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March 16, 2007
A World of Links
I've been updating my links. One dropped blog seems to be no longer active. In a couple of cases, I added some links of people who have been generous enough to include this site on their blogroll. What may make things a little unusual is that a couple of the linked blogs are primarily in languages other than English.
I don't know if they still include this "bumper" before the films, but when I went to the Landmark Theater chain, they often showed an ad for themselves that began with a variety of voices, each in a different language, all saying "The language of film is universal". Within the context of the theater, it's a bit of self-congratulatory hooey for the audience to pat itself on the back for being so hip and worldly compared to the monolinguals at the multiplex. I guess my own attitude is that even though I am probably missing some good stuff by my inability to read some of these other blogs, I can glean bits here and there. Additionally, by making these links available on my site, I will be able to help someone make a connection that they may not have made otherwise. It may not be perfect, but there are ways to get translations online.
One of my older links is Bulgarian Cine Daily from Marina. Even with greater global connections, eastern European cinema still is relatively little known in the U.S. I'm not even sure if I've even seen a film from Bulgaria, but I'm keeping my eyes open. Night of the Hunter is named after one favorite film, while the nom de blog is a searcher who was also a hunter. Even though this blog is in Spanish, a survey of the contents shows interest in many of the same films discussed in the English language blogs. I also have added Safari Underground, a Chinese language blog that has made me interested in a couple of older Asian films I hadn't read of previously.
One other link for today is the review of Bodyguard 2 in today's Bangkok Post. I can understand Kong's point of view concerning the humor of the film. For me, what worked in the film was just enough for me to weigh in favor of Bodyguard 2, primarily because of the action set-pieces. While much of the humor was for cheap laughs, the only part that I was uncomfortable with was a scene with Petchai making derogatory comments towards Paula Taylor. Humor at the expense of an actor's on-screen wife has been a part of film comedy since the beginning. There are times when making fun of a star playing him or herself in a movie can be funny. Telling Paula Taylor not to forget to buy tampons wasn't one of those moments.
I am including this link not only to provide a contrasting review of this film, but also because Kong is looking into the state of Thai cinema and its audience. I should maybe say cinemas and audiences. Chiang Mai may be a bit different than Bangkok in a variety of ways. Except for the festival I reviewed last November, the only foreign films that play here are Anglo-American. At the very least, I have learned first hand a little bit more about Thai film. Often, what is understood to be a nation's films are just those that are part of the festival circuit. Certainly Thai cinema means Tears of the Black Tiger and Tropical Malady, but outside of Bangkok, Thai cinema is more often along the lines of Bodyguard 2 or Letters of Death.
Posted by Peter Nellhaus at March 16, 2007 04:51 AM