boblskee Reviews

A Home Too Far (1990)

Poignant & Grim Tale Of A Forgotten Chapter In The Chinese Civil War

[7/10 · 18 August 2009]

Based on a novel by Bo Yang, a well known dissident in Chiang Kai-Shek ruled Taiwan (and later founding president of Taiwan's chapter of Amnesty International) and set in the Burmese-Yunnan border, the story starts with the fighting retreat of the Kuomintang 8th Army, together with their families, commanded by General Li Mi from Yunnan while being pursued by the Communist forces. The troops eventually find refuge in the Burmese side of the border and re-organise for what they hope is the eventual counterattack into mainland China.

The main protagonist in the movie is played by Tou Chung-Hua (庹宗華) and he gives a memorable performance as a line officer struggling to survive both the conflict as well as rebuild the semblance of a normal life for his refugee family. Andy Lau plays a relatively smaller role with more limited air time but the personal tragedy is portrayed very poignantly.

The other supporting cast put up very powerful performances as well, balancing the horrors of constant conflict with focus on personal stories and families torn apart by the horrors of war.

Nonetheless, the age of the movie does show and this subject matter deserves a new remake. It covers a often forgotten (perhaps on purpose) episode in the decades long Chinese Civil War that affected millions of people, and will find an audience in the descendents of the Chinese diaspora worldwide, many of which had their families directly affected by the conflict.

The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958)

Inspiring Even If A Little Aged

[9/10 · 14 August 2009]

A lot has been said, both positive and negative, about the main Asian roles played by Caucasian actors in this film. As an Asian of Chinese descent myself, I've learnt not to get too bent up over this, especially when one considers when this movie was made.

I just recently got the DVD and watched it for the second time after a gap of more than 20 years and I still see the magic of the movie and why it remains inspiring. There are, of course, quite a few creative licenses taken at the expense of the actual life of Gladys Aylward (which IMHO is actually much more inspiring) but that is to be expected with cinema.

What surprised me even more was that Robert Donat who played the Mandarin (the literal translation of his title in the movie would be County Governor; ie. Hsien Chang or 縣長) actually spoke better Mandarin than Peter Chong who played Yang the cook who I assume isn't a native Mandarin speaker.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed it and felt the same awe and emotions as when I first saw it as a young boy.

Ghost of Mae Nak (2005)

Pretty good .. but not for the obvious reasons

[7/10 · 1 April 2006]

I am Malaysian and am not very familiar with Thai folklore. I do know that we share some common demonology and maybe folk beliefs about black magic.

Anyway, I just watched this movie (with pretty bad Malay and Chinese subtitles). Fortunately I watched Nang Nak a few years back and it gave me some background of the legend that formed the basis of this modern day tale.

The story itself is simple enough and there were some gory scenes, like the part where the shaman's assistant got halved by the glass pane (ok .. that's the end of the spoiler) but what I really liked about this film is the pretty authentic way in which it depicted Bangkok. Many Western directors make the mistake (or maybe it's deliberate) of romanticising the Orient with people walking the streets in ethnic costumes and wild animals (ok .. maybe domesticated ones) roaming the streets.

The main story itself is straightforward but well told and the premise is interesting to say the least. The fact that the 2 main characters share the same nicknames as the main actors in the Mae Nak Pra Khanong legend did give me an idea right from the start how the story was going to unravel itself.

Nonetheless, still a good show :)