It’s hot hot hot hot hot hot. For San Francisco standard that is. Actually it’s not too bad outside, it’s bad when I am on a bus, because there is no airconditioning. If a homeless person gets on the bus I am on, then it’s time for me to get off the bus and take a different one. But, I am confident that this hot weather won’t last.
I went to shopping, although I don’t think I need anything besides food. I am used to be a shopaholic for kitchen ware, but I forced myself to stop buying useless stuff, especially when I was packing for moving few years ago. I realized how much junk I have accumulated. Many of them went to the charity.
However, I think my old habit is coming back. When I saw this spoon rest in the store, I picked one home. It’s great on the stove when I am cooking. I also picked up a garlic press for $16.
I don’t really need that garlic press, because I can smash, cut, and slice any garlic on my board the way I want. I just think it might be convenient to have one. Then on the same day, in a store in Chinatown, I saw a similar garlic press (even with the same red/black color) for only $7. Why?! Just to show me that I should not have bought it at the first place? Probably so, because after I smash the garlic, I have to use chopsticks to get the garlic off the garlic press. Yuk! Should have just used my knife and save all the trouble.
When I was shopping, I notice that people are everywhere. I guess it’s still the tourist season in this hot weather. Actually even it’s not this hot, there are a lot people anyway in the City. People are constantly watched by others without noticing it. Here are a few examples I observed.
In a hot afternoon, an old lady was walking on the sidewalk, wearing a short skirt and VERY HIGH heels. She has no idea that two teenager boys walking behind her were not only making comments about her, one of the boy was shaking his butt to mimic that old lady’s walk in her high heels. And, the two boys didn’t notice that I was watching what they were doing.
Couple days ago, in the morning, an old Chinese man was blowing his nose loudly to the sidewalk ground, using his bare hand. Afterwards, he cleaned his fingers by smashing them on a utility pole. He has no idea that everybody on the cable car witnessed everything he was doing and were all moaning in disgust.
A woman (I think that was a woman, I didn’t look carefully) was giving a handjob to a black guy in a parked car on Polk Street in bright daylight. They didn’t notice that I could see them when I passed their car on the sidewalk, or perhaps they knew, but didn’t care.
People were jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge to their death. They didn’t realize that cameras are capturing their moves, including their fatal moments. Oh, I didn’t observe these suicide acts, but the lenses of the documentary "The Bridge" did.
… …
It makes me wonder if I should close my curtains when I get home. I always assumed that people cannot see this far from their windows blocks away. But, maybe they can after all.
Well, it’s still hot, and there is no air conditioning in most San Francisco’s apartments. Even it’s not hot, I won’t bother. If they want to peek, go ahead.
I finished two reviews last couple days, and two more to be finished before next week. However, even it’s hot, I am going to go hiking tomorrow. I need to set my priority straight.
Based on Zülfü Livaneli‘s best selling novel, "Bliss" (Mutluluk | Turkey 2007 | in Turkish | 105 min.) tells an extraordinary tale about the conflicts between blind faith in ancient tradition and compassion in modern society.
At the beginning of the film, 17 year old Meryem (Özgü Namal is found unconscious on a river bank. Being a victim of rape, she is ordered to die according to the tradition mores in the village. Meryem’s cousin Cemal (Murat Han) is giving the order to carry out the sentence en route to Istanbul. Meryem is torn between obeying the order and following his own heart. They meet a free spirited professor Irfan (Talat Bulut), who is traveling in his boat escaping the real world. With Irfan’s help, Cemal breaks off from the tradition and begins a new journey.
The dramatic yet predicable plot unfolds in front of a breathtaking landscape. The cinematography terrifically captures the beauty of the nature, which gives us a welcome relief from the perplexed character development.
Due to untold reasons, Cemal is able to change his mind swiftly. Cemal seems to be a good natured guy to begin with, it is unconvincing for him suddenly to abolish his belief in the old moral code. After all, he is the one who agrees to carry out the death sentence, even though it’s obvious to everyone that he will fail his task.
Hornor killing is a crucial element of the film’s story. But, why should a rape victim be blamed for what happens? Why does the ancient tradition want to kill the victim instead of capturing the rapist? If everybody (including Cemal and Meryem) seems firmly believe in this code even the logic sounds absurd, it must be very hard for them to break off from this belief. Unfortunately, the film does not explain either why they believe in it or how they break away from it. Once they get to Istanbul, that belief begins to crumble. Must be the fantastic scenery.
An old Chinese idiom says: "Every family has its own dilemma (家家有本难念的经)." A dilemma not only makes each family unique, it also creates precious memories. Family stories are cherished by family members and get passed on from generation to generation, for better or for worse.
Award winning Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda (是枝裕和) gently tells a family’s story in his new film "Still Walking" (歩いても 歩いても | Japan 2008 | in Japanese | 114 min.). Through an ordinary dysfunctional family, this beautiful film inspires us to reflect love and resentment in our own family lives, and perhaps some secrets too.
On a summer day, Ryota Yokoyama (Hiroshi Abe) and his sister Chinami Kataoka (You) bring their families to visit their elderly parents on the 12th anniversary of their brother Junpei’s death. Everybody in the Yokoyama family still lives in the shadow of that tragic event, and Ryota’s father Kyohei (Yoshio Harada) remains feeling bitter about Ryota’s refusal of becoming a doctor to carry on the family clinic. Ryota’s mother Yukari (Yui Natsukawa) continues to cook family’s favorite meals while making sarcastic remarks about almost anybody. The reunion brings out fond family memories, as well as unresolved hard feelings. This seemingly uneventful day becomes an endearing family portrait, and it forever brings back the nostalgia sentiment that bonds a family together.
Like his previous acclaimed films such as "After Life" and "Nobody Knows," in this new family drama, Kore-Eda’s tells an engrossing story with deep affection. He develops characters through daily activities that are nothing dramatic. He fills each scene with ample details that enrich the story and characters.
This is a film that deserves multiple viewings (I have already watched three times), because each viewing reveals more details that might have been overlooked previously, and each viewing roots the story deeper into the heart. Everyone should be able to identify oneself with some of these characters, because as ordinary as the Yokoyama’s story appears, it is profoundly universal and extraordinary.
Silky Tofu, 味道好极了! 