Tuesday, September 30, 2008

HISTERIA (2007, James Lee, A+)

--One thing I’m curious about CITIZEN JULING is if there is any interview of Sirinat Thawornsuk in the film or not. The film interviews many people but doesn’t show the names of the interviewees while they are being interviewed. I didn’t read the ending credit to see if the name of Sirinat Thawornsuk appears in it or not.

--One of the things I like very much in CITIZEN JULING is that it tells the story about the senator Fakhruddin Boto who was shot and seriously injured. I have to confess that I didn’t hear about this senator before. It’s great that the film gives us interesting information like this.


FILMS SEEN TODAY

1.HISTERIA (2007, James Lee, Malaysia, A+)
This film gives me the same pleasure that I have from watching 1970’s B-grade horror movies. I love this kind of horror films very much.

2.LITTLE MOTH (2008, Tao Peng, China, A+)
I like films which have many evil characters like this film.

3.24 CITY (2008, Jia Zhangke, China, A+)
I like the last part very much. The last part is about a woman whose gratitude towards her parents seems to be one of the reasons that can turn her into a greedy, materialistic, capitalistic person. Can “trying to be a good daughter” turn someone into an evil person? The film doesn’t ask this question, but something this woman said makes me ask myself this question.


FILMS SEEN IN BANGKOK INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2008

IN ROUGHLY PREFERENTIAL ORDER WHICH CHANGES EVERY MINUTE ACCORDING TO MY UNRELIABLE FEELINGS

1.MODERN LIFE (2008, Raymond Depardon, France, A+++++++++++++++)

2.NOW SHOWING (2008, Raya Martin, Philippines, 280 minutes, A+++++++++++++++)

3.YEARS WHEN I WAS A CHILD OUTSIDE (2007, John Torres, Philippines, A+++++++++++++++)

4.PAPER CANNOT WRAP UP EMBERS (2007, Rithy Panh, Cambodia, A+++++++++++++++)

5.BIRD SONG (2008, Albert Serra, Spain, A+++++++++++++++)

6.AUTUMN (2008, Ozcan Alper, Turkey, A+++++++++++++++)

7.IN THE CITY OF SYLVIA (2007, Jose Luis Guerin, Spain, A++++++++++)

8.LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (2008, Tomas Alfredson, Sweden, A+++++)

9.BE LIKE OTHERS (2008, Tanaz Eshaghian, Iran, documentary, A+)

10.FEAST OF VILLAINS (2008, Pan Jianlin, China, A+)

11.CITIZEN JULING (2008, Ing K, Manit Sriwanichpoom, Kraisak Choonhavan, Thailand, documentary, 222 min, A+)

12.JAY (2008, Francis Xavier Pasion, Philippines, A+)

13.MY WINNIPEG (2007, Guy Maddin, Canada, A+)

14.HISTERIA (2007, James Lee, Malaysia, A+)

15.LITTLE MOTH (2008, Tao Peng, China, A+)

16.A CHRISMAS TALE (2008, Arnaud Desplechin, France, A+)

17.LORNA’S SILENCE (2008, Jean-Pierre Dardenne + Luc Dardenne, Belgium, A+)

18.THE LAST MISTRESS (2007, Catherine Breillat, France, A+)

19.24 CITY (2008, Jia Zhangke, China, A+)

20.A LIFE WITH SLATE (2006, Dipesh Kharel, Nepal, documentary, A+)

21.DRUMBEAT (2007, Adolfo Alix Jr., Philippines, A+)

22.BREATHING IN MUD (2007, James Lee, Malaysia, A+)

23.LEMON TREE (2008, Eran Riklis, Israel, A+/A)

24.DAYS OF TURQUOISE SKY (2008, Woo Ming-jin, Malaysia, A+/A)

25.NERAKHOON (THE BETRAYAL) (2008, Ellen Kuras + Thavisouk Phrasavath, USA, documentary, A+/A)

26.SLINGSHOT (2007, Brillante Mendoza, Philippines, A+/A)

27.SOI COWBOY (2008, Thomas Clay, UK, A)

28.PARKING (2008, Chung Mong-Hong, Taiwan, A)

29.VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA (2008, Woody Allen, A)

30.INVISIBLE CHILDREN (2008, Brian Gothong Tan, Singapore, A-)

31.KANTAKA TAKWA (2007, Eros Djarot + Gotot Prakosa + Slamet Rahardjo Djarot, Indonesia, A-)

2 comments:

Wise Kwai said...

CITIZEN JULING had all kinds of side stories that had been forgotten or never publicized, like Senator Fakhruddin, and then the bright young man who took over his senate seat.

I don't remember Sirinat being interviewed. I would think it would be a painful thing to bring up.

celinejulie said...

I have heard a rumor that Sirinat declined to give an interview in this film.

Apart from a lot of useful information in the film, one scene that I like very much in CITIZEN JULING is a brief scene in which Kraisak dances. This scene is not essential to the story, but I always like scenes like this which seem to give more human dimension to the character or subject. Another example of this kind of scenes from other films is the scene in which Supinya catches a bus in THE TRUTH BE TOLD (2007, Pimpaka Towira, A+). That scene is a classic scene for me.