Thor: Ragnarok

A Marvel production

Thor trapped in a hopeless situation, tied up in chains. He banters with Fire god and tricks Fire into revealing his weak point, which is his crown of two horns. Thor succeeds in subduing Fire and brings home his prize. His friend the gate keeper has been exiled and the reserve, Skurge, is busy flirting with girls. He does not heed Thor's call to be sent back. 

Finally gatekeeper hears Thor through the girls. Upon Thor's return, he sees a re-enactment of Loki dying in "Thor's" arms in a play while "Odin" enjoys this with wine and finery. Turns out that is Loki in disguise and their dad is exiled to Earth. Brothers go to Earth and meets Dr Strange who told them their dad is in Norway. At Norway their dad tells the brothers they have a sister, a first born and a god of death. She was too powerful and dad kept her locked away. Odin's death would unleash her and he dies. Dissipates into air as gold dust.

Their sister Hela (Cate Blanchett) walks through this death portal and crushes Thor's hammer like it was made of glass. Loki shouts to be sent back which all three promptly got thrown into. Sister thrashes the brothers out of the way to return to Asgard.

Brothers lands in the land of trash, Sakaar, where the first unwanted person is ruler and sets up fighting competition. It's a land that is a pit of wits, strength and lies for survival. It's very sad. So anyway Thor was captured by a former Valkyrie and sent as a candidate for fights. Her battles the scariest which no one had ever survived. That is Thor his friend.

Thor won but before he could outbeat the Hulk, he was zapped by the Taser, because the Grandmaster cannot bear to have his "prize", Thor, defeated. Who knows? Maybe he might lose the bet. Anyway this world reminds me of hunger games where almost everything is dystopian and everyone is out pitting for survival.

They are trapped in a room where Thor plans an escape to the storm machine, the plane which the Hulk came from. He reminded Hulk of his former self as Bruce Banner by showing him a last recording from Black Widow his lover, after they managed to escape with the help of the former Valkyrie, 142.

142 and Loki are tasked to bring back Thor and the Hulk. Loki rehashes 142's memories of the last fight with Hela, which looks like a scene from Revelations. 142 is pissed and decides to help Thor by enslaving Loki. Loki buys his way out by saying he knows all the codes to the planes by winning Grandmaster's trust. He can help them escape which Thor agreed to. They liberate Korg and Miek, stoneman and purple squid respectively, to start a revolution.

Loki wanted to betray Thor by splitting himself up before going to the plane. Thor anticipated that and placed Taser on Loki, zaps him forever. Thor, Banner and 142 go back through the wormhole's ass, the rainbow tunnel, to Asgard. Korg and Miek and gang want to escape and sees Loki being zapped. They stops the tape and escape on a ship.

The people are hiding thanks to gatekeep Heimdall. But they are found by Hela because Heimdall safeguarded the sword so Hela cannot leave Asgard. She pursues the people. Thor and gang arrives in their spaceship. Banner changes back to Hulk to defeat Hela's wolf, Fenris along the bridge. Hulk now blinded in one eye by Hela, sees through his father's eyes and realises he must defeat Hela with the same prophesy of Asgard on fire.

Loki, Korg and Miek arrive on this gigantic balloon ship. Asgardians board the ship but the death soldiers climb onto it. Skurge seeks redemption by fighting them off and sacrificing himself. It is the moment he has been waiting for - only in death can he see victory and achievement.

Loki locates the Fire god crown and revives him from the Eternal Flame. Fire god sets Asgard on fire, and kills Hela, goddess of death.

Thor is crowned King on board the ship. They head for Earth.

First post-show scene: they are confronted by a large spacecraft which is 1000x theirs. In final post-show credits, Grandmaster emerges from a spaceship to pretend he is one of them, when confronted by trash cannibals.

A Ghost Story

Projector
Directed by David Bowery
Starring Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara

With one scene starring the director himself

I love the square format and the curved edges of this film, with a softness around the edges and some scenes have a romantic vignette.

C and M, Affleck and Mara, act as husband and wife respectively in the film. They live in this big house in the middle of forests. Childless, we see how they are C composes music. Next we see M dragging out a large trunk to dump along the road. I think they might be moving. M shared how whenever she moves, she would place a note in that house. So that a part of her remained in that house. Just like how when we cross paths, a bit of ourselves get left behind.

One night, presumably after making love, they hear a loud thump outside in the living room. They check out but nothing is there. C died in a car crash the next day, at the curb just before turning into their garage.

M stares at the cloth in the mortuary. C wakes up as a ghost, where he walks around in a white cloth. He was supposed to go to the light, represented by a lit portal, but misses the chance. Everything else after is shot through the eyes of the ghost, but no one else in real life can see him. I'm glad C died because he mumbles most of the way when he was alive. At least now he is limited to acting behind a white sheet. He goes home, to see his wife. His wife just received this pie but a kind neighbour/friend who let herself in. For five minutes we see her dumping pie into her body. Painstaking. She pukes.

This grief goes on for many scenes. We rehash what happened earlier - she wants to move out but he doesn't want to. On rainy days she looks out of the window, lost in time.

We see this on repeat, where she goes to work everyday and gets better. In ghost world, their time is fast but in actual world, it is days and weeks. One day when she was out, C spots a ghost in the opposite house. They wave. She is waiting for someone but forgot who she is waiting for. Sometimes memories elude me just like that.

One day M returns with a new man. C is jealous and turns poltergeist by making the lights flicker and books fall. We rehash how he composed this beautiful song for her, and she didn't give any comments at all because it was about them. He was so disappointed.

She listened to this soundtrack, plugged in on the floor, inches away from C, the ghost. She moves out because she wants to start afresh. Before she goes, she repaints the house and tucks a note in between the creaks and paints over.

C frantically tries to remove the paint. Before he could finish, a Hispanic single-mom with a boy and girl of elementary/preschool age move in. C sees them in their daily routine - play piano, feast, decorate the Christmas tree. C one day decides to enter the children's room. The boy can see him and screams. The next day C wrecks the kitchen by dumping plates etc. The mom does not seem to see C but can sense him, just like the younger daughter. They move.

C tries to remove the paint once again. Before he can succeed, a hipster college crowd moved in with house party. One bald hipster reminiscences about existential questions - about humanity and how it is hopeful if there could be chords of e.g. Beethoven and music/art/culture which moves the soul. He goes on to say how humanity tries so hard to leave a print but it is all for nothing. C gets pissed and caused the light to flicker because it reminds him of his past as a struggling artist to get recognition, fame and compose great music.

The house is abandoned again. Just as C was about to get the note, a bulldozer demolished the house. C and neighbour ghost stand on top of the debris. Female ghost says looks like they are not coming back and promptly disappears, leaving her cloth with light pink prints. A futuristic, high rise building is built. C goes to the roof and commits suicide by jumping.

He wakes into medieval time with horse carriage. This nomadic family stay under the carriage and next morning, they are outside getting ready to move. Little girl writes something and placed it below a large rock. Next second, they are murdered by Red Indians, presumably from the bows and arrows. I thought he would go look for the note under the rock. No time. We see the family decomposing to skeletons and in this place his current house gets built.

C sees how he and his wife move in. One night in bed, C tells M he is ready to move out. C the ghost hears this and sat down by the piano, because he is pissed and doesn't want to go. This was how they heard the loud thump previously.

C died and M is moving out. There are two ghosts in this space now, composed very well with M in the middle. In this time loop, C the first ghost is now able to pull out the note. He reads in and before the camera pans to the message, he disappears. Cloth sinks down empty. In my mind I saw "Goodbye" written. But this cliffhanger was just bugging me. What did M write such that C got reprieve and was able to find peace?

I guess most of what I hold on to may be meaningless to most others.

To Be A Teacher

German Film Festival
8/11/17 at NMS (free screening)

Looks at three passionate, idealistic teachers (Anna, Katja and Ralf) to be undergoing training in Berlin. The change they experienced over the course of one year as they get sent to grade school or lower high school to teach. The two female trainees are idealistic and I see how they get disillusioned with the system over time. Ralf is passionate but not so taken up by the fact that he is in this factory line producing cogs for society. Good workers for the benefit of society.

Director Jacob Schmidt was present for post screening and he mentioned that actually 20 applicants were willing to be in this film even though there's high pressure to perform and usually people may not want such additional pressure. Out of 20 he followed 5 teachers trainees around (3 years) and during editing (1 year) cut down to portray only 3 teachers. His selection of trainees include contrasting characters- Anna is a bit on the soft side whereas Ralf is very strong character. Moderated by Mayo Martin who used to be an educator, he had so many questions for Jacob. One audience member also had questions for Mayo regarding the education system here in Singapore, which took him by surprise.

A documentary but with the teacher trainees so natural, I could identify with Katja, who had idealistic beliefs in helping students, but towards the end of her two-year teacher-training, she felt short-tempered, easily depressed, had mood swings and basically just did not feel like coming to school. She thought she would fail but actually passed and transferred from high school to elementary school.

Anna transferred to another preschool during her internship period and felt much better. She passed and became a full-fledged teacher.

Ralf continued on in the same school and received A- for his practicum.

Teaching in Germany is considered a golden cage, comparable to how teaching is seen as a iron rice bowl in SG.

They filmed everything except the examination part where it was entirely closed door. The director mentioned that actually most challenges were faced with the officials and not really with the teacher-trainees or students.

SPECIAL FOCUS: THE ART COMMISSION

Short Film- Painting With Light
at National Gallery

1) THE CROWN JEWELS OF IRAN / GANJINEHA-YE GOHAR
By Ebrahim Golestan
Talks about the kings' ostentatious display of jewels in Iran is at the expense of the people of Iran. How people live in poverty whereas the king lives in disgusting decadence.

2) RAID INTO TIBET
By Adrian Cowell
The raid between Tibet and China
How the Tibetans fought bravely to overcome Communist ruling in China. How nomadic lifestyle was intolerable to the Chinese and they sought to liquidate the old and send the young to China. The crew managed to shoot the guerillas fighting in Tsum Valley, Nepal, against China. Nepal is between China and India, and the King of Tibet was presented much gifts and tributaries from China and Tibet because they want access to other parts of the world. China helped to build trains inside such harsh conditions of Tibet. India too. They joined up and China raided Tibet. They destroyed so much heritage, the places of worship in Tibet which made the natives really angry and they fought back.

3) THE DIAMOND FINGER / NIEW PETCH
By R.D. Pestonji
Apsara and Ngung Tuk (NT) and Shiva
NT was bullied by Apsara and he went to Shiva for help. Shiva gave him a diamond finger with the power to destroy. NT goes around killing Apsara. Shiva changes into a beautiful woman to charm NT and eventually tricks him to killing himself with the diamond finger. Done in Thai dance style, this Thai derivative of the Indian epic poem Ramayana is very slow moving.

4) THE SONG OF PLASTIC / LE CHANT DU STYRÈNE
By Alain Resnais
Plastics and their origin - from the ground as fossils

Mama Looking for Her Cat《寻找小猫的妈妈》

Restage of a Kuo Pao Kun Play
By NAFA theatre diploma graduation students
Written by Jalyn Han

It was very well staged and moved me to tears. Even more than Grandmother Tongue by W!ld Rice Theatre.

Presented mostly in Mandarin, with smithereens of dialect and English, this play talks about this mother who has many children (cats). She reads to them e.g. with story of "The Hare and the Tortoise" and binds them together with her love, symbolised by the red string which she places on them that links them up to her.

The children jump rope which led to a squabble. The mother has to manage that. 

The children grow up and one protests about her love for feeding cats. One talks about a mother who eventually committed suicide. I feel the pain and how gek sim the mother is. Mother only speaks dialect and this is re-staged to incorporate the dialects of this class - which includes familiar tones but are different from Singapore Hokkien or Teochew. This class of about 15 have about 3 Singaporeans and the rest are from China. There are no surtitles which I felt was a pity for educating e.g. the young 7-8 year old girl in front of me, and the Dean who sat throughout the entire play. And for me who might appreciate the play better. Nonetheless the acting was very good, and the body language was easily understood even though the language differs in each state in China.


Mother tries to look for her cat. She bumps into an elderly stranger, of similar age, who does not understand her language. Yet they can communicate through signals, hand gestures and intonations. I love how they portray this increasing loss of communication, through dialects, through the narrow-minded minds and hearts to open up to strangers, which is very real today in Singapore where we see new citizens and increasing xenophobia.

This girl from China who needs the toilet urgently. She approaches the Indian hawker, the Malay uncle and the SG Chinese girl. They shun her. "I don't speak Chinese." With the magic wand, they can now and introduce the eclectic mix of Singapore's food and culture to her.

This play has piqued my interest in KPK's original screenplay. Ping me if you have it!

Short Film Programmes Women in Film and Photography

At Objectifs as part of Women In Film & Photography 2017
With post screening discussion with directors Megan and Gladys

1. Pussy by Renata Gąsiorowska / Poland / 9 min / 2016 / M18

This opening film shocked me. I didn't know it will be in animation! It is a hilarious take on the exploration of this girl's sexuality. Drawn in simple linework with minimal colours, this girl wants to know what happens when she fiddles around her clitoris & nipples. 



A bug appears and she tries to find it. Across the road a boy is peeping at her as she take a bath and explores her body. She explores her body until the phone rings or something and she looks around in guilt. After the bug emerges, she tries to catch it. The boy ran across and is suddenly at her doorstep. She follows the bug who found its way out. It has morphed into this crazy gigantic bug with spiky teeth and is about to eat the boy alive. She walks out naked to catch it. The bug shrinks back to roach size. Boy runs away.

Next is this abstraction as the bug gets into all this tactile sensations, presumably when the girl climaxes. I can't quite remember how it ends. I remember the palm of the hand with those veins and cars moving across.








2. Woman at Home by Megan Wonowidjoyo / Singapore / 12 min / 2017 / PG
Directed and starred by Megan herself, this personal story of how she as a woman and homemaker, finds out about her husband's betrayal after 16 years of marriage, leading to an eventual divorce last year (2016).

I like how she portrayed herself in pots, pans, sundries, similar to how a homemaker/housewife's life revolves around seemingly unimportant tasks such as cooking and cleaning. Revolves and is trapped in this lifestyle. The items are gigantic compared to herself, done in collage style. Her husband is always travelling for work. She spurs him on career-wise and support his career decisions. She is plagued by loneliness as he is never around. They communicate via WhatsApp/ Text Messages. She looks after the son, helps him with homework and plays with him.

She is not sexually satisfied as hinted in the translucent nightgown hanging at the window sill.

One day she wakes up to her husband who admits he has fallen for another woman. He wants a divorce. She has woken up and now confronts the viewer.






3. Joy Joy Nails by Joey Ally / USA / 19 min / 2017 / PG13
This film looks at how women immigrants to the States help each other. Sarah, a Korean, lives in the States now and is recently promoted to manager of "Joy Joy Nails". This film peaks into the lifestyle of Asian immigrants who speak their native language and English to the Americans/ people living in America. They take a chartered bus to their workplace. They work at this nails place, which is also owned by Koreans. Sarah has a crush on the boss's son. But he fancies a new girl from China. Sarah is furious and makes it difficult for her. One lashes out in Korean, the other in Mandarin. With no unifying language, the body language of the Chinese signals distress and how she was raped by the son. Sarah pities her now and got money from the store to get birth control pills for her. She gets the money from the son eventually by exerting her power as manager of the place. She speaks out for all women, as a symbol of new-found power and authority.   
 



4. The Pursuit of a Happy Human Life by Gladys Ng / Singapore / 11 min / 2016 / PG
This film looks at a relationship between 2 secondary school girls. Steph is this girl with long hair who is leaving Singapore. Her tomboy good friend, Yokes, is trying to come to terms with it. Powerfully portrayed, there is heightened tension all the time, without the physical touch between two lesbians. Yokes buys a yellow balloon for Steph. They play with it and it floated away high up in the school hall. Is that what friendship amounts to? Something that floats away and slowly dissipates? Yokes is angst and throws away Steph's books. They walk back together with minimal parting words. But the looks of longing in their eyes are so thick I cannot cut it. Yet there is no physical touch at all throughout the film. It is even more powerful.

Steph was around during the screening. I bumped into her and her partner later on that night.
 

5. Wu Song Slays the Seductress by Kirsten Tan / Singapore / 12 min / 2017 / NC16
This was screened during 667, which I wrote about previously. I love this contemporary take of Chinese folklore. This time I was better able to admire Pan Jin Lian's body, and how although she is older, she is still so sprightly. And her figure is great. Wu Song, portrayed by a female too, hints at the possible attraction between two females.  

Snow Woman

by Kiki Sugino who stars as the lead actress, Yuki
Women in Film and Photography at Objectifs

With post screening discussion with the director Kiki Sugino

The film opens in black and white. Lead actor Minokichi trudges up the hill with his friend and mentor. It is a snowy night. They stay in an old shed that night. His friend is paid a visit by Snow Woman (Yuki-ona) and was discovered by Mino. Snow Woman breathes out onto the mentor and he dies. She warns Mino not to tell anyone else she'd kill him.

The film moves into colour.

One day in the mountains, as Mino is on his way back to his home, he meets Yuki (which means snow). She looks just like Snow Woman. Yuki looks sick and about to die. He brings her home and nurses her back to health with his mom's help.

One day he asks her to stay. Eventually they marry and have a daughter Ume (which means plum). Suddenly he is no longer able to work as a mountain harvester, but has to work in the factory to make lanterns. From making lanterns after that the factory progresses to making lights. This factory is owned by his mentor's brother's son, Ogata, who is also the village leader. Ogata also married on the same day as Mino and they have a sickly son, Mikio.

Yuki brings ginkgo drink to Ogata, who told her to get out as she does not belong here. This ginkgo is supposed to help make Mikio better.

Mino & Yuki tried to have children. The night of their wedding they consummated the marriage and she was pregnant right after. But the child was still-born, delivered by the mid-wife of the mountains. There is talk in town that this was so because she was not from this village. No one knows where she came from. Gossip spreads in town. The mid-wife had a discussion with husband and wife, and soon after they went to the onsen where is is warmer to have intercourse. They successfully delivered Ume who grows up to be a beautiful girl who can dance the traditional dance very well.

The scenes jump back and forth much like how dreams work. They seem disjointed and it is up to the viewer to piece them together.

The mother and daughter tied red threads around the forest during winter. I wonder how much the daughter knows her mom is not of this world. I think she senses quite a lot. Maybe they want to show their blood ties and presence to the earth.

Yuki and Ume talks to mid-wife, who pleads death due to old age. Yuki is portrayed as one one who kindly gives death to those who cannot bear the pains of earth anymore.

Ume and Mikio become good friends. One day Ume brings Mikio to the hut where his granduncle died. He was tired and fell asleep. I think Ume breathed his last on him. She might have the power to bring death to people as well. He goes out to the snow with her and dancing on the snow is her (or her mother). Mikio brings his red thread of life and give Ume. He is discovered the next day with marks of frostbite on him, just like his granduncle.

His dad is furious and gets one of his co-workers to confront Mino. This co-worker dies of frostbite soon after. I think Yuki killed him because she came back late that night. The husband waits for her the next night to confront her. He asks where did she go, and recounts with tears of the night of his mentor's death - how he met the Snow Woman who spared his life only if he does not tell any soul about this. Yuki hears this and breaks into tears. She does not bear to kill him now and fleas the village.

Her daughter knows that her mom has gone off. It starts snowing again.

The traditional folk song plays again, where initially the women carried I think gifts or offerings to the gods of the mountains across the river.

It is a beautiful, enigmatic story even though I have not read the original Snow Woman. There are hints of industrialisation, ideas of village-city that is through gossip, wanting to keep out "others" much like how borders keep out asylum seekers, superstition, dreams, folklore and traditions.