Johnnie To

"In his review of To's 2008 film Sparrow for the website of Tisch Film Review, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky writes: "To has directed some of the best movies of the last two decades; he is more astounding than almost any other director working today. His cinema is exciting (but never tiring), intelligent (but never distanced), and, above all, emotional."

It is very hard to believe that a man so reputed in the world of filmmaking and loved by eminent film critics and films buffs alike is never mentioned in discussions featuring the current crop of Directors whose films have been studied worldwide for their storytelling prowess as well as their directorial features involving technical marksmanship. Hong Kong cinema has been wrongly branded as an industry manufacturing low budget Kung-Fu flicks and as a result has remained largely confined within the nation. Dubbed Hong Kong films get a delayed release in the United States but again people prefer watching films which feature laborious doses of Kung Fu,not to mention stale humor alongwith some very artificial acting. In the late 1980s One of Hong Kong's better known directors John Woo (who is best known worldwide as the director of Face/Off Mission Impossible 2) started directing films which focused on the realities of Hong kong crime syndicate. With the concept of "Heroic Bloodshed" (something which went down very well with the American audiences) being the principal theme of his three back to back feature films (The two installments of A Better Tomorrow and The Killer with the latter now regarded as a classic tale about the moral implications of a Hitman) the world finally started taking notice of Asian cinema with Hong Kong films becoming the primary point of interest.

It is a mystery as to why Johnnie To is not very well known outside the Hong Kong film fraternity. His film do the regular awards round and have featured in prestigious film festivals such as the ones held in Cannes,Berlin and Venice to name a few. Yet barring some prominent American critics, very few people know about him. And it is highly ironic since most of the critics acquainted with his works have hailed him as one of the best film directors of recent times with almost every work of his rated highly from a storyteller's point of view as well as being a technical marvel. A reason why I like Johnnie To as a director is because he brings on celluloid the perfect balance of human emotions. Not melodramatic by an inch, his work most often features characters in a situation where they might have to compromise with their moral principles. So To can successfully show a Jimmy (a character from Johnnie To's 2006 feature film Triad Election) being extremely ruthless, almost becoming a killing machine in order to survive the mob election and its dangerous consequences, To can also show a Costello, with a couple of other hitmen roaming around the streets of Hong Kong to avenge his daughter's dishonor. Character development is a major part of Johnnie To's direction with most of them being untrustworthy, having severe moral dilemma and a shady background. The characters never become larger than life, something directors nowadays tend to forget, at times deliberately. This move might be undertaken to encourage the concept of escapism generally associated with Cinema. But To's works are those which acquaint us with the world as it is and hence is hardly disliked by critics and moviegoers alike.

With the release of The Mission in 1999 Johnnie To's works started getting worldwide recognition. Today the mission is highly respected in the world of film criticism due to its engaging story,stunning cinematography and camerawork and near perfect direction. Technically The Mission still is one of Johnnie To's best works. Featuring long shots of combat sequences and tense character close ups The Mission successfully engages the viewer from start to finish giving him an unforgettable experience. The Mission also has a brilliant story, where a group of hitmen are hired to protect a mob boss. What follows is a cat and mouse tale, where the hitmen will go to any extent in order to protect the mentioned person but their personal differences might have a fatal impact and everyone involved. At the time of release The Mission received highly positive reviews and till date remains one of To's best known works worldwide. The terrifically framed fight sequences are a treat to the eyes and makes The Mission a must watch for every film lover. Two of To's best known works, namely Election and Election 2 must also be mentioned. Quentin Tarantino was not at all wrong when he said that Election was one of the best films of 2005. The story is set in the Hong Kong underworld where once in every two years an Election is held amongst the Triad (the Hong Kong equivalent to Cosa Nostra) to elect a Chairman who will preside over the Triad activities for the next two years. The story focuses on the competition between the two frontrunners for the post of Chairman and how their dangerous struggle will prove morally and physically fatal for their friends,family and the whole Hong Kong crime scenario. The film is brilliantly filmed with dim lights being allegorical for the characters' inner darkness. The climactic moment is shocking and leaves us with many unanswered questions regarding the use and abuse of power. No wonder To had to follow up with an equally disturbing yet mesmerizing sequel where there are more killings, more struggle and more unforgettable moments. Saying this is not exaggerating a bit but Election and Election 2 are equal to The Godfather Trilogy in terms of filmmaking and storytelling. And with Hong Kong film veterans Simon Yam and Lam Suet playing prominent roles with arresting screen presence and ease these two films are surely the best Asian Crime dramas to come out in the last five years.

With To's films gradually getting global recognition and a more needed global fan base it is time the director comes out of the atmospheric Hong Kong setting (a primary character in every film of his) and direct something on a larger scale. As a fan who has watched most of his works i will be waiting for that day. And so will be thousand others who have learnt to appreciate cinema not in terms of its budget or star cast but its story and characterization. This should be enough for now. Have a great weekend and a lovely Republic Day. Goodnight fellas :D

The Sci-fi phase

With very few people classifying science fiction as serious literature this entry might not be popular,mainly due to the fact that being a student of English I am supposed to write about literature which is much more seriously taught,written about and thought about. A rumor circulates in the Literary world that writing Science Fiction is not a very difficult task to do especially those in possession of basic scientific knowledge and some writing skills. But what people (rather people branding science fiction as can be written anytime by anybody literature) tend to forget is that Science fiction is equally about fictional science as it is about creating characters in a fictional universe, giving them your desired traits something which primarily defines literature. And the amount of scientific knowledge one must have in order to write sensible Science fiction should also be given attention since you can only fictionalize a factual subject if you get your facts right. So it is NOT easy to write Science fiction since possession of decent scientific knowledge is not something which is found in every passerby.

While going through a collection Science fiction short stories I realized that the conventional portrayal of Science Fiction is actually not what Science fiction writers or Sci-fi film directors intended readers and audiences to think of whenever the words Science fiction was mentioned. The collection of science fiction short stories I was reading (courtesy The American Library) was a very different one from those that I have read on previous occasions. Most of the stories dealt with the psychological aspect of fictional science and its effects when applied to a situation. Science fiction is often thought to be futuristic depictions of technologically advanced civilizations. That might be the case in George Lucas's Star Wars (a series I am not very fond of) but most of the short stories in the above mentioned collection dealt with fictionalized scientific theories, incidents even plain simple conversations where the reader could make out that the scientific setting of the world is different from the one we dwell in. So be it a young woman dissatisfied with the futuristic education system but nonetheless ridiculing that one when "Human" teachers used to teach not one but a group of students together, the reader could immediately make out that the setting is scientifically fictional. What I basically loved about these short stories were that most of them had a relatively simple plot but the complications involved were more psychological and at times moral than technological. I know it sounds weird but one reading these short stories will immediately understand the point that I am trying to make. And certain stories gave the concept of science fiction a whole new dimension which at times made the reader forget that it is Science fiction. For me as a reader some stories became just plain pieces of fiction which had scientific elements but a strong story overtook that. Now what more can one ask for in literature. I guess classifying literature's strength on the basis of genre is totally uncalled for. Literature, whatever genre it belongs to will always have its negatives and positives. And it will be enjoyed by all no matter what genre it belongs to.

My sci-fi phase is not only confined to the book I referred to. Two films I watched recently have significantly contirbuted :D. Last Night by Don Mckellar and Primer by Shane Carruth. Last Night features a group of people and what they undergo on the eve of Doomsday. Primer on the other hand features a couple of engineers trying to design a machine which will allow time travel. Writing too much about them will not make much sense since the best way to understand the sci-fi significance of these films will be to watch them intently. Last Night is mostly dark humor,parodying the concept of Human civilization,what it intended to and what it has become. How Human beings behave or rather how their behavior remains unchanged even on the Last Night on this planet is the core story. I strongly recommend Last Night for its take on the end of humanity and the question put up by the director of whether the end is a boon or a bane for the civilization as well as the planet. Primer on the other hand is extremely difficult to understand since it deals with concepts of Physics and the director himself being an engineer has maintained scientific accuracy throughout the character duo's trying to construct a time travel machine. Since it deals with space and time related Physics it might not be understood or liked by everyone but for the hardcore Science fiction fan should go for it since the director like a skilled artisan blends factual Physical science with a fictional story. And now that the film is being studied for possible breakthroughs in time travel related Physics, this might also be enjoyed by students/teachers of Science people who are generally not fond of science fiction.

This phase is ending. Enjoyed it? Ofcourse I did. For someone like me who hates writing anything at all wrote a lengthy essay on this and I guess that is proof enough. Science fiction for me has and I guess always will be a different way to look at Science. The fictional window helps me to see the factual side of it. And though technically not a student of Science, Science fiction has always helped me realize how wonderful he subject is. Guess thats all for the day. Goodnight. :D

My first entry

This is not my first blog entry. I used to have a blog earlier but then decided to start a new one since the couple of entries posted in the earlier one were too amateurish and stupid. And now that things have changed vastly from what they used to be I intend to give it a fresh start though I must warn visitors not to expect great writing since I have never been good at using words which require the reader to immediately search for the dictionary and the conventional authorial triumph one feels when the visitors post comments, filled with praises perhaps without even reading the post :D.

The start of the fourth sem was much more disappointing than I thought it would be. With two of your good friends not anymore on talking terms things were bound to be bad. And above that the chances of us playing catch catch together this semester seems really low with personal differences as well as the timings of our classes taking away the majority of the time from us. I wish we could sit down, have a talk and sort out all the differences but thats not going to be from what the current situation seems. I am not really undergoing a writing spree now. I just hope that by the end of this week things take a turn for the better. And I hope we all play catch catch together. After all we all i.e the founding members of Catch-22 were supposed to have a professional approach towards the game. Something tells me (it always does) that everything'll be alright once we start playing catch catch together. I cant help feel that there is something divine in that game. Something with magical healing powers capable of sorting out every difference between two individuals and bringing them closer. Sadly its yet to get its due importance, something which was our primary goal when we started out. Sadly we deviated. Hopefully some other group will carry on our legacy. Or who knows maybe once again we all shall bury our personal differences and indulge in a game of catch catch where alls that important is putting forward your greatest catching skills and win the applause of a 6 member strong audience.I guess this should be enough for today since I hardly have much to write about. Goodnight fellas. May you receive The Joker's blessings,

P.S The Green Club (a name hasnt been fixed yet so......) meeting scheduled to take place today at 4 was a bit disappointing. With so many people replying to Arnab's thread I had a feeling that atleast half of them would turn up for the meet. But barring six of them no one did. The cause is noble, the initiative great and a little bit of hardwork from a decent number of people could work wonders. I just hope this stays with us and like numerous other phases which we normally go through, this one doesn't end within a fortnight of it starting. This is something we should do and something tells me we will.