dimanche, juillet 17, 2005 (post-script, otherwise known as the P.S. - for younger readers, I highly recommend that you open m-w.com in another window to check words.)About a month and a half ago, I made the tragic, tragic mistake of bursting in upon the YTU committee (or YATU, I'm not much into this form of etymology) discussing their nefarious plans for the next quarter. One of the weeks they had planned out was labelled "watch movie." Wondering, I asked what film they were intending to watch. Fulfilling the cliché that committees can never decide anything, they told me "We don't know leh, you can recommend or not?" There is nothing to be said about most Christian movies. The fact of the matter is: they suck. Sometimes, they suck due to bad acting. Sometimes, they suck due to bad filmography and camerawork. But mostly, they suffer due to bad plot and scriptwriting. Having seen some real, true, honest-to-God crap Christian movies when I was younger, I used to wonder if there was any way we could write a script which: 1) Would not compromise the message of our faith; 2) Carry an evangelistic message - understanding though, that there is a spectrum of belief instead of a "your side/my side" polemic; 3) Would be commercially viable in every sense - interesting and intriguing to most audiences (I hesitate to say "all" as that encompasses too large a net to cast), successful in the box-office as well as home video/DVD sales. (Gibson's "The Passion of Christ" doesn't count, as it was a depiction of a real event, as opposed to a completely new fiction.) I was pleasantly surprised to put my old prejudices down when we watched "Lay It Down" in youth camp. Perhaps not all the way down, but to at least rest that gauntlet a little. The message was still didactic, and the premise of the storyline was shamelessly ripped off from "The Fast and the Furious" (the Vin Diesel version), but the movie script was, on the whole, not too shoddy. I had issues with the cinematography (they faked car racing a few too many times for suspension of belief to withstand the onslaught), and the editing was to terrible to talk about, but the script, part from a slight misogynist slant on how unwanted pregnancy should be dealt with, was much better than I had expected. Mind you, it wasn't good per se, just above my expectations (which weren't that low, despite how I might be putting it.) Coming back to that YTU meeting, I suggested that they look into watching "愿来是爱", as I heard that the movie was pretty good, and a real tearjerker. I told them that it was a pretty sure bet that someone from church had probably bought the VCD, as it was making the Christian rounds last year rather (fast and) furiously. Imagine my surprise when nobody had the movie - some hadn't even heard of it. Bev SMSed me and told me to buy it, so I went out to various Christian bookstores (SKS, Baptist Bookstore, Crusade Mass Media), but none of them had it - well, BB had it, but it was the DVD version, and I didn't think it was worth a DVD. After asking around and realising that it was put of stock, I decided that I would pass them Touch Ministries' "奇迹酒吧：打手" instead to watch. However, reluctant to hand them the VCD before previewing it beforehand, I sat myself down tonight to watch it. As I inserted the VCD into the player, I mentally geared myself up for a really bad hour. Three things stood out in my mind: 1) It was conceptualised, filmed, edited and produced in Singapore. 2) By a Christian organisation. 3) In chinese. Okay, the last reason was (the most) irrational. But imagine my surprise when "The Fighter" (that's the english translation, not "fighting hand" as my title suggests) was actually not only watchable, but pleasantly so. Revolving around a rather run-of-the-mill gangster-went-to-prison- turned-over-a-new-leaf storyline, the cinematography was very tight; the editing, superb. Dialogue was kept almost to a minimum; plot was advanced though action and terse looks rather than through dialogue, which meant that there wasn't much philosophising going on. Unfortunately, the Christian theme isn't portrayed much - or at all: this is definitely one of those shows which are perfectly meant to segue into a real-live message from a pastor or elder. Themes of forgiveness, inner strength to change, the importance of family - not overtly Christian, yet wholesome - come through subtly but firmly in this short film. Due to the fact that "奇迹酒吧" or "Miracle Pub" is a series of five, it's not surprising that there are a couple of unexplained scenes, like the bartender giving away a bottle of wine to a pretty lady in a truly pathetic attempt to flirt, or like how the pub owner is associated with a police inspector. But apart from these oblique references (which aren't intrusive at all), the show gets the thumbs up from me: good job, Touch Ministries. I hope you guys in YTU/YATU like it when you watch it. That is, if Beverly and Eddie approve. :) [Fighting Hand] |
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