Detours of a south east asian prairie girl

Surprise of surprises, the 2007 Vancouver Taiwanese Festival invited Spider Lilies writer/director Zero Chou to Vancouver tonight! The film was screened in partnership with VIFF, followed by a Q & A. Different (much smaller) crowd from the screening at Out On Screen last week, different vibe, but just as fantastic. Those of you who read my previous post will know just how much I love this film.

Ms. Chou was funny and modest in her Q & A session. Here’re some of what transpired:

What was her inspiration for the story?
It’s based on a true story. After the 921 earthquake in Taiwan where many families lost loved ones, she did a documentary and actually met a little girl named Jade. Jade had told her that her mom had died in the earthquake, which Ms. Chou found out later to be untrue. The girl was actually suffering from post-traumatic stress and had her illusions to comfort herself. The story starts from that background.

Was it deliberate to associate sex with death?
Not at all, the events in the film happen very naturally in the story arc and was not deliberate. Certainly, that wasn’t the intention.

How did she conceptualize the character of Takeko?
Tattoo is the main thread in the film. It is what connects the story, events, and people together.

Children live with illusions and teenagers want tattoos. This is how Takeko’s storyline with Jade intersects.

As a tattoo artist, Takeko understands the implications of each piece. And though her own spider lilies tattoo isn’t a reflection of her, it is her only connection to her brother. It connects with past loves. Each tattoo that she draws for each customer is an expression from her.

What did Ms. Chou think contributed to the phenomenal success of the film in Taiwan, given its subject matter?
The film actually had very little publicity slated for it. It was done on a relatively low budget. Where it really got going was when it won the Teddy Award at the Berlin Film Festival. And that also happened during the Chinese New Year, so maybe there was little news at the time (she laughed heartily when she said this), and the press covered it very well with the award, so it got bigger and bigger after that.

It’s not actually the highest grossing film to date anymore, but because it was done on low budget, they don’t have any debts left (she laughed).

** May I say, with my heart beating like hell, I took the leap to thank Ms. Chou after the show in person (it was an intimate venue). So, trying not to bother her too much, I went to her, bowed, and simply said “xie xie ni”. And she was so cute, she was all smiles and bowed right back and said … I was in the clouds and though I knew what she said to me at the time, I freaking can’t remember it now! Sigh … a fleeting moment …

In the midst of working 33 straight days with 1 day off. Most of those are 12 hour days. If I accomplish this, it will be a feat and I will be so proud of me little self.

5. Promise yourself a cool hair dye job at the end of the crazyness. Me, I’m getting red streaks put in.

4. Squeeze in a massage every week, it does your body tons of good. Acupressure rules.

3. Continue life as normal. For example, do come home everyday and rough up dance with the cat. Don’t forget to greet your partner/best friend/roomate. You know, the housewife who has been cleaning up after you while you’re working, the one who is cooking your meals, doing your laundry and pulling your hair from the sink. Yah, her. Do give her a nice greeting and kiss on the cheek now and then. Just cuz you’re working too much does not mean you should neglect her.

2. Eat lots of protein-heavy snacks while on the run. Spicy dried anchovies and peanuts work great. They are easy to carry and full of satisfying umami. But don’t forget to pack winterfresh gum with you.

1. If you don’t think about it, it doesn’t exist. Nope, not the numbing tiredness, the sore shoulders, sore back, sore feet. Nope, not real, doesn’t exist, not there at all.

[August 23 2007 Update: Decided to forego sleep and attended the late screening for Spider Lilies last night. It was fantastic. Reconnected with old friends and recharged my batteries. When I see the movie from the point of view of loss and recovery from extreme trauma, it all makes sense. Brilliantly done!]

Schedule conflict and I cannot attend the upcoming screening of the Taiwanese film Spider Lilies at Out On Screen this year. Gonna miss out on seeing/meeting/greeting cute Asian dykes. Sigh …

So what is a girl to do? Well, watch the youTube versions, of course! Two days of immersing myself watching the film online has improved my Mandarin. A LOT. Well, it’s really watching the film plus all the interviews, outings at the Berlin Film Fest with the stars, behind the scenes, etc etc. Can I really spend 20 hours doing this? Seriously.

Yes, turns out I can.

And what I’ve learnt has been utterly fascinating:

(a) both stars of the film, Hongkong rising star Isabella Leung and Taiwan pop star Rainie Yang, are so so so open, smart, funny, insightful and completely unafraid to talk about queer issues. Considering that both of them are living and working in conservative societies, that took me completely by surprise.
(b) the film is earnest and though I didn’t like it at first, after a few viewings trying to grasp the meaning of the scenes, I’ve have to say that I am bowled over by the intentions and sweetness of it all.
(c) Isabella made a comment about how in Taiwan, people are more open in terms of talking about sexuality and in Hongkong, it’s more of “don’t ask, don’t tell”. Never thought of that before, but come to look at it, that is true. Taiwan has had a string of queer theme movies, even back to the days when superstar director Ang Lee was working there (Wedding Banquet). Furthermore, there’s the tender and compassionate Blue Gate Crossing a few years ago. That’s one of my top 10 movies, in fact.
(d) I need to visit Taiwan!
(e) Get this, Isabella plays the older Takeko in the film and Rainie plays an 18 year old. Their characters are separated by at least 5 or 6 or 7 years. In real life, Isabella is only 19 years old (17 or 18 when she shot the film) and Rainie is 23. Complete reversal and they pulled it off too. Well done!
(f) There’s a huge crossover of artists working between Hongkong and Taiwan and I greatly admire their ability to switch between Mandarin and Cantonese.
(f) Depends on how you interpret it, the ending, unlike so many queer films, does not end in inconsolable tragedy. Hallejujah to hope!

Overall, the film is beatifully shot and the actresses are great together. The music is fantastic. I am most emotional and feel most connected with Takeko’s first love, Zhen Zhen (who is played by the gregarious Chen Yi Han). And best of all, my Mandarin has improved so much. Really! Words are coming back to me. Did I say I need to visit Taiwan? I’ll go to Singapore too and immerse myself, that’ll really improve it.

Hey, now I know, Ci Qing means “tattoo”. I should get one of those too.

Below is the trailer (the Hongkong release version), enjoy:

I love this duet from Taiwan! Too bad it wasn’t around in my youth or first love might’ve been easier, heh.

A brief translation … the song is called What If (Ru Guo De Shi) and it’s about love (what else), the honesty of these two little words (ai ni liang ge zi) and it’s somewhat of a coming of age thing. My favourite line is ru guo ni kan wo de tian ying, ting wo ai de CD, ru guo ni neng tai wo yi qi liu xi, ru guo ni jue ding gen shi gan jue, wei ai yong gan yi chi … which sorta means … if you like to watch my movies, listen to my CDs, if you take me travelling with you, if you decide to follow your feelings, be brave for love for once … so cute!

Bricks
I forget. I do not remember how old I was when my father brought home a bag of freshly caught prawns. Must have been after school for me. He took a pot of water, put it on the boil and threw the prawns in, shells, heads and all. Once pink, he took them out, straight into a big bowl. And we jumped in. Sweet and tender and still tasting of the sea. The next day or days after or days before, I do not remember, he did the same with sweet little clams.

I think I was 12 years old. First job. I worked at a supermarket. I was the “bag girl” and all around general helper. There were many adults working there, most from Malaysia, displaced from their own homes. Break times were like big families gathering to eat. There was this tomboyish woman, she was tough. She could spar with the guys. She wore her blue uniform with the short sleeves rolled up. And she loved to eat. One day she told me, “There’s no need to spend money on make up or clothes or anything else. If I had any money, I would just spend it on food and get some really great things to savour”.

Salt
Frescatti, just outside of Rome. Mid-nineties. My first trip to Europe, I was lucky enough to be travelling for a project with the company I was working for at the time. The client liason was a Frenchman who lives in Italy. Over the week, after endless design reviews, he took us to a thousand year old abbey where we were fed antipasti and red wine in the cool wine cellar. Later in the dining room, we were given succulent courses of meat and pasta with shaved truffles. Giant curing hams hung over us from the wooden beams. He took us to a simple trattoria where the proprietors served whatever they had that day, and a gelati place where I had my first orange gelato. In Rome, I had my first thin crust pizza. Anchovies, tomatoes. The basic Napoletana. I had fresh egg pasta with pungent porcini mushrooms. I learnt to drink coffee the Italian (or at least Roman) way. Half coffee, half milk in the morning. Espresso after lunch. I saw and tasted soft creamy mozzarella for the first time in my life. But best of all, I had the most beautiful pork sandwich by a roadside stand, surrounded by construction workers, with a full view towards broken ruins of ancient aqueducts.

Cathedral Rim near Keremeos, high up in the alpine in mid August. After a few days of camping and hiking in dessert-like weather, a snow storm decided to come in. The day before, we had underestimated the length of a hike and the degree of heat emanating from the volcanic soil and ended up seriously parched. We made it down to an emerald glacial lake finally (it is one of few hikes where I actually thought we might not make it). We stripped and jumped right in, the cold water a youthful baptism that literally gave us our life back. When the snow storm came, we decided to take down the tent and hiked to the lodge where we could splurge for a room. That evening, I had sweet Spanish garlic soup and london broil. The owner of the lodge sat and dined with us. Learning that I was from Alberta, he ordered the kitchen to bring me more beef. Good man!

Nesting
Tonight, I’ve got a bottle of sauvignon blanc chilling. I’ve got fragant organic tomatoes and spent a bit more on a bottle of barrel aged balsamic vinegar. I’ve got some really nice bread and cheese. I would really like to have an all clad stainless steel saute pan and a nice set of Riedel wine glasses, but I also know that good food doesn’t need them. Why? Because most of the great food I’ve had, had been at their best, simplest.

I’m gonna find me a dying river and strike a deal with her I’ll say, I’ll fold you in two and I’ll carry you away to a place where your headwaters will flow clean through to your mouth. In return I’ll request a small sanctuary, by her banks where we’ll live with our small family. She will water our gardens and clean the dirt from our skin. While the world clamours at our door, we will dance and not let them in.

- Michael Timmins, River Waltz -

In the sun no less. Just came off a seven day work week and the calluses on my feet are hurting. Oh yeah, and the shoulders and neck, oww. So today, I decided to give myself a ton of wellness. I started with a short run in the morning to loosen everything up. What with the IPod and the gorgeous weather, I ran around the track a couple of blocks from my apartment. A view to the North Shore mountains to boot. I recommend it. It’s definitely a fantastic start to a day off.

Then I skipped over to Continental Cafe on Commercial Drive and had myself a nice orange zest biscotti and a latte machiatto. Best. Smoothest. Coffee. Ever.

A short grocery trip followed. Bought some baby eggplants, some purple peppers, Chilliwack corn, loads of beautiful summer veggies and fruit. Got some nice snapper and salmon in the fridge.

My dear friends have invited us over for a bbq tonight, so the fish and the beautiful veggies are going on the grill! Yummm! I couldn’t ask for more from a lovely summer day. Happy happy happy.

Me thinks she just brought sexy back
(photo courtesy of nep)

Something I’ve learnt … so important to remember when I have a bad day or if I’m facing something new, be it a new job or new situations.

It is faster to meticulously do the job right the first time then to make a mistake and have to fix it later. The temptation to rush, especially with deadlines and an impossible load, is just that, a temptation. Resist. Instead, try to understand the science of a shortcut’s effect and the art of when to use it productively. Despite what people tell you about following a recipe, so much of baking and pastry is touchy feely. You learn to feel what a particular batter consistency should be, how thick your sauce needs to be, what level of proofing your breads are at. Even the humidity on a particular day will affect your recipe. Ingredients from suppliers aren’t always consistent. Recognize those things and you’ll stand a better chance. Adjust. Adapt your technique. Hundreds of decisions are made every single day at work. That’s something to be relished or you would just be a recipe-monkey, no?