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FORM – Pre-Spring 2008 Collection Review
Yuan-Kwan ChanPosted on June 8, 2007 | No CommentsIt’s ironic that designer Jerry Tam’s “Pre-” Spring 2008 women’s collection comes under a label called FORM, because the clothes took on anything but. Creatively-chopped sheets of light fabric make an incongruous figure-draping option for the majority of common folk save absurdly tall, lithe models with stick-thin figures. Place those same models in the context of an outdoor show held at the Rockefeller Center Rooftop Garden – surrou... -
Nalbandian returns to form, wins 2010 Legg Mason Tennis Classic
Yuan-Kwan ChanPosted on August 10, 2010 | No CommentsDavid Nalbandian won his first tournament of 2010 at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic.(photo by Kwai Chan / Meniscus Magazine) When the 2008 season began, David Nalbandian was on an upward swing. The former world No. 3 had finished his fifth consecutive year ranked in the top 10 on the merit of two ATP Masters Series titles, as well as wins over Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Then, over the next two seasons, the former Wimbledon finalist lost to... -
Steve McQueen’s “Hunger” – 2008 New York Film Festival Review
Christopher BournePosted on September 21, 2008 | No Comments...protracted war involving Northern Ireland’s struggles against the British for independence. Before the hunger strikes – the second, more effective one was depicted in the film – were the “blanket” and “no wash” protests. The former was a direct result of the government’s stripping the prisoners of special political status. To protest the elimination of their rights, the inmates refused to wear clothes and would only take blankets to cover themse... -
Review: Shohei Imamura’s “Nishi Ginza Station”
Christopher BournePosted on February 10, 2012 | No CommentsNishi Ginza Station (1958) was Imamura’s second film, a studio assignment made as a vehicle for popular singer Frank Nagai. Imamura was able to use this as a vehicle for himself as well, indulging in a playful formalism that breaks the narrative in a number of ways. Nagai appears right at the beginning, addressing the camera. “What an interesting place!” he says of the train station where much of the film takes place. He will tell... -
Review: Patrick Tam’s “After This Our Exile”
Christopher BournePosted on February 11, 2011 | No Comments...weaves a path of destruction all around him, always making feeble promises to change his ways. The moody and lush images are provided by ace cinematographer Mark Lee Ping Bing, whose images of Malaysia’s beautiful landscapes form a counterpoint to the human misery and heartache we witness. These natural sights are contrasted with the decayed hotel rooms, restaurants, and dreary bus stations that the characters inhabit. After This Our Exile is a... -
Review: Federico Veiroj’s “A Useful Life”
Christopher BournePosted on August 3, 2011 | No Comments...brevity of this 67-minute film belies the rich layers to be found in this elegiac yet hopeful film, which both eulogizes and celebrates the medium of film itself, a medium which is rapidly disappearing (at least in celluloid form), along with the houses in which it is contained. A Useful Life would form an ideal triple bill with Tsai Ming-liang’s Goodbye Dragon Inn and Lisandro Alonso’s Fantasma, two other films which similarly mark the passing... -
The best films of the 2010 Pusan International Film Festival
Christopher BournePosted on August 31, 2010 | No Comments...in’s “The Tiger Factory,” in which Mei is a supporting character; he co-wrote, co-produced, and co-edited that feature. “Inhalation” contains the same gifts of subtle observation exhibited in “The Tiger Factory” in miniature form. “Everything is inevitable,” Seng tells Mei as he recites a number of tragic, violent episodes of Malaysia’s past. The idea that one can escape misery and fate may be illusory, but the film’s final image of floating c... -
Interview with “Useless” director Jia Zhang-ke
Christopher BournePosted on December 15, 2007 | No Comments...nt of view. Could you talk a little about your editing process? The first problem in editing is deciding which section should go first. So I decided to [start with] the assembly line in Guangzhou because those workers seem to form the lowest strata of the clothing industry. Ma Ke and the artisanal workers in Shanxi have a relationship. They form a social circle, but the assembly workers seem to be separated from the rest. So what I really want to... -
Matt Tyrnauer’s “Valentino: The Last Emperor” – Documentary Review
Christopher BournePosted on November 26, 2009 | No Comments...he painstaking process that goes into all of Valentino’s creations. Valentino’s attention to the smallest detail, fold and sequin of his dresses is quite fascinating to watch. Valentino puts a premium on respecting the female form and making clothes that actual women can wear, rather than the faux avant-garde creations that infect fashion shows today. While much attention is paid to the minutiae of creating Valentino’s dresses, as well as the opu... -
Review: Shin Sang-ok’s “A Romantic Papa”
Christopher BournePosted on October 14, 2011 | No Comments...radically experimental ends, leaving us with a very different impression than a typical Hollywood film. The effect is much closer to television drama, and this episodic structure and style of characterization survives in the form of many of today’s Korean TV series. The front of the traditional Korean house where most of the film’s scenes take place looks very much like a stage set: This theatrical presentation of the family home...
