On the wish to be artistic and My Top 5 Favourite Movies

July 30th, 2005 screen

Vernon drew me out of gestation with his Movie Post. It makes me think about is the wish to be artistic.

There are two types of artists: the creators or the performers. A performer expresses the fullness of an artwork. An artistic creator expresses a world view with his artwork. I’m referring to creators in this post. If a wish to be artistic creator is expressed, the tool/medium chosen would be the same medium that invoked the wish. For instance if it had been painting that touched, the person would desire to be a painter. If it had been a book, the person would desire to be a writer. If it had been a film, the person would desire to be a film maker. This is unsurprising. Art first reaches to find the spot most tender. Then it fashions a hook out of itself to hang on, drawing strength from its host. (Think of all the money feeding this industry.) For person who wishes to express a world view, it allows him a person grows into maturity in the chosen artistic environment. Hence it is my theory that an amatuer writer when asked for five pieces of art that rocked his world, mostly he would hold up five books. An amatuer film maker would hold up five films. And so on.

This creates a problem for the wannabe. As a child can never grow up and hold his own in the shadow of his parent, the immature artist must eventually learn to ‘kill’ the masters before him. To the person who dreams of achieving greatness through his artistic creation bears the burden of certain failure. Which means to say, the only way to achieve fufilment of the goal – the desire to express a world view – one must have an abundance arrogance to suppress that sense of failure. Only when a person’s desire for expression to exceed his admiration for the art that he suceeds in it.

Arrogance is overblown self confidence. Self confidence can be nutured but can it be overblown?

My modest listie:

THE Rashomon (1950)
Later my brother C told me he saw most of Kurosawa’s movies and it wasn’t Rashomon that struck him but Seven Samurai. C, who has an excellent memory for films, quoted me the last line: “They have won.” Aiyo eh. Where was I when he was renting it?

The Third Man (1949).
Caught it on big screen when I was in my Greene phase of my youth. The cinema was very nearly empty when the music came on to set the lovely chilling mood of the piece. The story is of betrayal set during WW2. The suspense is aimplified by the atmosphere where action is taking place (sewers, shadowy buildings in Vienna). There is romance and agnst: the beautiful loyal Anna who does not respond to Holly despite knowing the person she loves is a villian. The last shot of Anna walking past Holly and ignoring him and she grows smaller and smaller into vanishing point tells the viewer exactly how she would be after the show ends.

Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
This is one movie that changed my mind about Jap anime. Replicated from my film fest diary: In film, every turn in a corner there is fate waiting, the character’s life either run parellel to each other or perpendicular: each person is connected to another person in some way. Excellent tight story telling and the movie to play during family holidays where a lot of forgiving is to be done for trespasses.

My Fair Lady (1964)
The most satisfying of all Cinderalla movies: one can pass off as royalty if there are diamonds, a good dress and the ability to speak well enunciated nonsense about rain in Spain falling mainly in the plains.

Godsford Park (2002)
A film that started out as a traditional whodunnit turned into a bumper crop of gossip – upper and lower class. The revelations in their gossips doesn’t fall into an extension of characters and personalities but becomes a commentry about the entire class system. In this household of upper and lower class everyone knows and is expected to know the rules. You would be punished if you didn’t. The acting is so fine I thought they were persons playing themselves: except for Stephen Fry, I didn’t recognise the actors.

[Said Vernon: "Strangely enough, I've watched all of these movies before, except Tokyo Godfathers..."]

Home economics: incentive to dob

July 18th, 2005 atschool

C and I are tight. I have stuff I don’t like for my mom to know. My mom over the weekend tried to find out my brother’s C pay. I know his pay but not the full blow by blow line item. She tried to incentivise by accusing me of being unfilial, saying that if he sends some money home I won’t need to give so much, etc. The first was convincing. The second is a blatant lie. Her incentives didn’t work. If she threatens to kill herself, for instance, that might work if it is convincing enough.

Moral Hazard Problem hits NKF doners

July 14th, 2005 Uncategorized

Hardly ten men of true integrity and good faith can be found today, and yet theoffices of the state number in the hundreds. If they must be filled by men of integrityand good faith, then there will never be enough men to go around; and if the officesare left unfilled, then those whose business it is to govern will dwindle in numberswhile disorderly men increase. Therefore the way of the enlighted ruler is to unify thelaws instead of seeking for wise men, to lay down firm policies instead of longing formen of good faith. –(Han Fei Tzu [1964], p. 109 from his chapter,