ways of seeing

| nicole

✨ my rating: 3 of 5 stars ✨

John Berger is a well-known name in the realm of art criticism, so I was really looking forward to watching this four-part documentary series, in anticipation of reading his book of the same name.

The episodes offered very insightful views on art, starting off with how we perceive art in the modern world. The context in which we now consume fine art is vastly different from how it used to be appreciated, rendered in pixellated forms and proliferated through photographic reproductions. It has been democratised and made accessible, and along with that, how we respond to it has changed as well – a point that made me consider how I myself receive and view art now. Berger also discusses the portrayal of beauty, particularly of women, in art, which I found to be very pertinent and still relatable to today’s society. The other episodes go on to talk about art in the modern consumerist world, and hw its value has changed over time.

I appreciated how Berger engages the viewer by establishing that his views are subjective, and one is open to disagreeing. I personally didn’t align with his views concerning the meaning of objects in pictures, whereby he focused mainly on their material significance rather than symbolic value. He also leaves room for contemplation and consideration of his opinions; however, this had the downside of being slightly slow-moving at times.

All in all, this was a good watch, and really interesting because of its intellectual insights that were made easy to understand, and not layered with academic jargon.

Ways of Seeing; directed by Michael Dibb

🌹date watched: 9 jan 2019 🌹

the thing the book

| nicole
The Thing The Book: A Monument to the Book as Object

The Thing The Book: A Monument to the Book as Object by John Herschend

✨ my rating: 4 of 5 stars✨

I think one either hates this book, or loves it. I personally loved it. 😀

There were parts that really confused me, no question about that, and some stuff which just left me thinking, “WHATis going on?” The point of the book is to explore the conventional elements of the book as an object, and to pick apart those different elements through spinning experimental twists on them. Unlike what we’d expect from a book (as a linear progression of text), you never know what to expect on the next page of this one. Some articles were slightly mundane or flew over my head, others left me trying to stifle my laughs in the library, and one or two encapsulated exactly how I feel about the beauty and importance of books in a digital age.

Yes, it can be pretentious, but it was also profound. They achieved their objective in making the book to be a sort of conceptual artwork, with different components going on at the same time to represent, perhaps, the active faculties of our brain when imagining and trying to comprehend a text – for instance, the quirky stop-motion flip drawings at the top of the pages! I enjoyed this a lot, and I think it’s definitely worth a read!

🌹 date finished: 9 jan 2019 🌹

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clueless

| nicole

✨ my rating: 4.5 of 5 stars ✨

This show was hilarious and I loved it! I was aware that it was based on Jane Austen’s novel, “Emma”, but the references weren’t overtly obvious. It was really well-adapted to the period it was shot in, cementing it as a classic teen rom-com that has garnered a cult following (well, at least on tumblr). 

The characters were well-developed and had different dimensions, despite the stereotypes they represented, rendering them likeable and relatable. The relationships and dynamics between them are so wholesome and loving; I couldn’t help but smile when watching it – case in point, the part when Tai apologises to Cher with so much grief over calling her “a virgin who can’t drive”. And the dialogue – the humour is really witty as well as charming, due to the characters’, for lack of a better word, cluelessness. Light, sparkling and bubbly; I totally understand the hype now. 

Clueless; directed by Amy Heckerling

🌹date watched: 8 jan 2019 🌹

shirkers

| nicole

✨ my rating: 4 of 5 stars ✨

Wow, this was so captivating. First off, the fact that this was made by a Singaporean, about something that happened in Singapore, and was important to our film culture, made me so proud. Interestingly, I think that it has more recognition outside of the country than within, because its achievements at film festivals haven’t been publicised locally. 

The cinematography of the old film footage is gorgeous, and you can tell that they were really talented and creative artists. The documentary’s narrative was spun really well; it was engaging and artistic and creepy all at the same time, and it really, really sucks you in; I couldn’t pull my eyes away. It still remains a mystery to me why the director would disappear with all the footage – even with all the explanations, it just seems strange, like a weird thriller movie, but I am so glad they retrieved it in the end – though with broken hearts and lost dreams. 

I admit to being slightly suspicious of her portrayal of the director Georges, because of how one-sided and dehumanising it was, especially given that we don’t get to hear from his point of view. As with any story, they need to cast a bad guy, and he fits it, even though logically we should question the apparent ignorance of the rest of them. Yet, one good thing about Tan is that she didn’t shun away from putting in interview clips that put her in a bad light as well, providing a more open-ended depiction of her role in it. One more thing – my only contention would be that she had this monotone that made it draggy at times, and some of the monologue sounded contrived and pretentious. 

Apart from that, the film was incredibly good – raw, engaging; leaving me feeling bittersweet. 

Shirkers; directed by Sandi Tan

🌹date watched: 7 jan 2019 🌹

eight days a week

| nicole

✨ my rating: 0.5 of 5 stars ✨

The Beatles are undoubtedly cool and legendary, and there’d honestly be so much to unpack behind the scenes of their success as well as to chart their evolution from typical pop stars to the iconic and different sound they came to be known for. Sadly, this show bypassed all that and did them no justice at all 😐

First off, it started abruptly without a proper introduction, jumping straight into an interview. This trend continued throughout – there was no proper narrative, and it was more like an amateur scrapbooking attempt. I don’t even know whether to consider it a documentary because it’s just little excerpts and clips about The Beatles, with a couple of voiceovers and opinions from different people. Also there was literally a ten minute, non-stop reel of various live performances from The Beatles – zero context given, them singing the same song in different venues. Sure there were some interesting bits about the group dynamics and their upbringing in Liverpool. But it was so jumbled, lacked cohesion and I had to check if I wasn’t watching the extended cut or something, because I was convinced this couldn’t be the actual film (it was).

Moreover, it claims to show the side of The Beatles we don’t know about, but honestly failed to deliver on this. Yes, they exemplified all the hard work they did, but left both the origins and the closure untied. To me, it was a shoddy attempt to capture the immense influence that The Beatles had. A big meh.

The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years; directed by Ron Howard

🌹date watched: 6 jan 2019 🌹

brideshead revisited

| nicole

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

✨ my rating: 4 of 5 stars ✨

I’ll start by admitting that Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia” brought me here (yay for A-level texts!) – or more specifically, the hilarious character of Bernard, with his little pun on “Brideshead Regurgitated”. I’m glad I did, because it was a really enjoyable read! Also, just to get the embarrassing things out of the way – I thought Evelyn Waugh was a female writer for the longest time and was so impressed by “her” ability to imagine army life… and then I realised that Waugh is a dude. Anyway.

I loved Waugh’s writing style – it was very clear, light, airy and witty; a breeze to read through without excessive jargon. The novel narrates the story of a young Oxford student, Charles, who becomes friends with the eccentric and charming Sebastian, and slowly gets pulled into the orbit of his aristocratic relatives. Waugh creates several distinct and memorable characters, most notably Sebastian, who I adorebecause he’s so hilarious (he and his teddy bear). I like how each of the personas are quite multi-faceted, with good and bad traits all on display, making them quite endearing in a sense.

The plot in the first half of the book was exceptionally engaging, with an enchanting dynamic between Charles and Sebastian. But then we come to the later half of the book, and while Waugh’s prose was still lucid enough to keep me reading, I found it increasingly draggy as Charles lamented and pined, while Sebastian – the one saving grace who would have made the plot much more interesting – faded from the narrative. Yet I guess it’s testimony to Waugh’s ability to create empathetic characters that I felt so sad and concerned about Sebastian’s distant plight! Waugh also juggled many different themes, but never quite fleshes out any significant insights, or at least he leaves it quite ambiguous. I found his views regarding religion and love to be slightly trite, though he does raise some good questions. Also, Charles becomes increasingly intolerable. Just. Stop. Him.

Overall, it was enjoyable and very funny; I just feel that it had more potential in the starting bit versus the more insipid later half.

🌹 date finished: 4 jan 2019 🌹

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snowy landscape at eragny with an apple tree

| nicole

Considered the father of Impressionists, Camille Pissarro was pivotal within the movement, known especially for his pastoral landscapes that captured the peacefulness of rural life. “In 1884, [he] moved to Éragny-sur-Epte, north of Paris. The orchard and surrounding countryside became the principal motifs in his paintings of the 1890s” (The Fitzwilliam Museum).

Pissarro is mighty talented at painting snow. I loved how this particular piece imbued a slight warmth to an otherwise cold season, achieved through the “peachy-mauve tonalities of snow in cool winter sunlight” (The Fitzwilliam Museum). It imparted a coziness to me, since I was absolutely freezing in the English chill ❄️

I first came across this painting in The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, and it captivated me – I legitimately just stood gazing upon it, and it hasn’t left my mind since. Sadly I can’t find much information on it, but it’s beautiful and delicate, and makes the cold easier to bear 😊

🌹 artist: Camille Pissarro | date: 1895 | medium: oil on canvas🌹

a christmas carol

| nicole

A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings by Charles Dickens

✨my rating: 3 of 5 stars ✨

It was a sweet and very creatively spun story, with an endearing moral message – having a spirit of kindness, generosity and joy – and I completely understand why it has become entrenched as such a classic! Dickens makes Scrooge a simultaneously unlikeable but pitiable character, mocking him with gentleness and suggesting an empathy that we should have for all, despite how they may appear on the exterior.

However – and this is with all Dickens novels for me – I found his style of writing very heavy and loaded at times, perhaps slightly overly descriptive, which made me skim over some bits. Nevertheless it was a good read, especially during the festive season!

🌹 date finished: 3 jan 2019 🌹

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flavors of youth

| nicole

mv5bmmq3ngqwmgmtyzcwmc00mjlmlweyngetzgrmzjnjowflotk2xkeyxkfqcgdeqxvymtmxodk2otu@._v1_✨ my rating: 2.5 of 5 stars ✨

A sweet anthology of three short films, all tied together by the themes of love, relationships, and contentment in the little things. Interestingly, it’s set in China (despite being dubbed in Japanese), but with a characteristically anime-like style. I have varied reactions to each of the films though!

The first film “The Rice Noodles” fell flat to me, consisting of a listless narrator with a character that lacked any dimensions, and an overly simplistic and predictable plot (ie. I knew the grandmother was gonna die). The animation was extremely realistic though, and coupled with the audio effects, it provided an impressively sensory experience of noodles sloshing around. Yet, sorry, 30 minutes of a guy professing his love for noodles WITH THAT MONOTONE did not cut it for me.

The second film, “A Little Fashion Show” was more layered, following a model who struggles to find her place within a tough industry. It evoked my empathy particularly as it dealt with body image and female insecurity. However it lacked a deeper message beyond the narrative, coming to a disappointingly sort of mundane conclusion  – I felt like it had more untapped potential but was not delved into deep enough. Also, for a model, she wears the exact same outfit throughout most of the film (which takes place over several weeks), which was…kinda weird.

The last film, “Love in Shanghai”, was probably the most touching for me because the characters were more well developed and the flashbacks were effective without feeling too jumpy or cliched. I found it the most creative, depicting a story of youthful misunderstandings and lost loves. It’s a simple story, though it admittedly contained a few “huh??” moments due to the angsty and petty protagonist.

Overall, it was pleasant enough, but I wouldn’t consider it a very strong or memorable piece!

Flavors of Youth; directed by Haoling Li, Yoshitaka Takeuch, Xiaoxing Yi

🌹date watched: 3 jan 2019 🌹