mamafufu

Click, click, and click click, By the doorway Mulan weaves. When all at once the shuttles cease, A sigh is heard with solemn grief.
O my daughter who is on your mind? O my daughter who is in your heart? I have no one on my mind, I have no one in my heart.
But last night I read the battle roll, A roll consisting of twelve scrolls. The Khan is drafting an army of awe, My father’s name on each beadroll. Alas Father has no grown son, Alas Mulan has no elder brother. But I will buy a saddle and a horse, And join the army in place of Father. In the East Market she buys a steed, From the West Market she buys a saddle. From the South market she buys a bridle, In the North Market she buys a long whip. At dawn she bids her family farewell, At dusk she camps by the Yellow River. She no longer hears her parents calling, Upon her pillow the waters whisper. At dawn she departs the Yellow River, At dusk she arrives at Black Mountain. She no longer hears her parents calling, But tarter horses wailing from Yen Mountain. She gallops ten thousand miles, For the war she has to honor. She crosses lofty hills, Like an eagle soaring over. From northern gusts, through biting chills, Echoes the watchman’s clapper. With wintry glow of icy hue, Light glimmers on her armor. Generals die in a hundred battles, Our warrior’s back, how ten years fly. Upon her return she is summoned To see the Emperor. In the Hall of Light, She receives the highest honor. She is awarded a promotion to top rank. The Emperor bestows hundreds of thousands in prizes. The Khan asks her what she desires. Mulan has no use for a minister’s post, Mulan has no other extravagant want. I wish to borrow a swift footed mount, To take me back to my home. When Father and Mother hear she’s coming, They watch by the gate, bracing each other. When Elder Sister hears she’s coming, She runs to her room and dabs on rouge powder. When Little Brother hears she’s coming, He whets his knife, flashing like a light, And prepares pig and sheep for dinner. Let me push open the door to East Chamber, Let me sit on my bed in West Recess. So swiftly comes off the warrior’s vesture, And silently I put on my old-time dress. Beside the window I dress up my hair, In front of a mirror, I rouge my face. And when i come out to meet my compeers, They are perplexed and amazed. ‘For twleve years, We fought as comrades in arms, The Mulan we knew was not a lady of charm.’ A male hare will kick and strike, While females stare with bleary eyes. If both are allowed to run free Who can tell whether I am a he or a she? – Translator Unknown (to me)

as much as i like Karena Lam 林嘉欣, she was not the reason i watched this 2002 movie for the first time just recently.  the movie turned out to be okay and not as boring as other “awards winning” movies.  perhaps it was because i had something to relate to?

confucius once said “四十而不惑” (loosely translated to “at age 40 one should not be tempted or confused”).  perhaps confucius knew how hard it was even in 2,500 years ago.  i also once heard someone said 人到中年, 點止唔可以去流浪咁簡單 (as a middle aged adult, it is more complicated than just couldn’t be a drifter anymore).  i didn’t fully understand or appreciate what it meant then.  perhaps i do now.

“It’s the sense of touch.  In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you.  In L.A., nobody touches you.  We’re always behind this metal and glass.  I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something.”

that was one of the many memorable quotes from the movie crash.  although i have lived in L.A. for a very short period of the time many years ago.  at that time i really didn’t understand what racism or stereotype was.  for better or for worse, i can now understand and can relate to many of the moments in the movie in both good and bad ways.

not sure what to expect when watching “the departed” (79th academy awards (oscars) best picture) over the weekend.  20 minutes into the movie i started to realize the movie was a remake of “infernal affairs” (無間道).  if i have not watched “infernal affairs” before i may have enjoyed “the departed” more.

if you have not watched either one, start with “the departed” first.
if you have watched “the deprated”, don’t miss “infernal affairs”.
if you have watched “infernal affairs”, skip “the departed” and watch this instead .