to buy a goldfish for new year but had to ask other people for help when she lost the 500 tomans that her mother gave her.

Liked the interesting storyline and the resourcefulness of the little girl! Quite amazed by how the director managed to inject so much drama in a simple story!

Internet Movie Database Link

Not Without You

The story is about a father who brought up his daughter single handedly only to face a series of red tape when he tried to register her for school.

Liked the beautiful black and white cinematography and the cool dream sequence! The ending was nicely executed too!

Internet Movie Database Link

Donkey in a Brahmin Village

The story is about what happened when a professor brought a stray donkey home and asked a mute girl in the village to take care of it.

It was interesting to see how the presence of the donkey affected life in the village! Nice satire that showed how the Brahmins were superstitious and intolerant of others!

Internet Movie Database Link

Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks - Part 1: Rust

This is the first part of a trilogy that documents the lives of workers in the city of Shenyang before and after they were laid off as the factory went bankrupt.

Liked how the workers were able to act naturally in front of the camera and spoke freely about what they thought! Learnt a bit more about the situation in China through this great documentary! I am already looking forward to the next two parts of the trilogy!

Internet Movie Database Link

Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Brussels

The story is about three days in the life of a widowed housewife named Jeanne Dielman who stayed with her son.

Liked the rhythmic sound of the protagonist opening and closing the doors as well as switching on and off the lights! I was impressed by how organised and neat she was! The dishes that she made on screen looked delicious too!

Internet Movie Database Link

The Name of a River

The story is an autobiography of an influential Indian director called Ritwik Ghatak done in an abstract mythical style.

Liked the nice songs in the film but wished that I had more background knowledge on the Indian history and fables to understand the film even better!

Internet Movie Database Link

Scenes of City Life

The story is about life in Shanghai during the mid thirties.

Liked the special sound effects in the film! It was interesting to gain an insight into the thoughts of young people during that time!

Internet Movie Database Link

Nazarin

The story is about a priest living in a rural Mexican village during the early twentieth century. He tried to live a holy life but this caused unexpected conflicts as it was against social norms.

Liked the interesting story and the ambiguous ending! Not really sure if the priest was a fool or simply a religious fanatic though.

Internet Movie Database Link

Humanity and Paper Balloons

The story is about the plight of poor people during the Tokugawa era. One of them was the wife of a ronin and she makes cheap paper balloons at home.

Liked the interesting plot but was depressed by the pessimistic view of life!

Internet Movie Database Link

The Cow

The story is about a young man's love for his cow and what happened when he discovered that it was missing one day. The cow had died but the villagers tried to hide the truth from him.

Liked the interesting depiction of the rural life in an Iranian village! I could tell that the young man really loved his cow through his interaction with it!

Internet Movie Database Link

Daybreak

The story is about a young girl who moved to Shanghai together with her boyfriend during the early thirties. Their boss was rich and powerful and he often abused his power.

Liked the flashbacks of the couple's happier moments and the actress's nice smile!

Internet Movie Database Link

And Quiet Rolls the Dawn

The story is about one family's daughter who was suspected to be missing when she did not return home from work as usual and its impact on the neighborhood.

This was a late seventies film, so there was no mobile phone for the daughter to call home during that time. Liked the social commentary on the role of women in Indian society and the depiction of a typical daily life at the rural Indian neighborhood!

Internet Movie Database Link

Black Girl

The story is about an African woman coming to France to work as a maid and how she felt about it.

Liked the voice-over narration that described the protagonist's feelings! A little bit shocked by the ending though. This would make great teaching material for new maids and their potential employers!

Internet Movie Database Link

The Girl Who Sold the Sun

The story is about how a handicapped girl decided to work in the city by selling newspapers whose title is "The Sun".

Learnt a bit more about the lives of street children in Africa! Was impressed by the little girl's optimism and resourcefulness!

Internet Movie Database Link

Nine Days of One Year

The story is about the struggles of a group of nuclear scientists in Russia during the sixties.

Liked the speech on the role of war in advancing science and vice versa! The inner monologue of the workaholic scientist's wife was interesting too!

Internet Movie Database Link

The Bakery Girl of Monceau

This is the first part of the "Six Moral Tales" series by Eric Rohmer. The rest of the films in the series are "Suzanne's Career", "My Night at Maud's", "La Collectionneuse", "Claire's Knee" and "Love in the Afternoon".

The story is about how a young man befriended a beautiful girl whom he always bump into in the street. The beautiful girl disappeared mysteriously without leaving her contact number. The young man roamed the streets in search for her and he became a regular customer of a bakery in the process as he wanted to save time on his meals. Will not reveal too much of the rest of the story but he eventually faced a moral choice in the end.

Liked the narration that described the thoughts of the protagonist! The pastry in the bakery looked really delicious!

Internet Movie Database Link

The House is Black

This is a documentary about lepers living in Iran. Their condition is described alternately between a man narrating facts and a woman reciting poetry.

Liked the sound of poetry and how it matched the images shown! The ending was pretty good as it showed how the children of the lepers felt about their parents!

Internet Movie Database Link

Astro Boy

The story is about a robot made in the image of a scientist's son who died in an accident. This is an adaptation of a Japanese manga and TV series.

The protagonist looked quite cute with his big eyes and spiky hair! Was inspired to check out the TV series online after watching the film and I found the TV series to be even more interesting! The soundtrack and the storyline are both even nicer!

Internet Movie Database Link

Crimson Gold

The story is about the life of a pizza delivery man in Iran. The title referred to the jewelery that he wanted to buy from a shop but was humiliated by the owner who felt that he could not afford it.

Liked "The Mirror" better as it was more unpredictable. Felt a little bit bored with the protagonist who had a monotonous job. The pizza looked delicious though! Maybe that was part of the reason why he became so fat!

Internet Movie Database Link

The Ritual

The story is about how a single woman hides her pregnancy by staying in the temple but eventually had to be evicted when people in the village found out about it.

Liked the anthropological approach to explain the unreasonableness of the caste system in India! The protagonist violated social norms but was kind towards the untouchables. The senior Brahmin students knew the rituals by heart but physically tormented their junior. Great performance by the lead actress!

Internet Movie Database Link

The Green Ray

The story is about a woman who went on a vacation by herself. She has just broken up with her fiance and hoped to start a new relationship.

Was quite puzzled as to what the green ray represented until towards the end of the film and everything pieced together quite nicely! This film reminded me of films by Hong Sang Soo with its theme of a lonely person, episodic structure and seemingly random dialogue!

Internet Movie Database Link

The Song of Sparrows

The story is about how a middle aged man working in an ostrich farm was fired and accidentally found work in the city as a motorcycle driver. His family life suffered in the process.

Liked "Children of Heaven" better as the protagonist was a really unlikable guy, shouting at his kids for no reason at all most of the time! Hope no animal was hurt making this film!

Internet Movie Database Link

Hunger

The story is about a talented writer struggling to survive in the city. He is poor but still tries to live with dignity.

Liked the interesting dream sequences especially the one with the dog!

Internet Movie Database Link

The Human Condition

This is a trilogy about the life of a young man who tries to follow his principle of treating people with kindness despite the harsh wartime conditions. He was first a coal-mine supervisor at Manchuria towards the end of World War II, became a soldier and finally ended up as a prisoner of war in Russia.

Liked how the movie traced the protagonist's life against the bigger historical background! As he was thrown into different situations, he tried his best to stick to his principles despite the circumstances. Was pleasantly surprised to see Chishu Ryu and Hideko Takamine guest starring towards the end!

I: No Greater Love IMDB Link
II: The Road to Eternity IMDB Link
III: A Soldier's Prayer IMDB Link

The Adjuster

The story is about the life of an adjuster, a person who investigates insurance claims and recommends an effective settlement. His wife has a job at the Board of Censors and they live in a show-flat together with his sister-in-law and son.

Don't really like the director's films as he tends to break a story apart into many fragments like a jig-saw puzzle and challenges the audience to piece them up together. I was puzzled until after the Q&A session. I thought it was technically pretty clever but didn't feel connected to any of the characters.

Internet Movie Database Link

A Moment of Innocence

The story is about a film director recreating a scene twenty years ago when he injured a policeman who was distracted by his cousin.

Liked how the whole film making process was shown together with the actual story and the philosophical dialogue! The director's daughter looked quite cute and the cousin looked quite pretty! Wasn't really sure what to expect for the ending but I thought it was very appropriate despite being a bit abrupt!

Internet Movie Database Link

Strange Circus

The story is about how the dark secrets of a Japanese family came back to haunt each of their members many years later.

Liked the flowery lines spoken in the narration and was deeply affected by the psychological impact on both mother and daughter as a result of the father's tyranny over them! A good mix of dreams and reality also provided several interesting twists to the film!

Internet Movie Database Link

Mary and Max

The story is about the friendship of two pen pals: one was a little girl from Melbourne named Mary, the other was a middle aged Jewish man from New York named Max who suffered from Asperger’s Syndrome.

Liked the interesting storyline and the narration! Nice soundtrack too!

Internet Movie Database Link

Waltz with Bashir

This is an animated war documentary about how Israeli forces played a part in the Sabra-Shatila massacre following the assassination of the Lebanon President, Bashir Gameyel, in 1982.

Liked the dream sequences and the soundtrack! Learnt a little bit about the Lebanon war from this film!

Internet Movie Database Link

Usavitch Seasons 1-3

Each season of "Usavitch" consists of 13 episodes and they are shown on MTV Asia. The story is about the adventures of two rabbits trapped in a Russian prison.

Liked the fast paced action that fits the exciting MTV style image! The plot is innovative and funny! Learnt from the Q&A that the director liked "Tom and Jerry" when he was young. Think he might have got some of his inspiration from there!

Official Site

Ornamental Hairpin

This film is part of the "Travels with Hiroshi Shimizu" Eclipse boxset that consisted of "Japanese Girls at the Harbor", "Mr. Thank You", "The Masseurs and a Woman" and "Ornamental Hairpin".

The story is similar to "The Masseurs and a Woman" but with a slight twist. A soldier is injured by a hairpin dropped by a mysterious woman from Tokyo who traveled back to apologize and spent many days at the small inn in the mountains where she made many new friends.

Liked the interesting characters like the professor and the two enthusiastic grandsons! A little doubtful that the recovery of the soldier's foot was due to his daily self-designed physiotherapy routine though. The final scene reminded me of "When a Woman Ascends the Stairs" by Mikio Naruse!

Internet Movie Database Link

The Masseurs and a Woman

This film is part of the "Travels with Hiroshi Shimizu" Eclipse boxset that consisted of "Japanese Girls at the Harbor", "Mr. Thank You", "The Masseurs and a Woman" and "Ornamental Hairpin".

The story is about a blind masseur's encounter with a mysterious woman from Tokyo at a small inn in the mountains.

Liked the beautiful mountain scenery and the interesting relationship among the masseur, the woman and another young man! The dialogues were very nicely scripted and revealed what each character was thinking about!

Internet Movie Database Link

Mr. Thank You

This film is part of the "Travels with Hiroshi Shimizu" Eclipse boxset that consisted of "Japanese Girls at the Harbor", "Mr. Thank You", "The Masseurs and a Woman" and "Ornamental Hairpin".

The story is about a bus driver who travels from the rural village to Tokyo. He is nicknamed Mr. Thank You as he is very polite and says "Thank You" to people or cars who block his way so that he can overtake them.

Liked the nice countryside scenery and the different kinds of people who sat on the bus! Quite amazed that he knew some of the passengers by name and even helped them with small errands like passing messages or buying the latest music records in town! I would give him full marks for his service attitude! He was not so conscientious about safety though as there were a few scenes where he used the rear-view mirror to check on his passengers rather than on incoming traffic.

Internet Movie Database Link

For all mankind

The documentary is about the experiences of astronauts from the US travelling to the moon on the Apollo series rockets.

Liked how the director pieced together one coherent story with audio commentaries inserted at the right places! I could see what they went through and hear what they felt about it twenty years later all at the same time! My favorite scenes would be the majestic lift-off sequence, the earth rising on the moon and the astronauts happily jumping around on the moon!

Internet Movie Database Link

Japanese Girls at the Harbor

This film is part of the "Travels with Hiroshi Shimizu" Eclipse boxset that consisted of "Japanese Girls at the Harbor", "Mr. Thank You", "The Masseurs and a Woman" and "Ornamental Hairpin".

The story is about the life of two Yokohama girls who were very good friends in school. Sunako was exiled and returned years later as a fallen woman while Dora married Sunako's ex-boyfriend, Henry. The title of the film came about because Yokohoma is a port city with a big harbor.

Was fiddling with the audio option for the DVD and found that there was a soundtrack option for this silent film but decided that the experience was much better without any soundtrack! Liked the nice scenery and the complex relationship among the three leads: Sunako, Dora and Henry!

Internet Movie Database Link

PSTAR Scrabble Games 2009

The PSTAR Scrabble games is an annual event for organisations in the civil service to take part in a friendly game of Scrabble. It was held at the Civil Service Club on 26th Sep 2009 from 10am to 5pm. A total of 27 teams took part. MINDEF had one team taking part this year.

Here's my match report, with quizzes marked with [number] and the answers given at the end of the report.

Our first pairing was against People's Association (PA) team 1.

Game 1: PA 1
My first game was against a girl named Le Yi. Both of us had one bingo each. I had STOURIE(78) while she had REqUIRED(77). I managed to beat her as she went overtime by 3 minutes and made many simple phoneys like IX* and NEZ*.

Won 417-231. Our team won 3-0.

Next game was against Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) team 1.

Game 2: MHA 1
My second game was against a guy from the police force named Cho. Both of us had one bingo each. I had LEAFIEST(62) while he had SPINNER(83). He was leading by 65 points at one point but I managed to turn the tide around by phoneying successfully with FARK* and REVE* while catching his phoneys such as AXER*, ETE* and CUD*. He also went overtime by 10 minutes and this gave me a bigger spread.

Won 444-220. Our team won 3-0.

Had free lunch catered for us after our second game. The dishes were not too bad but the paper plates were much smaller compared to last year! Didn't really feel full after that.

Our third game was against Ministry of Education (MOE) 1.

Game 3: MOE 1
I was paired against Vincent who was a Masters player but he claimed that he was getting rusty at the game. Both of us had one bingo each. I had RELEASER(75) while he had dITCHES(87). My opponent was trailing by 69 points towards the end with ADIMNT? on his rack. He could have won if he managed to bingo across the triple score lane front hooking to an existing AA on the board [1] but he phoneyed with MATINeD* instead and lost. Lucky for me!

Won 384-347. Our team won 3-0.

Our final game is against Land Transport Authority (LTA) 2.

Game 4: LTA 2
I played against Jimmy. He opened with DOZER(39) and scored heavily later with XI(60). He also had two bingos: IsOLATE(68) and MARKETS(88) against my INVERTS(75). Had many uninspired plays and chickened out of a bingo with a DDGINOS rack[2] as I was not sure of the word. Think everything went downhill after I decided to play off DO instead.

Lost 329-474. Our team lost narrowly with 1-2.

In the end, MINDEF 1 came in 4th placing among the top category teams. Had fun seeing so many familiar faces! Hope we could do even better next year!

Quiz answers (highlight to see clearly)

[1] MeDIANT
[2] SODDING

Tokyo Sonata

The story is about a Japanese family that is gradually falling apart after the father was retrenched.

Liked how the film captured the tension among the family members and the plight of the unemployed! The dream sequence and the scenes where the couple each expressed the desire to start all over again were pretty well done!

Internet Movie Database Link

Moebius

The story is about how a topologist helped to solve the mystery of a missing train in the subway station.

A little disappointed as I thought there would be a lot of special effects to explain the subway blueprints and the mathematical principles behind them. Not much action on the missing train itself too!

Internet Movie Database Link
Auteurs Link

I Love Beijing

The film describes the life in Beijing through a taxi driver who drives around the bustling city and meets different kinds of people everyday.

Liked how various characters such as a waitress, a librarian, a rich socialite and a poor countryside girl are weaved into the taxi driver's life to give an in-depth look at the social problems in Beijing!

Internet Movie Database Link
Auteurs Link

Maborosi

The story is about a woman who remarried after her husband mysteriously committed suicide.

Liked the nice scenery near the beach at the woman's second home, the depiction of her new happy family life and the visit back to her old home! The slow pace and the quiet atmosphere gave this film its unique charm!

Internet Movie Database Link
Auteurs Link

Grandeur 8 Mini 2009

I signed up for the Grandeur 8 mini as I thought it would be interesting to take part in a Scrabble competition that was held in a shopping center. It turned out to be not as relaxing as I imagined as we were distracted by the emcee blaring non-stop away, the curious onlookers, the noisy background music and the hot afternoon sun at CenterStage Marina Square.

Here's my match report, with quizzes marked with [number] and the answers given at the end of the report.

Game 1: vs Donald Seah

My first opponent was an old man who usually played in division C. Guess I shouldn't have underestimated my opponent as it turned out to be a much closer game than I had imagined! I only managed to pull ahead after bingoing with SINGErs(64) using both blanks.

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: SINGErs(64) Opp Bingos: -
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: EXES(39), PODS(33) Opp High Moves: ZA(45), FANCIER(45)
W 402-324, +78. 1W 0L (Accum spread +78).

Game 2: vs Peter Yu

At one time, I had ADEIPRS on my rack and I could only see the PRAISED anagram. After putting it down, my opponent played FIST to the TWS cell and scored 45 points! Should have played the anagram with the "S" as the 3rd letter instead![1] The board then became very closed later in the game. Saw an empty place to put one tile that back hooked both FEN and KA. Would have tried to put a "G" there to form FENG* and KAG* but my opponent snatched the spot from me to form FENI/KAI. Realised later that the correct spelling of the words that I was thinking of were FUNG and CAG.

New words learnt: FENI
My Bingos: READINGs(83), PRAISED(68) Opp Bingos: NELLIES(70), TINTERS(66)
My Phoneys: GEME* Opp Phoneys: VETOR*
My High Moves: HORN(33), ROOK(30) Opp High Moves: FIST(45), YOW(32)
L 374-415, -41. 1W 1L (Accum spread +37).

Game 3: vs Catherine Tong

Both of us made many mistakes in this game. I won as I got away with an ERY* phoney, scoring 28 points in the process and she challenged UDAL unsuccessfully! It could have been a draw if she had not challenged!

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: NASTIES(73) Opp Bingos: -
My Phoneys: KOE*, GELL*, ECUR*, ERY*(28) Opp Phoneys: SA*, REPEND*
My High Moves: SIX(37) Opp High Moves: CUPS(38), WOP(40), JeATs(57), TRODE(35)
W 373-368, +5. 2W 1L (Accum spread +42).

Game 4: vs Tan Mun Ri

My luck was pretty good and it helped that my opponent was struggling to find a place to play her bingo-prone rack, phoneying several times in the process! Realised later that there was an anagram to her ADEINTU rack which she phoneyed with AUNTIED*.[2]

New words learnt: BAUBLE, TEAZE
My Bingos: GENDERS(77), NAVIGATED(78) Opp Bingos: NUTSIER(75)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: BAUBLED*, ANTEEING*, AUNTIED*, SToURING*
My High Moves: CLEAK(32), JOE(33), XU(52), TEAZE(72), VERT(34) Opp High Moves: POOR(31), CLEAKING(45), QI(43), MAWED(33)
W 567-350, +217. 3W 1L (Accum spread +259).

Game 5: vs Chew Hong En

Was trying to catch up by setting up bingo lanes but they were used by my opponent instead! Tough luck!

New words learnt: ANION
My Bingos: DEsERtER(74) Opp Bingos: LARGEST(87), BUTTERS(79)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: LIR*
My High Moves: ZEP(53) Opp High Moves: DIVA(33), JA(31)
L 371-421, -50. 3W 2L (Accum spread +209).

Game 6: vs Perry Lam

Should have blocked when I was ahead so that my opponent would not have the chance to play his second and third bingos but I didn't! Big mistake!

New words learnt: TZARINA
My Bingos: ViSITOR(75) Opp Bingos: TZARINA(84), OVERtIPS(94), RETAILS(79)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: ELE*
My High Moves: OH(37), SUQ(31), AN(35) Opp High Moves: DUB(30)
L 400-491, -91. 3W 3L (Accum spread +118).

Game 7: vs Catherine Tong

My opponent said she wanted revenge as it was our second time playing together. She didn't have a chance though as I had very good tiles. Our spread would have been smaller if she knew the anagram to her EIILRST rack[3].

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: REWINDS(70) Opp Bingos: HEAVENLY(76)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: HEAVERLY*, LISTIER*
My High Moves: SHONE(38), QINTAR(34), MICE(31), CHATTY(51), ZEE(37) Opp High Moves: RELIST(34)
W 431-290, +141. 4W 3L (Accum spread +259).

Game 8: vs Aloysius

Had a 3-0 record against my last opponent but he finally had his revenge! He scored very well with his bingos and with the high scoring tiles!

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: LENDING(81) Opp Bingos: PULSaTE(71), VIOLINS(89)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: QUOP(30) Opp High Moves: LAXES(40), JOT(34)
L 345-442, -97. 4W 4L (Accum spread +162).

Quiz answers (Highlight to see clearly):

[1] DESPAIR
[2] AUDIENT
[3] RILIEST

The Face of Another

The main story is about the transformation of a disfigured man after receiving a face mask from his psychiatrist. The subplot is about a girl who was disfigured due to nuclear radiation from the atomic bombings of Japan.

Liked the interesting dialogue between the man and his wife as well as between the man and his psychiatrist! Kyo Machiko who played the wife still looked quite pretty for her age! She looked stunning in "Rashomon" and "Ugetsu" that were made more than ten years before this film!

Internet Movie Database Link

Princes and Princesses

There are six short stories in the film: "The Princess of Diamonds", "The Fig Boy", "The Sorceress", "The Old Lady’s Coat", "The Cruel Queen and the Fabulo Trainer" and "Princes and Princesses". Each of them is about either a prince or a princess.

Liked the interesting gadgets in "The Sorceress" and "The Cruel Queen and the Fabulo Trainer"! "The Princess of Diamonds" and "The Fig Boy" was predictable, the scenery in "The Old Lady’s Coat" was beautiful while "Princes and Princesses" was quite funny!

Internet Movie Database Link
Auteurs Link

Pitfall

The story is about a coal miner's life and how he tried to unravel a mystery when a terrible incident happened in a deserted ghost town.

Liked the scenes within the ghost town! Thought it was pretty interesting how they depicted the interaction between the dead and the living!

Internet Movie Database Link

Rampo Noir

The film consisted of four segments adapted from the works of a Japanese mystery writer, Edogawa Rampo. They were mysterious forays into grotesque and erotic fantasy worlds.

Liked the beautiful Iceland scenery and the MTV-style images in "Mars Canal", the scientific analysis in "Mirror Hell", the pretty costumes worn by the actress in "Caterpillar" and the colorful set in "Crawling Bugs"! Felt that the stories were much more grotesque than erotic!

Internet Movie Database Link

Onibaba

The story is about how an old woman and her daughter-in-law survived in a war-torn 14th century Japan. The dynamics of their relationship changed when the old woman's son's friend returned from the front line.

The harsh environment that the protagonists lived in reminded me of "Woman in the Dunes" with the gigantic sand dunes replaced by tall bladed grass. Liked the portrayal of lust between the daughter-in-law and her husband's friend! Pitied the old woman though as she seemed to be punished for no reason at all!

Internet Movie Database Link

The Mirror

The story is about a young girl finding her way home from school when her mother did not turn up to fetch her.

Liked the scenes of ordinary Iranian life seen through the eyes of the little girl and the twist in the middle of the film! It was interesting to see how the microphone doubled as a tracking device! The energy and the resourcefulness of the little girl impressed me too!

Internet Movie Database Link
Auteurs Link

Dry Summer

The story is about how a dispute in the neighborhood started when a middle aged man tried to hoard water by building a dam to stop it from flowing to other people's land. He is an evil man who betrays his brother and lusts after his pretty sister-in-law.

Interesting story! The elder brother looked really evil with his moustache and the sister-in-law looked very pretty! Was a little bit shocked at the cow scene and I thought the snake-bite scene was beautifully shot!

Internet Movie Database Link
Auteurs Link

Up

The story is about how an old man flew his house to a far away land using lots of balloons where he had an adventure with a little kid, a bad guy and a few other animals.

Liked the montage sequence as it was touching and very effective in telling the old man's story prior to flying his house! The film reminds me a little bit of Gran Torino that is also about the relationships among an old man, his dog and a little kid.

Internet Movie Database Link

Partly Cloudy

This short film shows how difficult the task of the stork delivering babies can be. One particular stork gets especially difficult assignments!

Nice story! Liked the determination of the stork to do a good job!

Internet Movie Database Link

Buy A Suit

This film is specially screened before the upcoming Japanese Film Festival to commemorate the death of the director, Jun Ichikawa. The story is about a girl looking for her long lost brother who has chosen not to work. He survives by staying in a make shift shelter near a bridge and getting food from the garbage.

Liked the scenes that showed the ordinary people walking about in Tokyo! Didn't really like the lighting for the classmate reunion scene though as it was either too dark or too bright. The theme of the movie reminded me of the works by Wim Wenders such as "Alice in the Cities" and "Tokyo Ga".

Internet Movie Database Link

Best of Ottawa 2008

This consists of 10 animation short films. It is shown at Substation to publicize for the upcoming Animation Nation 2009 in October.

Liked "Chainsaw" and "The Control Master" the best as they were creative and funny! The personal stories told in "It's Always the Same Story", "I Slept With Cookie Monster" and "A Letter To Colleen" were interesting too! Didn't like "OIAF 08 Signal Film", "Cattle Call", "The Comic That Frenches Your Mind", "The Mixy Tapes" and "Último 'Spong Ice'" as they were too abstract.

Saint Jack

This is based on a book by Paul Theroux of the same title about an American pimp, Jack Flowers, living in Singapore during the early 70s near the end of the Vietnam War.

Interesting to see how Singapore looked like during the late 70s! Didn't really find the story very exciting though.

Internet Movie Database Link

The Ascent

The story is about what happened when two Russian soldiers went on a mission to get food for their platoon.

Liked the beautiful snow scenery and the excellent script that explained how difficult it was for people to choose their actions under very difficult circumstances! I also thought the muted cries of the two protagonists were pretty effective in delivering the message!

Internet Movie Database Link

Scrabble Nationals 2009 (Day Two)

Game 5: vs Ismail

Had a 0-3 record against Ismail, so wasn't feeling very confident about the game. Led comfortably after two bingos but my opponent slowly narrowed the gap as he had power tiles like the J, Q and Z. Luckily, it was not enough for him to win the game!

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: ETESIAn(71) ENCLOSEd(74) Opp Bingos: -
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: STURD*
My High Moves: MAIN(31), JEW(40) Opp High Moves: DOZY(55), QI(34), JAG(37)
W 396-362, +34. 3W 2L (Accum spread +63).

Game 6: vs Aloysius

Had very good tiles and could have played two more bingos if I had been more sure of the words. The potential bingo racks are BCDEHIR and AEEHRSS rack.[5]

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: WIRiNGS(82), JOLTIER(76) Opp Bingos: OTARIES(69)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: TIM*, GEF*
My High Moves: ZAP(34), EXO(53) Opp High Moves: -
W 493-269, +224. 4W 2L (Accum spread +287).

Game 7: vs Ruby

Had terrible racks this time round and even changed twice but didn't really benefit from the changes.

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: WEEPERS(69)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: CMY*
My High Moves: AXE(40), REBOIL(33), FLAG(31) Opp High Moves: DUCKS(31), UNTAME(35), BUSIER(36)
L 310-410, -100. 4W 3L (Accum spread +187).

Game 8: vs Albert

Lots of phoneys from my opponent but he played many high scoring moves too, so they sort of balanced up!

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: UNITERS(75) Opp Bingos: -
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: DEOXIDE*, JOWER*, JUNES*
My High Moves: DITZ(33), OBI(37) Opp High Moves: DOZED(36), LIKES(35), MOWER(45), HEH(31), JUN(32), wEB(31), XIS(54), FONT(31)
L 352-410, -58. 4W 4L (Accum spread +129).

Game 9: vs Winston

Had terrible tiles in this game and phonied twice while trying to make a bingo. Could see that my opponent was fishing to make a bingo too but he had more success doing it!

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: DENOTES(78), FIDELITY(92)
My Phoneys: PANTRIED*, MONITER* Opp Phoneys: ENTILED*
My High Moves: CADS(35), RAX(35), KOI(31) Opp High Moves: ZA(37)
L 299-445, -146. 4W 5L (Accum spread -17).

Game 10: vs Bee Tiang

Quite a close game! Not sure if I could have won if I had played differently though.

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: DIVErTS(72) Opp Bingos: SALUTES(69)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: KHI(31), HOW(31), LEFT(35) Opp High Moves: QUEAN(33), WISE(33), COZE(34)
L 360-387, -27. 4W 6L (Accum spread -44).

Game 11: vs Jeffrey

My second time playing with Jeffrey and he said he wanted revenge! Didn't give him the chance but I did learn a new word OVOID from him!

New words learnt: OVOID
My Bingos: VINERIES(74) Opp Bingos: -
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: OVIDE*
My High Moves: RAX(32), ZA(57), MED(34) Opp High Moves: OVOID(43), CHUTES(33)
W 462-281, +181. 5W 6L (Accum spread +137).

Game 12: vs Khamis

Finally, the last game of the day! Pulled ahead after my opponent phonied twice and I found a bingo! Managed to hold on to my lead until the end of the game!

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: rAFTERS(88) Opp Bingos: DEcLINE(71)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: OUKED*, PREET*
My High Moves: QUA(39), ZEST(35), SWIRL(38) Opp High Moves: YEH(33), AXE(39)
W 439-337, +102. 6W 6L (Accum spread +239).

Won 10th position out of 24 players with 6 wins out of 12 games and +239 spread in the end, my best showing at the Nationals so far since 2005! I also had fun talking to old friends and making new friends! The only regret is that I didn't have the chance to play with Victor. Think I should be back for next year's Nationals!

Quiz answers (Highlight to see clearly):

[5]: BIRCHED, HEARSES

Wings

This is the first film in the Larisa Sheptiko's Eclipse boxset. The story is about an ex-pilot who became the head mistress of a school but still longed for her carefree days as a pilot because of her boring job.

Liked the interesting character study of a Russian woman in the late sixties! Her daughter looked quite pretty! I also liked the Russian doll performance!

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Scrabble Nationals 2009 (Day One)

This year's Nationals is held at Bishan CC which is a new venue for me! Took a bus to Toa Payoh where I visited the National Day roadshow at HDB Hub and had a quick lunch before travelling to Bishan by MRT and walking the rest of the way to reach my destination!

Three players from the Temasek Polytechnic Scrabble team and two from the Ngee Ann Poly Scrabble team were taking part in division B. Think they are really training hard for this year's PSTAR games!

Here's my match report, with quizzes marked with [number] and the answers given at the end of the report.

Game 1: vs Ganapathy

At one time, I was holding a AEIORS? rack with a floating T on the right center of the board and tried hard to think of a bingo that either started or ended with a T. Chickened out of TOASTIER and put OARIESt at a very bad position instead. My opponent immediately replied with JANE(57)! Realized that there were 2 front hooks for OARIEST after the game.[1] Had an EEMNRT? rack a few turns later with a floating E on the bottom center of the board and played cEMENTER(67) earning a challenge. Can you think of a bingo that starts with E with an EEEMNRT? rack?[2]

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: OARIESt (71), cEMENTER(67) Opp Bingos: RANTING(76)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: BAW*, BRAIT*
My High Moves: HEAD(32), SCORN(39) Opp High Moves: BOATER(34), QAT(30), JANE(57), FY(35)
L 377-420, -43. 0W 1L (Accum spread -43).

Game 2: vs Chua Geok Kian

Think my problem is that I tend to fish for tiles whenever I have a bingo prone rack but my vocabulary is so weak that I fail to see the valid anagram when I finally have a playable bingo! Had an CDEINRU rack and played two phoneys in succession: INCURED* and UNCRIED*, front hooking the E to an existing MO on the board. Gave up thinking of another bingo possibility the third time round as I thought that there may not be a playable bingo after all. Turned out that there is indeed a fairly common valid anagram![3]

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: REUNITe(62)
My Phoneys: JANTE*, INCURED*, UNCRIED* Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: VANG(36), ZA(35), JILTs(38), CURED(36) Opp High Moves: CHILD(34), FEEDS(30)
L 313-396, -83. 0W 2L (Accum spread -126).

Game 3: vs Jeffrey Seah

Sank to the second last table after two losses. Thought I could finally have an easy time but it was not to be! After playing ABO just below the triple score lane by front hooking an existing LOUSE on the board, my opponent played PIC(25) on the right side and led by 24 points. My tile was AGINOSY and I had to think of a five letter word whose last letter could front hook the A with only five minutes left on the clock. Kept thinking of words that ended with S like AYINS, AGIOS, YAGIS etc. that wouldn't work but finally saw one possibility after almost four minutes of agony! Two common words that would fit the bill, do you know what they are?[4]

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: -
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: INKETH*, HOIL*
My High Moves: FIZ(34), AGONY(35) Opp High Moves: FIX(36), QUAI(33)
W 332-306, +26. 1W 2L (Accum spread -100).

Game 4: vs Cecilia Koh

My opponent requested to have a quick game as she had to go home earlier. Was a little bit stressed by this request but was able to play pretty quickly as I had very good tiles! Had 2 bingos early in the game and basically led from start to finish.

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: REAMING(85), REVERTED(78) Opp Bingos: BLISTERS(80)
My Phoneys: ASIaN* Opp Phoneys: GAILS*
My High Moves: FEZ(34), KY(62) Opp High Moves: QUAY(44)
W 457-328, +129. 2W 2L (Accum spread +29).

Finished day 1 with 2 wins, 2 losses and a +29 spread. Not too good considering I have not met the top players in the division like Winston and Victor yet. Hope I will play well enough on the second day to have the chance of playing with them!

Quiz answers (Highlight to see clearly):

[1] ROARIEST, HOARIEST
[2] EMERGENT
[3] INDUCER
[4] AGONY, NOISY

Burma VJ

The story is about the undercover video journalists working for the "Democratic Voice for Burma" in Burma focusing on the events that led to the uprising in 2007.

Liked the re-enactments, the nice bell-like sound effect that reminded me of the gadget used by monks in the temple and the voice over narration by the protagonist that served to explain the overall situation in Burma!

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Eagle Eye

The story is about how a small group of individuals were forced by a mysterious voice that came from the mobile phone to perform a series of tasks leading to a frightening objective.

Liked the opening scene that highlighted the importance of the image analyst and the signal analyst in the military! Great action sequences but I thought what the mysterious voice said and how she sounded was a dead give away on who she actually was!

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Intentions of Murder

This DVD is the final part of the "Pigs, Pimps and Prostitutes" boxset by Shohei Imamura. The story is about how a woman dealt with a rapist who kept pestering her after she kept mum about the rape incident to her family. She was a former maid who became the unofficial wife after bearing a boy for the family.

Liked the flashbacks, the voice over and the beautiful snow scenery towards the end! The twists and turns of events also made me watch in anticipation of what would happen next! Great performance by the lead actress!

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The Insect Woman

This DVD is the second part of the "Pigs, Pimps and Prostitutes" boxset by Shohei Imamura. The story is about how a woman struggled to survive. The film showed her life from 1918 up to 1962, showcasing the major national events in Japan during that period.

Liked how well the protagonist adapted to her changing circumstances! The freeze frames were pretty interesting too! Learnt a bit about the history of Japan too!

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Clueless

This is a modern adaptation of Jane Austen's "Emma" with the setting changed to the Beverly High School in America during the mid 90s.

Liked the voice over narration, the witty sense of humor and how the film encouraged people to do good deeds! Excellent performance by Alicia Silverstone! She acted really well especially the scenes when she felt discouraged after failing her driving test!

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The Weeping Meadow

This is the first part of a trilogy about the history of modern Greece that covers the period of 1919 to 1949 seen through the eyes of an orphan girl who fell in love with her foster brother.

Liked the beautiful scenery by the river and the lively Greek music! Very slow paced but the pace picked up towards the end after the guy went to America.

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Here

The story is about the life of a mental patient in a hospital that has very innovative ways of treating the patients.

I wondered how a documentary about real mental patients would differ from this film? Did they also go trekking, fold plastic bags and have nurses personally check if they had taken their prescriptions like in the film? Felt that the director might have been influenced by the Japanese film "After Life". I also thought that the protagonist had pretty good handwriting!

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Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

The story is about how two groups of robots fought against each other on earth. One group wanted to take over earth while the other group were friends with the humans.

Preferred the first episode as it described the background story better. It also showed how Sam and Bumblebee developed their friendship. The humor in this episode didn't work very well and I found it hard to differentiate the two groups of robots. Thought the part where Sam and his girlfriend had to run a very long distance to Optimus Prime was a little bit too long winded.

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The Housemaid

Watched this online for free at the auteurs website! The story is about how a housemaid in Korea during the sixties gradually caused a family to break up after the husband had an affair with her.

A scary domestic thriller! It was interesting to see the reactions of both the housemaid and the wife to the rat in the cupboard! I was undecided whether to pity the housemaid or to fear her throughout the film. Her actions could be partly due to her social status but she was also psychotic at the same time. Nice social critique of Korean society at that time!

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Auteurs Online Movie Link

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

The story is about how a girl, Otilia, helped her room mate, Gabita, to get an abortion illegally in 1987 Romania. This film won the Palme D'Or in the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.

Interesting look at life in Romania during the Communist era under dictator Ceausescu's rule where there is little trust among people! Liked the negotiation scene with the abortionist and the dinner scene with Otilia's boyfriend's family as they explained the situation in Romania pretty well!

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Haikara Girl

The story is about how a rich man's daughter fell in love with her driver whom they knew each other since young. The setting is in the Taisho era (early 18th century) when Japanese society is rapidly modernizing.

Liked how the film explained how the daughter and the driver bonded with each other! They spent time chatting under a giant tree and experimented with her father's latest gadgets together. Felt quite sad for the driver when he had to drive the daughter and her rich snobbish suitor around. Thought the scene where the three people confronted each other in the forbidden room was very nicely executed!

Link

Pigs and Battleships

Quite happy that Criterion is coming up with more and more Japanese titles! This DVD is the first part of the "Pigs, Pimps and Prostitutes" boxset by Shohei Imamura. The story is about a Japanese couple living near the port. The guy is a gangster who is in charged of raising pigs while American battleships were docked nearby.

Learnt about the structure of the yakuza and the living conditions in postwar Japan. A little bit confused with the many characters but I liked the interesting plot, the black and white cinematography and the fluid movement of the camera!

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Long Live the Wife

The story is about how a wife manages her relationship with her family. Her husband borrowed money from her dad to start a business and had an affair. Her brother fell in love with her sister-in-law and her mother-in-law likes to nag at the servant.

There were several funny moments and I was impressed by how capable the wife was! Didn't realize that the writer, Eileen Chang, got divorced the same year that she wrote the script for the film until much later. I think it helped to explain how she chose to end the film.

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Alice in the Cities

The story is about how a German journalist who is writing an article about American life traveled back from United States to Germany with a little girl to search for her grandmother.

Great performance by the little girl! I also liked the scenery and the interesting dialog during their road trip!

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Young Cinema: Programme B

Watched the following short films as part of the Young Cinema Programme organised by the National Museum.

The Riddle in a Bottle
Liked the songs and the scenes with the wild animals!
Link

Arretes
Nicely drawn but not very well received by the audience that consisted mostly of little kids.
Link

Once Upon a Tide
The little girl looked quite cute! Nice story!
Link

Young Cinema: Programme A

Watched the following short films as part of the Young Cinema Programme organised by the National Museum.

The Animal Save the Planet
Very nice stop motion film in the style of Wallace and Gromit! The ideas were well thought out!
Link

The Story of Stuff
Too wordy and need to concentrate to get the message! Saw most of the kids got restless for this segment. Maybe it would help if subtitles were displayed?
Link

Garbage Angels
Nice abstract piece about simulated wild animals made of garbage!
Link

Papiroflexia
Nice abstract piece about the beauty of nature and paper folding!
Link

Goldfish
Really funny film about the unexpected side effects of watching too much "Finding Nemo"!
Link

Star Trek

The story is about how a group of cadets worked together on a space ship and saved Earth from being destroyed by aliens. It is based on the popular TV series of the same name.

Liked the chemistry among the characters and the catchy dialog! The dynamics between James and Spock is especially interesting!

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Kabei: Our Mother

The story is about the life of a Japanese mother narrated by her daughter. Her husband was thrown into jail for his left wing ideas during the early 1940s and she had to fend for her two daughters by herself.

The eldest daughter was quite cute with her two pony tails and the uncle was a lovable character in his own way! Great acting by the two daughters! Thought the director could have shortened the ending. A reasonably good film but I was a little disappointed as it didn't move me as much as "Twenty Four Eyes" and "Burmese Harp", both were Japanese anti-war films made in the 1950s.

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Umberto D

The story is about an old man and his dog. The old man owes the landlady money and is gradually being kicked out of his apartment.

Nice story and the maid looked quite pretty! Was quite impressed by the tricks that the dog could do too but I felt a little depressed for the old man towards the end!

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Sell Out!

The story is about the lives of the employees of "FONY", a fictitious Malaysian company whose focus is on making money at all costs. The main characters are an Arts show host intent on climbing the social ladder and an idealistic product manager.

Liked the songs and the black humor! I also liked the scenes where they showed the ordinary people in the streets!

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Milk

The story is about a milkman who stays with his mother and aspires to be a poet.

Very interesting opening sequence that showed how a snake crawled out of a woman's mouth who was hung upside down with a mysterious boiling pot of potion below! Don't quite understand what it all means though. Thought the scene where the son caught the fish and her mother plucking feathers off a bird was beautifully shot too!

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Sex is No Laughing Matter

The story is about the love between a teacher, Yuri, and her student, Mirume. Mirume had two close friends, En-Chan and Domoto. En-Chan liked Mirume secretly while Domoto liked En-Chan secretly.

Interesting exploration on how feelings between teacher and student could develop and their consequences! Both leading actresses looked quite pretty!

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Still Walking

The story is about a Japanese family reunion. The son and daughter of the family brought their spouses and children to pay their parents a visit and to mourn for their brother who died in an accident.

Liked the warm family spirit evoked through the interactions among the individual family members! The daughter-in-law looked quite pretty too!

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US$9.99

The story is about the lives of a group of people staying in a Sydney apartment. The title refers to the price of the "Meaning of Life" book that a young unemployed guy bought.

Liked the subplot about the small boy and his piggy bank as well as the old man and the angel the best! Thought the love between the re-possessor and the super model was quite scary. The telemarketer sounded quite sweet!

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Wendy and Lucy

The story is about how Wendy, a woman with very little money, spent a few days in a small town on the way to Alaska when she found that her dog, Lucy, was missing.

Great acting by the lead actress and I liked the well written script! Her encounters with the many ordinary people during her stay were interesting! These include a kind hearted security guard, an overzealous supermarket employee and a technically savvy car mechanic among others.

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Fish Eyes

The story is about life in a small town during the China Olympics period.

Liked the nice desert scenery and the simple life that the father led! Thought the three-way relationship of the father, the son and the mysterious girl was quite interesting!

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A Big Road

The story is about the lives of three women in Shanghai.

Liked the jumbled up fragmented shots that required the audience to piece the story together themselves! Thought the daughter who was treated like a servant by her step mother looked the prettiest!

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Dada's Dance

The story is about a girl's search for her biological mother together with her neighbor. The girl's name was Dada and her neighbor had peeked at her when she was performing a little dance at home one day.

Great acting by the two leads who also took part in the script writing process! Personally, I thought that Dada's friend Coco and the lady at the inn looked slightly prettier than her.

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Agrarian Utopia

The story is about two farmers working on their friend's land as they were heavily in debt.

Interesting look at a typical farmer's life! The children had fun playing in the field but worked hard as part of a team when it was harvest time! Liked how the seasonal and weather changes were depicted in the film!

Disengagement

The story is about how the death of a woman's father led her to embark on a journey to search for her daughter who was living in the Gaza strip. Israel was carrying out a disengagement plan to evict all Israelis living in the region then.

Had not heard of the Israeli disengagement plan before and I wanted to find out what it entailed! The police had to literally evacuate the place, carrying people away when they did not cooperate and destroying the vacated buildings!

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Promised Land

The story is about how a group of East European women were sold to Israel to become prostitutes.

Didn't quite like the style of the film that simply showed what happened to the women within the span of a few days. Would have preferred either the documentary approach that explained the background information on the history of human trafficking or the more personal approach adopted by feature films that described the stories of the women in more detail.

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The Beetle

This is a documentary about the history of a man's vintage Volkswagon and how he travelled to Jordan to restore it even though his wife was about to deliver.

Liked the interview clips with all the previous owners and the arguments between the protagonist and his wife on whether to dump the car! Was quite happy for them that everything turned out pretty well in the end!

Yuri's Day

The story is about an opera diva's journey back to her hometown. Her son who was traveling with her suddenly disappeared and she had to cope with the stress.

Interesting look at the small town life and very nice choral music! Thought the opera diva found her true calling by staying back and contributing back to her hometown!

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18 Grams of Love

The story is about what happened when the husbands of two couples became suspicious of their wives and started to write love letters to each other's wives to test them.

Thought the script was excellent! It was funny and yet meaningful at the same time! Liked how the director incorporated martial arts, literature and Chinese orchestra music into the film! I would have bought the DVD on the spot if Sinema had sold it in its shop!

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The Story of Mr Sorry

The story is about the life of a ear-wax cleaner who became world famous after being shrunk by his boss as he was able to get inside people's ear and do a more thorough job. He was also able to see his customer's subconscious mind and in the process, he found out what happened to his missing sister.

Liked the interesting storyline and the psychological build up towards the end! I thought the images inside the customer's subconscious were very nicely depicted! They may not have been as nicely drawn as the dreams in "Paprika" by Kon Satoshi but the raw emotions were conveyed more clearly! This is my number one animation of the year so far!

Birdsong

The story is about the journey of three wise men to find Jesus and to present gifts to him who was still a baby at that time.

Liked the use of natural light and the sense of time progression with the long takes! Thought the underwater scenes of the men pulling the boat along and their conversations were interesting! The angel looked quite pretty too!

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My Only Sunshine

The story is about a girl growing up into a woman and how it affects the people around her.

Liked the nice cinematography that showcased the sea and the countryside as well as the black humor! The pace was a little bit slow and I felt bored at times though. The painted faces that appeared towards the end reminded me of "Pierrot le Fou" by Godard.

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Sincerely Yours

The story is about the life of illegal foreign workers in Taiwan seen through the eyes of an Indonesian girl and a Thai guy who are a couple.

The leading actress looked quite pretty! Liked how the director focused on the small little things that the two protagonists did and how he introduced various Taiwanese customs to the audience!