In the belly of a shark

I watched " Portrait de Hou Hsiao Hsien"- a documentary directed by Oliver Assayas in 1997, twice briefly some time ago on cable. (ironic eh, how i can watch it twice but briefly..well, thats cos i delibrately picked out the parts i liked and ignored others) Since then, I have made a mental note to blog about it but kept putting it off till now..

One scene that struck a chord in me was when towards the end at a karaoke joint, he made these comments. Briefly translated-

"The society is quite primitive, you demonstrate your macho and dominance like animals. These symbols are of interest to me, politics too. But politics is too calculative whereas organized crime is more romantic and straightforward. When you do not become a head, you feel unsatisfied. Men today are becoming feminine and females will eventually catch up, the world is changing. I miss the old barbaric world, a world of competing dogs."

-HHH

I love how he manages to romanticize and sentimentalize something as harsh and as dangerous as the underworld. How endearing!

Apart from Three Times, Cafe Lumiere and Millenium Mambo, i haven't caught any of his earlier films and although i did not enjoy all the above three equally, i realise that it is harder to show restraint and exhibit subtlety than simply go all out on the plot and pile on the effects- something he has evidently managed to do.

This aside, i have to say i am beginning to enjoy school and feel as if, finally, i am learning something. Apart from advertising class, which isn't really my thing, the other classes are sitting well with me. Not to mention, my journalism teacher is brilliant. Yes, i seldom ever call a teacher brilliant but she is. She commands so much attention and is so confident that i just cant not listen. My photography teacher(someone by the name of Ivanho Harlim, haha!) is great too:>

Let the games begin.