To write a review about this movie would be to erase the beauty that has etched itself within me after having watched it. I want to continue savouring the sweetness I received during the experience.
All I can say is that it is a beautiful film about living life and loving the people in your life. It is definitely a movie worth savouring thoughtfully.
I brought out with me smiles on my face as the credits rolled to signal the end of its running. I usually cry when I watch emotionally pensive movies such as this but this time, I did not. I guess knowing that it had been written by F.Scott Fitzgerald who had also written The Great Gatsby, one of my favourite novels, helped me lock in my literary perusal. There were poignant scenes of death and loss, but this intellectual approach to the film protected me from an outburst.
I realise I've fallen hard for the genre of Regency Romance. It all started with Kiera Knightley's interpretation of Lizzy Bennet in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Then I started going crazy over everything to do with Mr Darcy. I bought spin-offs on his character and the love between he and Lizzy.
Then it was everything about Austen. I ravished books on her world in the early 19th century and her wisdom about living. I love Amanda Grange's series of diaries written from the viewpoints of the male leads in Austen's novels. I have lapped up Edmund's and Darcy's diaries. My next target is Knightley's diary. Ironically, I used to hate Austen's works as a Lit major. I guess it's different studying them as opposed to reading them for pleasure.
Chic-lit came up with novels on becoming a Regency lady in her era through time travel and entering a secluded place; one away from the hustle and bustle of city life. I threw myself into this world and have no way of coming out of it. That's fine by me. :D I especially love their covers, and of course, the stories contained within. Reading my recommended lists of books will tell you that. Most of the books fall in this category.
Kinokuniya has been around for a rather long time but I went to the one in Liang Court only today. It is really big and a reader's paradise. I need at least 1 and a half hours to walk through the whole place, and this is merely restricted to the English book and magazine sections.
The children and young adult sections are full of jewels. I had to resist the temptation to buy a few books. There are books on well-loved characters like Dora, Strawberry Shortcake, Barbie, Harry Potter and the Narnians. It is such a pity that people are ignorant of the wonders to be found there.
The Literature section is also another treasure chest. Most of the books are chic-lit though. The whole collection of Little Black Dress Books is there. I bought one with a bright pink cover, my favourite colour. It is a Regency romance. It is entitled The Rules of Gentility. I now own a LBD book!
The stationery section is also a dazzle for ladies who like pretty and cute things. I bought pink flower stickers. I also saw paper crafts, drawstring and little tote bags, notebooks and diaries, and letter pads amongst other things. The designs are absolutely gorgeous and colourful, especially the Japanese ones. I was brought back to my secondary school days when I used to collect notepads.
This has become another favourite bookshop of mine, besides PageOne, MPH Citylink and Harris Suntec. :D
I discovered the Harris bookshop at Changi Airport T3. It was awesome, as I had finally found a book I have been searching for a long time. I couldn't buy it though, as I was flying off in a short time. I've not found the book in any other bookshop, and even in London, however. :S
Waterstone's at Charing Cross and Foyles at Embankment are two huge bookshops in London. They are as big as the Borders/Books Etc bookshop at Bayswater and Oxford Circus there. I bought/found unusual books and managed to find another book I had been searching for a long time. I also bought books I had seen back here, at much cheaper prices after conversion. Another bookshop I went to was Books Warehouse at Notting Hill.
Just like Rohit Brijnath, I too, zero in on bookshops at shopping malls. I have a love relationship with them too, courtesy of my parents. They take up a huge portion of my spending and I must cut down on it now that I've an additional Internet subscription plan.
Sugar(September 2008): a UK magazine for teenage girls at S$6. Original price was S$9.20.
Cleo Singapore(October 2008): a local magazine for women at S$3. Original price was S$4.40.
I'm also selling books for children and teenagers. There are books like Midnight Masquerade from Tiara Club series(newest book), two books from My Story series, Archie comics(double digest and holiday issue) and Teddy Bear Tales.
Please email me at siokhian@gmail.com, should you be interested in purchasing them. We will discuss the details of the exchange via email. Thanks.
I found this book in the Legend of the Sea ship's library. I am not a fan of Little Black Dress books but this particular novella kept my attention as the plot thickened. I was egging Daisy on to accept Eliot's feelings for her even though Miles had proposed to her. He was so much more sincere and even wrote a book based on his love for her! How sweet is that? This gestures resonates with the chords of my imagination. Miles's proposal was dramatic with all the stops he pulled in Venice but it seemed so elaborate that it took on a farcical-like nature as compared to Eliot's simple gestures of initial friendship, which turned into pure love for Daisy. I was so happy when she did accept Eliot's feelings for her.
The Legend of the Sea ship's library
This is the sequel to Red Cliff. I think it is better than the first part because there are human elements inserted into the story.
Sun Shangxiang had a little puppy love for a soldier from Cao Cao's army and their bonding is sweet to behold. His death right before her eyes is a bittersweet ending to what could have been a romance, if she had revealed her true identity and if he had followed her to Sun Quan's army. After all, he fought for Cao Cao so that his family could survive, so perhaps his loyalty to Cao Cao is questionable.
I enjoyed Lin Chiling's portrayal of Xiaoqiao. She is demure, a good wife, passionate towards her country, brave, calm, devious and understanding. She was always there by Zhou Yu's side and the way she did the tea ceremony really brought out the etiquette it requires. Her bravery and patriotism caused her to go over to the enemy's side to attempt to turn the tables on Cao Cao. I don't think her acting is wooden, as some critics say.
Cao Cao is given a human side. He shows respect for Xiaoqiao when he could have raped her. After all, she gave herself to him by going there alone. He also tries to motivate his sick men by sharing with them his feelings as a father. These make up for the ruthlessness he shows in sending his dead soldiers to Sun Quan's army to infect the soldiers, and in poisoning Jiang Gan for his stupidity. Gan Xing sacrifices himself to aid the allies in reuniting for the ultimate battle with Cao Cao.
At the same time, some characters are developed very well. Zhu Geliang is seen in his brilliance and ingenuity, as Zhou Yu is. The way the former obtains the arrows and the way the latter gets the two generals executed are admirable. They are portrayed as equally wise and intelligent. Sun Shangxiang's bravery comes to a climax when she unravels the map of Cao Cao's army camp from her body. Sun Quan manages to overcome his fear and Cao Cao's taunting by shooting an arrow at Cao Cao's hairline.
Themes of loyalty, friendship and brotherhood, and mercy are also chronicled. These are most apparent when the sick soldiers of Cao Cao are moved by his sharing and chant cries of "Victory!" to signify their willingness to fight for him, when almost the allies gather before him and put him to shame with their unity, and when they show him mercy instead of killing him in the end. The didacticism conveyed is that no one wins in a war; everyone loses either his life or his loved ones.
I bought the DVD which shows the episodes from 1-12. The way Juxiang is, is the way I would like to be as a woman. She is gentle and cooks very well. She treats Ah Tao very well, unlike the other family members and conscientiously does the cooking, with patience, perseverance and humility. She is willing to learn how to cook from Chong Po, loves Tianlan a lot, and teaches Ah Tao how to cook Babi Pongteh and Fish Maw Soup. She expresses her feelings with her sweet smiles and facial expressions. Yes, my grandmother was a Peranakan and I can relate to Angela. Thus, Juxiang and Yueniang are my role models.
At the same time, she is feisty and makes choices to stand up for her rights, by running away from home to avoid marrying Charlie Zhang. Though she puts herself at a disadvantage by her handicap and is almost trafficked as a prostitute, she frees herself and others.
I like the sweet romance between Juxiang and Yosuke. It is a great pity that they died young. At the same time, it would have been good if Ah Tao and Tianlan had come to join her. Of course, this will make it a fairy-tale story. It will also make it a fairy tale if Xiujuan was matchmade with Jincheng, since they were already lovers, and if Chen Sheng liked Meiyu whom he was married to. Chen Sheng could then have lived with Meiyu till old age, if he had not been murdered.
I note that Angela has a photographer admirer in Jonathan too. She is in the same situation as her great-grandauntie, since Yosuke was a photographer who fell in love with the Baba culture too.
On a different note, I caught the finale of the whole serial and I am not too reactive over the separation of Yueniang and Chen Xi. I actually admire Yueniang's decision to leave Chen Xi though she clearly loved him too. It shows true love, self-sacrifice and strength of character. Instead, I wish that Yuzhu could have lived a good life. She was more of a victim than either Juxiang or Yueniang. To be raped and then prostituted by her own husband till she contracted venereal disease and went mad, is very very tragic. She was a well-educated, lovely and vivacious woman, before she went through all that. It would have been good too, if Yueniang could have died peacefully in her sleep, like Rose in Titanic: the movie did. Also, she could have lived to see Angela and Jonathan marry with kids. Oh well, this is just mere wishful thinking. :S
I must say that the actresses chosen to portray the characters in their different ages have similar looks, such that their aging process is realistic. :) Jeanette Aw and Xiang Yun both portray Yueniang, and Ng Hui and Zhu Xiufeng both portray Ah Tao. Funnily though, the other characters are portrayed by the same actor/actress with a change in makeup. Hmm.
