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I was given the Eating Air DVD just to prove that DVDs are better than VCDs…

Fine, so it is pretty cool to get the movie soundtrack, music video, trailers and other extras together with the show… But I buy VCDs for pragmatic reasons… I have no means to purchase expensive DVDs. Maybe when I get a job…

Anyway, I loved the show. Very cool soundtrack. Beautiful cinematography. Like most other movies I’ve seen so far. I love the green and red colouring of the scenes. Made the CTE tunnel look prettier than it actually is. The DOP and the lighting crew were ‘foreign imports’ I heard. Well worth the money and effort I think…

I was pleasantly surprised by my own reaction to the OTT (over the top) imagination of the protagonist, Boy. He believes he’s a lone swordsman, living in the era of the æ­¦ä¾ å°è¯´. The story weaved his imaginings into the plot so often and so fluidly that I didn’t even pause to notice how contrived it was. That, I believe, is the sign of a good direction. Kelvin Tong & his team deserve a pat on the back for that.

It was a very neat story. It was simple but there was enough depth to make it engaging to the audience. And a few highly implausible plotlines thrown in for comic relief. The characters are pretty one-dimensional. But the acting was good. Alvina Toh did a very convincing performance of the lonely, unattractive Girl, who, through Boy, finds the courage to finally tell her own mother what she really thinks.

The love story is really sweet. Seeing them riding on the motorcycle on the CTE really makes me think of my own experience riding pillion on a bike back in Dhaka. Remembered feeling the wind on my face, the sound of the wind blaring in my ears, the sights of Dhaka at night, while I was safely passing thru. Nothing else feels quite the same.

Loved the scene when Boy asks Girl where her apartment is. He asks her where. She points vaguely. Boy gives her his lighter and tells her to show him. She goes up to her place, stands at the window, and lights up the lighter… Simple yet striking…

Chalk up another point for local cinema…

Watched The PictureHouse Exclusive showcase Tony Takitani…

Directed by Jun Ichikawa, with cinematography by Taishi Hirokawa and music by Ryuichi Sakamoto. The whole movie had a dreamy feel because it was filmed with the video camera placed approx 2 inches off the ground, angled up such that you can never see the ground.

The movie was a close adaptation of the short story by Haruki Murakami. It revolves around Tony Takitani, his relationships with his wife Konuma Elko, his father Takitani Shozaburo, and a strange girl he hires as a housekeeper. The movie stars Issey Ogata and Rie Miyazawa both acting in dual roles. Issey Ogata acts as both father and son, while Rie Miyazawa acts as the wife and the strange housekeeper.

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It was a beautiful film, fully narrated by Hidetoshi Nishijima. At certain points the narration is broken by the actors speaking the crucial lines themselves, sometimes in the third person, with the effect of the actor criticizing his/her own actions. A very alienating and Brechtian style.

Several shots caught my eye, one of which was when the couple were at home and watching tv. (yes, the director made that shot interesting!) The director very boldly allowed the actors’ backs to be seen in the show, leaving out the usual cutaways and OTS. The acting was brilliant. When Hisako, the housekeeper, breaks down and cries in the ‘clothing shrine’, i never expected it. I couldn’t understand it either. But it stuck in my mind, and in the mind of Tony.

Some might find the story contrived. It did seem a little absurd. But it could happen to people, and perhaps that’s what makes it so poignant. Where people make objects the centre of their being. Where objects rule their hearts their minds and their lives. It’s nothing more absurd than an addiction, really.

Overall, I loved the show. No complaints.