And now for something completely different

Watching Shaw Brother’s 1980 anthology last night I was struck by the remarkable difference in the approach to superstition between the West and the East.

Both culture have a health dose of ghosts and spirits and mean-spirited dead beings but the way they are depicted in popular culture differs so very drastically.

As a lover of anthology films I have a soft spot for all of the Amicus catalogue. And last night’s marvel was very reminiscent of the output of this fine studio.

However there was something of an urgency to the two stories on show as well as a wilder approach to the sense of dread.

Neither of the stories wasted time in bringing to the fore the crux of the story: in the first instance a newlywed couple who experience strange pohenema and in the second a caretaker who encounters ‘a fox spirit’.

The first film also had a delightful sense of set design with the newlyweds house resembling an assault course – but with good reason which was explained later.

The second film had a terrific ‘money corrupts’ message behind it and proceeded to drive it home with some of the sleaziest acts known to mankind topped off with cruel punishment of the surprising kind.

Both stories clocked in at 45 minutes and both managed to surprise drastically: just when I thought I was getting a handle on the action, another curveball would throw me completely off.

Whereas ghosts and spirits are kept at bay in the Western culture, they seemed to be part of the life here – still malevolent perhaps but also much more prominent. Ditto a moral code from the spirits far beyond our deserved-revenge scenario.

All in all a charming evening.

Technology Hates Me (Or Vice Versa)

Right, a lot of gamers here – off the bat – how many of you find all of your tech gadgets failing you all at the same time?

I hope many, many , many, many simply because I don’t want to be alone in my goddamn misery!

My 360 AND my WII are both dead. Dead. Gone. Kaput. Perished.

And I now have to do the dance known as customer support and because my products have been healthier for longer I might even have to pay for the privilege of fixing said products.

Right now I hate every major manufacturer of technology.

In the meantime I’ve returned to my Pc, my first love. A very lucky moment has allowed me to nab a beta key for the new Battlefield game and I am currently pretending every enemy soldier is a developer, a manufacturer or someone unlucky enough to work for their customer support services.

This message was brough to you by Valium – if only I had some…

Weekly Round-Up

In an attempt to keep each week a bit more interesting I’m going to try and do a weekly round-up of all the movies I watched during that particular week. I’ll only do the upcoming stuff because frankly I don’t believe anyone cares to know about the weird Mexican flick from 1968 I somehow managed to watch.

Or if you do, let me know. I’ll add it in the next tally.

First up this week was Barney’s Version. Rather successfully at last year’s Sundance, this was a title I was quite looking forward to.

And it starts strong enough. Paul Giamatti plays the titular character Barney who is a cranky, cantkencareous fella and he finds himself remembering his life due to a run-in with a figure from the past.

The film then morphs back to 1974 and we follows Barney through 3 marriages, a murder investigation and various other weird bits of his life.

Although I enjoyed Barney’s Version , I also felt that it was spectacularly problematic. The second half of the film halts the plot almost completely which in turn makes the film lose momentum. And its’ this loss that the film never recovers from.

Nonetheless I think it’s a fun enough watch.

The second film I attended this week was Black Swan about which I shall say nothing. I intend to cover it in a piece this week. Oh go on I’ll say one thing: Masterpiece. And another: Forget the plot.

My third foray into the cinema was to catch ‘Animal Kingdom’; another Sundance darling. And this time the festival crowd and I saw eye to eye – I loved the film – it’s a dangerously subtle and fantastically underplayed crime drama which would be the perfect companion’s piece to last year’s fantastic Aussie ‘The Square‘ which no one watched.

So do a double bill next week.

Oh and I also saw Travellers. I’m not even going to give it the luxury of having its’ title in bold. The most atrocious afternoon I’ve spent in the cinema for a while and I’ve seen Burlesque. It made me want to weep openly .

That’s the weekly cinema round-up – tomorrow you might see a DVD round-up. Let me know if it’s actually of any interest.

The stuff that dreams are made of...

So I screwed up. I lasted 9 days before failing to post, majestically failing ‘One A Day’ project.

Of course I knew this was inevitable. Whilst I can make a thousand excuses I have no intention of saying a single one because it would just make it worse from my point of view: an excuse is an excuses however valid.

And although I’ll only be pretender from this point on – I intend to double post three times in order to catch up. I won’t be finishing the project honestly but I still want to write everyday and try to keep up.

I feel the benefits far outweigh the cons. I enjoy the communication. Plus I get the feeling that someone, somewhere might be reading what I write.

To be honest I always loved writing. But it’s this feeling that what I write never interests anyone is what puts a guttural stop in any effort I do. I sometimes think what’s the point in writing if you are not interesting enough to catch anyone’s eye but I know that to be not true.

So let’s say this is an apology. You’ll have to tolerate a pretender amidst your group. Shameful perhaps but necessary.

Hoping for a more productive week.

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The state of affairs – Turkey and the risk of fundamentalism

Posted on January 12, 2011 by evrimersoy| Leave a comment

Sorry for the no show for the past two days – I intend to cover up the shortfall. However the absence had very good reasons behind it which I might cover in a future blog.

No, today’s topic is timely and frightening – yesterday The Department for Alcohol and Tobacco issues a press release for new legislation. The release states that:

No alcohol will be allowed on either Topkapi Palace or Hagia Irene – both places are home to many musicals, concerts and events.

Catering firms will not be able to sell alcoholic drinks at any events that they cater for.

So any festivals or concerts or art galleries will not be able to offer any alcoholic drinkd at any of their events. No one will be allowed to have a drink at a picnic or at the seaside. Any country wedding venues will either have to have a alcoholic drinks licence or not be allowed to serve alcohol.

Small supermarkets and cornershops will not be allowed to sell wine or small bottles (2ocl) of raki.

Bakkal, büfe, market artık küçük rakı, şarap satamayacak.

Shop signs will not be allowed to have any alcohol related logo or writing on them. Shops will also be not allowed to put alcohol anywhere near goods that might appeal to children such as cakes and sweets.

No alcohol licence will be granted to establishments near any roads or highways. So any chance of restaurants on the Mediterranean coastline serving alcohol destroyed.

Advertising cannot use public or private events to promote alcohol. So any reminder of happy days, valentine’s day or anything of the ilk is forbidden.

Any event with one or more under 24′s present will be banned from serving alcohol.

Any event with the possibility of an under 24 attending will be banned from serving alcohol.

No sponsorship of sports teams, arts festivals , galleries for alcohol brands. Just this part of the law is seeing Turkey’s premier basketball team being destroyed.

That’s the gist of the new law.

And it makes me furious – it seems a lot of the population of Turkey is furious , too. There’s already a considerable backlash on the internet.

However I’m very sceptical if the backlash will mean anything. After all the AKP party was voted in with a rather large majority. Whether people are now regretting that decision remains something to be seen.

History keeps coming to mind with Iran’s slide into fundamentalism – although it might be a little ways away , it has become a strong possibility for Turkey. Especially with the winds changing diplomatic relations towards the middle east as opposed to the West, it seems inevitable at this conjuncture that the country might fall further.

Mainstream media’s turning a blind eye to the event only shows their further compliance within this.

So if you feel about this like I do, inform people. Help turn the spotlight on Turkey and stop the slow creeping up of Islamic radicalism.

There’s a Facebook group protesting the laws with a DRINK on the 29th January: you might wanna join in and have a drink (or an extra drink) for Turkey. I will certainly be doing so.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=173062366069172

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Korean Cinema – Lost In Translation

Posted on January 9, 2011 by evrimersoy| Leave a comment

So how did you spend your Saturday? Go out? Friends? Perhaps you visited an art gallery or a museum?

However you spent the second saturday of 2011, I’m willing to venture a guess that not many of you sat down with a triple bill of Korean films.

Raise your hand if you did? How many? 1? 2? 3?

This unnecessary intro is written for an obvious, of course. I decided today after yesterday’s triple bill to talk about Korean cinema a bit as well as Korean Culture and some of their delicious cuisine.

Let me start with the cuisine bit as it’s the easiest. Korean food will be close to the heart of anyone east of Europe – lots of spices, lots of meats and lots of pickles. Kimchi, their pickled cabbage, is standard in every restaurant and is a garlicky, fiery mess of brilliance. I’m sure the red color is highly indicative of how strong the stuff is and I worry every day that my inside might be burning with that bright a tone of red. Nonetheless I continue to consume the stuff religiously.

Then there’s Soju. Ah, soju – let me count the ways I love thee. Soju is the native alcoholic drink of Korea – and it’s beautiful stuff. Clear like vodka, however sweeter in taste – it’s also the perfect companion to Korean cuisine. The only pairing that comes close for me is raki and meze – the Turkish equivalent. However soju and kimchi have a symbiotic, almost primal relationship – the garlic fire sated by Soju’s deceptively sweet, alcoholic gaze.

Considering North Korea is an enigma to most Westerners including me, you’ll have to excuse the focus of the article being South Korean. So consider this perhaps only half a gaze at the still-divided country.

Heavily reliant on hierarchy and the idea of respect for the elders, Korean culture is quite similar to Japanese in this way. However Koreans also tend to quite emotional people , more open and expressive.

What intrigues me though is the darker side of the coin: domestic violence , for example, which is common in South Korea. Anger often leads to violence and public fights can occur at the drop of a hat. The hierarchy bias encouraging deferring to elders can cause huge rifts as well as the hierarchy caused by social status.

And this contrast comes through their cinematic identity: Korean films have a sense of self-doubt, a naturalistically dark approach to violence and a terrifyingly common approach to brutality.

Of course this does not apply to every film. However there is a large majority of films which deal with past crimes and the abuse of power. The issue of women as objects tends to pop up frequently as well.

Korean films also look v. glossy and polished – whilst Japan seems to be lost in a maelstrom of digital cinema, Korea still pushes high budget productions , some with the most odd subject matters.

Yesterday’s first film was called ‘Enemy At The Dead End’ which was about two men stuck in two hospital beds next to each other; one paralysed, the other unable to move due to a hit and run injury, desperately trying to kill each other.

The second film was Korea’s first attempt at a found footage film and was called ‘Deserted House’ or ‘Haunted House Project. Not much to recommend unless you’re, like me, a found footage film fanatic. (Try saying that fast when you’re drunk)

The final film of the evening (in between I’d like to say we watched ‘Super Spook’ – a super rare 1972 – 1973 or 1975 Blacksploitation film. No one seems to get the date right. and the film makes zero sense. Yet equally it’s brilliant. The longest sign in the world makes an appearance in Harlem. anyway I digress.) was a modern noir called ‘A Good Night’s Sleep For The Bad. And although the film shared some similarities in form with titles such as ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ and ‘Snatch’ , it was better written, better developed and a whole a lot darker.

The film followed three groups of characters who were on an inevitable road to collision. But whilst hurtling towards this collision it explored the idea of modern Korea through very real characters. As an independent production, it certainly was worth a watch.

In the U.K. we only see a limited output from a country which makes a fair few films every year. Your best bet is to either import DVD’s yourself from places like YesAsia OR rely on companies like Tartan, Third Window and Terracotta Films which import if not everything then a fair amount. They also hold festivals during the year which are well-worth attending to catch up said films.

So let me make a recommendation: grab a korean film today. Seriously, you’ve got nothing to lose and you might find yourself captured by the contrasting brilliance of a country at work.

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The Audience – A Necessary Evil

Posted on January 9, 2011 by evrimersoy| Leave a comment

I hate the audience.

Before you make any sudden decision about blocking my blog, let me clarify: I hate the audience members of our decade; the ones who have forgotten the difference between an auditorium, an art gallery and their bloody living room.

You might wonder where this rant has come from all of a sudden: frequently I attend press screenings where most of the time the only sound during the screening will be the sound of notes being scribbled, ditto some public screenings where only excited gasps will escape from the pursed lips of the audience. And then there’s the third type of screening: the experience equivalent of watching a film with the London Zoo.

Now dear man (or woman) – I understand that modern society has muddled your borders – the living room has become such a space that it can serve as cinema, as office, as bedroom , hell as toilet if you’re mad enough. An d when you’re home, I understand you’ll tweet every five seconds to your brain-dead mates , letting them know how the film is going – hell you might even use Facebook to get people to explain to you the plot points you might have missed or any characters which you can’t recognise ; cause let’s be serious here, any plot that requires thinking will be way beyond you.
And at home you’re fine, be an imbecile. As long as you’re in your space, I could not give a toss as to how you approach the viewing procedure.

But once you’re in my space, buddy, whoa! Hold it. because every time one of you morons ruins my film, my anger builds one extra level. And there’s only so many levels before I forcefully insert a Blackberry into your nostril so hard that your GPRS will forever be top-notch from having been welded into your synapses.

Seriously people, when did it become ok to forget that these places are public and what we’re watching is art and there needs to be some level of consideration for our fellow members? When did we lose our manners to what we consider our right to text or phone or tweet or update our Facebook status.

Two weeks ago in West India Quay Cineworld ,I would’ve murdered somewhere between 15 to 20 people. I got tired of shhh’in, complaining to the staff and yet I refused to leave – it was my right to be there, too. The reason for the noise was that the film was not what they expected – they failed to understand it so therefore their reaction was to disrupt the whole thing.

I despair, generally, at the level of idiocy we’re reaching as a society. The easier technology makes life for us, the less people feel pushed to use their brains. Can someone please change the rules, now, please, please?

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Archipelago – A Very British Drama

Posted on January 7, 2011 by evrimersoy| Leave a comment

I had the pleasure of watching Joanna Hogg’s second feature ,Archipelago, tonight. Although at first I was apprehensive, I needn’t worry – it was another solid drama that traded in real characters in real situations.

The film focuses on a family that comes together before the son goes to Africa on a voluntary mission – they’ve rented a small cottage on a remote island off the British mainland – in fact the only way to get to the island seems to be via a helicopter taxi service of some sorts.

The family , which consists of the mother, the two siblings and a missing father , bicker and fight. Resentment simmers just under the surface. In this strange environments are also two strangers: Rose, a young cook hired for the two weeks and Christopher , a painter, who is a family friend.

To be honest not much else happens. It’s everyday stuff, shot in wide shots without the use of any incidental music whatsoever. Ms. Hogg avoids close-ups when she can giving the whole thing a more natural feel.

As I was watching this rather terrific drama, I thought of how good the British are at making films with small dramatic focus that get their energy from real life. Mike Leigh’s ‘Another Year’ was one of my favourites last year. It thrived on low-key drama with real to life characters.

When Hollywood goes independent , the result is usually the same: weird-quirky , mumblecore products which seem to be running parallel to life as opposed to through it. Whereas over here, our kitchen sink is exemplar – a knack exists for capturing characters straight from the heart of everyday.

I always felt that the British Film Industry’s biggest mistake was trying to turn its’ gaze towards west, in specific towards Hollywood. There is no such thing as a universal product and to be honest an American audience strikes me as one of the pickiest in the world.

However, turn your gaze towards Europe and you find similarities. The French are extremely adept at rural dramas about the lost countryside, the Italian do fading nobility better than anyone else, Spaniards get away with the most brilliant urbane stories, Eastern Europe can create low-key suffering during difficult times (especially communist regime) like no-one else.

A shared attitude and viewpoint pairs our kitchen sink dramas to the output coming from these countries. And it seems almost silly to me that we never take advantage of this to propel forward our films.

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The Unsung Masterpieces

Posted on January 6, 2011 by evrimersoy| Leave a comment

Over the past ten years or so I’ve noticed a trend in my reading habits: owing to continuous disappointment with modern literature (even with recommendations from colleagues, friends, professionals, etc, etc) I’ve found myself delving deeper and deeper into the writers of yesteryear.

Now I’ve already got a fairly out-of-control pulp addiction: I constantly collect these beautiful paperback books from second-hand fairs, boot sales, library sales, bookshops – wherever you can think of, in fact.

And pulp is an often underrated genre , one which can pack in a dense and accurate portrayal of the human psyche but often ignored by the mainstream media except for a few key writers.

But I also started reading classics from the beginning of time up until the 1980′s, with exceptions allowed of course.

As a guide I took TIME magazine’s best novels of the 20th century and slowly used that list to expand my list bigger and bigger. I’ve also kept an eye out for unsung writers – often re-publications of certain books is the way to go for finding out more about these.

Seeing my newfound obsession, my friends and family responded fairly well. I’m proud to say I’ve received nothing but books this Christmas and the one I’m reading at the moment – ‘London Belongs To Me’ is rather brilliant.

Actually written in 1945, the novel is set in 1938 and depicts an assortment of characters all drawn from London Life. It’s sprawling, often rambling and hilarious in places – reminiscent of the city it’s depicting.

It never ceases to amaze me how much forgotten and yet absolutely worthwhile art exists out there in the ether. Paintings, Albums, Novels, Films – and although the internet has made research and access easier UNLESS you know what you’re looking for the whole process often ends up being limited to a very small circle of titles.

So, dear reader, I wanted to pose a challenge to you. Do you think you could come up with a small list of forgotten masterpieces?

It does not matter what branch of the arts the work belongs to. All I ask, nay demand, of you is that the work in question should be relatively obscure and yet worthy of attention.

To start you off and to give you an idea here’s a list of books which have been largely forgotten in the throes of time but should be required reading for any literate person.

Hangover Square, London Belongs To Me, The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter, appointment In Samarra,Go Tell It On The Mountain.

I await your input with great excitement.

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The Art Of Selling Out

Posted on January 5, 2011 by evrimersoy| Leave a comment

I’m enjoying OneADay project at the moment – I rather like going through my fellow blogger’s posts and reading about their interests and lives. And as luck would have it, one blog I read has given me the idea for today’s ramble.

On her blog, Weefz wrote an article about selling out – now I don’t really have a high horse about anything in the world but a paragraph of hers piqued my interest in particular:

I know more than a few people who refuse to accept advertising or payment for websites because it would dilute the integrity of their art, or some shit. I don’t know what they really believe but I honestly, truly and with all my heart simply CANNOT understand how taking money for doing something you were going to do anyway is selling out. Even better, taking money for something you love to do. Reviewers are paid for their opinions, are they not?

The original article can be found here: http://weefz.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/oneaday-3-selling-out/

Now I’m no idealistic Jimmy Stewart gosh darn us vs them freedom fighter. I understand economic principles succinctly.

However the view being taken here strikes me as rather naive – and I feel obliged to stand up for the other side.

There was a recent string of discussion within the food blogging world – whether accepting free meals interfered with the integrity of the writer and the article. Although there was some solid arguments from both sides, the best solution , at least for my money’s worth, was specifically writing in the article that the meal was paid for by the restaurant.

It’s true that the reviewers are paid for their opinions but those opinions are expressed without the interference of any third-party. The moment someone starts paying you to write your opinion the whole process becomes askew. They get to shape your opinion simply because what you’re selling is no longer your own.

It’d be lovely to live in an ideal world where companies would pay us and we’d write what we were going to write anyway.

Unfortunately it does not work like that.

Once a company pays for something, the relationship between the company and the reviewer changes. In the USA people who live off the generosity off the studios are referred to as junket whores. It’s a real term. And most of the time the reviews they write are one-sided, they’re not opinions, they’re PR pieces.

This applies to any industry. All the controversy GameSpot has had over the past few years is because of the adverts they take and the ‘reviews’ the games advertised get.

Bullshit is detected very quickly on the web – people know whether someone is actually writing from the heart or is merely a marketing ploy quickly.

A quick experiment: next 3 weeks, look at for films which are universally slammed – on the posters, you’ll see a couple of good reviews – always from the same small group of people – and if you compare the advertising given in the publications they work for – hell, the arrangement will become crystal clear.

This does not mean taking advertisement on a website is evil – but one has to define boundaries. If the website becomes completely reliant on advertising from companies and that website will lose its’ ability to write honest and true reviews. The editor will be forced to change the shape of articles or even dictate what the final article should curtail.

For my money’s worth, I find it easiest not to accept anything. The organisation I work for paying things is absolutely fine – getting review copies, no problem but anything beyond is simply a no-no. I work for a publication. If they want me to cover an event, they’ll stump up the cash for it. Free holiday, free tours, expensive gifts are simply not going to benefit my article or my publication. It’ll just make me richer.

ROger Ebert writes in his little rule book for critics:

No commercial endorsements. This used to be a given in journalism ethics. A critic must be especially vigilant. If you express approval of a product, you must sincerely believe what you are saying. How will we know you’re sincere? Because you have (1) accepted no money, (2) or donated the money to a charity, and (3) have not accepted a free example of the product, except in such cases as foodstuffs, where the difficulties are apparent. You gotta eat ‘em to review ‘em. The Sun-Times has a policy: All Christmas gifts must be returned, except for perishables like papayas, etc. Candy is not a perishable. Neither, to the incredulity of many reporters, is liquor. Back to endorsements. Were I to recommend, say, a rice cooker, that must not imply I obtained it for free, or that 100 lb. sacks of rice were being dropped at my door. I mention this because I may be compelled to recommend a rice cooker in the very near future, in defense of my Who’s Who entry, which claims I can cook almost anything in a rice cooker.

(Actually Roger’s little rule book is well worth reading in its’ entirety: http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2008/10/eberts_little_rule_book.html)

I agree with him wholeheartedly. If you want people to take you seriously, take what you write seriously then it’s your journalistic obligation to prove to them that what they’re reading is not just another form of paid for advertisement.

Otherwise there’s no need for anyone to be journalist. Just sign your name at the bottom of the article written by the Pr and collect your cheque at the end of the month.

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Behzat C and the anti-hero seduction

Posted on January 4, 2011 by evrimersoy| Leave a comment

For the past month or so I’ve found myself engrossed in a T.V. series with a gruff but interesting anti-hero at its’ core: the rule book does not apply to him and under no circumstances would you consider him ‘good’ – but he is a true man – bound by a strange set of ethics and moral code.

No the series in question is neither House nor Luther – in fact this show is not even in English.

After years of complaining that my native country Turkey did not produce any quality television I found myself with a program which seemed determined to disturb any soap-box attitudes I had.

The program in question is called Behzat C and it focuses on a detective in the murder squad in Ankara – Turkey’s capital.

This is the first point the program scores – by setting it somewhere other than Istanbul or the rural Anatolia. Ankara albeit being the capital somehow gets looked down upon most of the time. It’s right in the heart of the country and its’ association with politics and bureaucrats has not done the reputation any good – most people refer to ‘Ankara’ as dull.

Now, I’ve never visited the place so am not really in any position to pass judgement. After all each city has its’ supporters and detractors and I’m sure ‘Ankara’ is no different.

However as a member of the audience, I find great joy in seeing an unusual location – especially in a procedural series which is heavily reliant on location.

Moving on, the second point ‘Behzat C’ scores is in its’ characters: a motley crew of anti-social, semi-educated coppers who solve crime by using an old-fashioned mix of brutality and intellect. Not everyone in the team is such – there’s a younger policeman, a woman policeman and even a university graduate. However these characters exist only in the sidelines – more as fodder than anything else to our team of four.

The relationship between the police and the public in Turkey is a very curious one: there’s a lack of trust on both sides due to a long history of incidents and so the police PR department fires on all cylinders at all time trying to project a clean-cut image.

Up to this point the depiction of the average policeman on T.V. has been unrealistic to say the least: and if you have an unrealistic central character then everything you build upon that base falls also.

Not Behzat. He represents a policeman all of us have seen or encountered at one point. But the writer takes it one step further and makes Behzat a strangely decent man, too.

The ying-yang of his personality is perhaps the biggest attraction for the audience. In Turkey the question of whether the series excuses police brutality has become a hot topic – however the question of the anti-hero is skimmed over rather easily.

From my point of view, Behzat represents a character like Alex in ‘A Clockwork Orange’ or Gully Foyle in ‘The Stars My Destination’ – a complex man both repulsive and attractive. And encountering such a character on a show put on prime time Turkish television represents something of a coup for me.

He drinks, swears, goes to the equivalent of strip clubs, has a prostitute for an occasional lover. His interests lack refinement, books, films these are all lost causes – however football remains a one true love.

We’re not up to episode 14 and although the quality of the episodes varies greatly, I know that this is something I’ll stick through until the end.

It’s a shame it’ll be a guilty pleasure only ever available to a Turkish audience.

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Mysteries of Lisbon and The Lost Art Of Storytelling

Posted on January 3, 2011 by evrimersoy| Leave a comment

Last night as the clocks struck 04.00 A.M. and most of London slept soundly in their beds; I was trying to find my senses again after a whirlwind trip of 19th Century Portugal.

This trip; which took four and a half hours, was directed by a master of intrigue: a man who was so talented at adapting the original material I never felt the time pass.

Of course the trip in question is not real – it was a sensory trip on the wings of a beautiful new movie called ‘Mysteries Of Lisbon’ directed by Raoul Ruiz – a master director who has made over a countless number of films during his decades spanning career.

The book the film is based on is a classic of Portuguese literature – a dense tome akin to Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables and just as captivating. Starting with the story of a young orphan boy and travelling through a maze of characters whose stories add a layer each to the story.

But then again Ruiz is no stranger to difficult adaptation: he was the man behind the largely successful Proust on the silver screen – the beautiful and almost-perfect ‘Time Regained’ from 1999 with Catherine Deneuve and John Malkovich.

‘Mysteries of Lisbon’ was originally shot for television – in that format the whole thing runs at 6 hours. For the movie version the running time has been trimmed to 4 1/2 hours – for most people this will still seem long. However after watching the film, I feel most members of the audience will be compelled to seek out the even longer T.V. version once it screens during 2011.

The attraction with Ruiz’s works does not come from lush landscapes and exhilarating action – no, here the star of the show is good, old-fashioned storytelling. As each character reveals more of themselves and thereby the central story, the world comes alive – each person is both black and white, the ruffians, the nobility, the holy men – each has a distinct angle to this strange world without whose aid the picture can never be considered complete.

After the film had ended and I had somehow made it into my warm bed, I thought about storytelling in general: as an audience member I’m easily excited and hooked – however I still firmly believe that a good story will always captivate , no matter who the audience are.

From the scheherazade in ’1001 Nights’ to the stories of ‘Twilight Zone’ our culture thrives upon the idea of storytelling – the skill lies in being able to choose the right story and the ability to tell it correctly.

I know 4 1/2 hours in the cinema will seem like an eternity to some people – the chances of ‘Mysteries Of Lisbon’ being a breakout hit are slim. As popular culture continues to push the idea of fast & furious to destroy our attention span, I was very pleased to spend a few hours in the company of someone who could prove that sometimes slow works best.

So although the plot might not at first grab you, do me a favor. Go see ‘Lisbon’ when it’s released in the U.K. or wherever you may life. Turn off your blackberry, shut down your ipad , push the unnecessarily hectic pace of life aside for a moment and allow yourself to bask in the stories on the screen.

You might even find yourselves enjoying it.

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The state of affairs - Turkey and the risk of fundamentalism

Sorry for the no show for the past two days – I intend to cover up the shortfall. However the absence had very good reasons behind it which I might cover in a future blog.

No, today’s topic is timely and frightening – yesterday The Department for Alcohol and Tobacco issues a press release for new legislation. The release states that:

No alcohol will be allowed on either Topkapi Palace or Hagia Irene – both places are home to many musicals, concerts and events.

Catering firms will not be able to sell alcoholic drinks at any events that they cater for.

So any festivals or concerts or art galleries will not be able to offer any alcoholic drinkd at any of their events. No one will be allowed to have a drink at a picnic or at the seaside. Any country wedding venues will either have to have a alcoholic drinks licence or not be allowed to serve alcohol.

Small supermarkets and cornershops will not be allowed to sell wine or small bottles (2ocl) of raki.

Bakkal, büfe, market artık küçük rakı, şarap satamayacak.

Shop signs will not be allowed to have any alcohol related logo or writing on them. Shops will also be not allowed to put alcohol anywhere near goods that might appeal to children such as cakes and sweets.

No alcohol licence will be granted to establishments near any roads or highways. So any chance of restaurants on the Mediterranean coastline serving alcohol destroyed.

Advertising cannot use public or private events to promote alcohol. So any reminder of happy days, valentine’s day or anything of the ilk is forbidden.

Any event with one or more under 24′s present will be banned from serving alcohol.

Any event with the possibility of an under 24 attending will be banned from serving alcohol.

No sponsorship of sports teams, arts festivals , galleries for alcohol brands. Just this part of the law is seeing Turkey’s premier basketball team being destroyed.

That’s the gist of the new law.

And it makes me furious – it seems a lot of the population of Turkey is furious , too. There’s already a considerable backlash on the internet.

However I’m very sceptical if the backlash will mean anything. After all the AKP party was voted in with a rather large majority. Whether people are now regretting that decision remains something to be seen.

History keeps coming to mind with Iran’s slide into fundamentalism – although it might be a little ways away , it has become a strong possibility for Turkey. Especially with the winds changing diplomatic relations towards the middle east as opposed to the West, it seems inevitable at this conjuncture that the country might fall further.

Mainstream media’s turning a blind eye to the event only shows their further compliance within this.

So if you feel about this like I do, inform people. Help turn the spotlight on Turkey and stop the slow creeping up of Islamic radicalism.

There’s a Facebook group protesting the laws with a DRINK on the 29th January: you might wanna join in and have a drink (or an extra drink) for Turkey. I will certainly be doing so.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=173062366069172

Korean Cinema - Lost In Translation

So how did you spend your Saturday? Go out? Friends? Perhaps you visited an art gallery or a museum?

However you spent the second saturday of 2011, I’m willing to venture a guess that not many of you sat down with a triple bill of Korean films.

Raise your hand if you did? How many? 1? 2? 3?

This unnecessary intro is written for an obvious, of course. I decided today after yesterday’s triple bill to talk about Korean cinema a bit as well as Korean Culture and some of their delicious cuisine.

Let me start with the cuisine bit as it’s the easiest. Korean food will be close to the heart of anyone east of Europe – lots of spices, lots of meats and lots of pickles. Kimchi, their pickled cabbage, is standard in every restaurant and is a garlicky, fiery mess of brilliance. I’m sure the red color is highly indicative of how strong the stuff is and I worry every day that my inside might be burning with that bright a tone of red. Nonetheless I continue to consume the stuff religiously.

Then there’s Soju. Ah, soju – let me count the ways I love thee. Soju is the native alcoholic drink of Korea – and it’s beautiful stuff. Clear like vodka, however sweeter in taste – it’s also the perfect companion to Korean cuisine. The only pairing that comes close for me is raki and meze – the Turkish equivalent. However soju and kimchi have a symbiotic, almost primal relationship – the garlic fire sated by Soju’s deceptively sweet, alcoholic gaze.

Considering North Korea is an enigma to most Westerners including me, you’ll have to excuse the focus of the article being South Korean. So consider this perhaps only half a gaze at the still-divided country.

Heavily reliant on hierarchy and the idea of respect for the elders, Korean culture is quite similar to Japanese in this way. However Koreans also tend to quite emotional people , more open and expressive.

What intrigues me though is the darker side of the coin: domestic violence , for example, which is common in South Korea. Anger often leads to violence and public fights can occur at the drop of a hat. The hierarchy bias encouraging deferring to elders can cause huge rifts as well as the hierarchy caused by social status.

And this contrast comes through their cinematic identity: Korean films have a sense of self-doubt, a naturalistically dark approach to violence and a terrifyingly common approach to brutality.

Of course this does not apply to every film. However there is a large majority of films which deal with past crimes and the abuse of power. The issue of women as objects tends to pop up frequently as well.

Korean films also look v. glossy and polished – whilst Japan seems to be lost in a maelstrom of digital cinema, Korea still pushes high budget productions , some with the most odd subject matters.

Yesterday’s first film was called ‘Enemy At The Dead End’ which was about two men stuck in two hospital beds next to each other; one paralysed, the other unable to move due to a hit and run injury, desperately trying to kill each other.

The second film was Korea’s first attempt at a found footage film and was called ‘Deserted House’ or ‘Haunted House Project. Not much to recommend unless you’re, like me, a found footage film fanatic. (Try saying that fast when you’re drunk)

The final film of the evening (in between I’d like to say we watched ‘Super Spook’ – a super rare 1972 – 1973 or 1975 Blacksploitation film. No one seems to get the date right. and the film makes zero sense. Yet equally it’s brilliant. The longest sign in the world makes an appearance in Harlem. anyway I digress.) was a modern noir called ‘A Good Night’s Sleep For The Bad. And although the film shared some similarities in form with titles such as ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ and ‘Snatch’ , it was better written, better developed and a whole a lot darker.

The film followed three groups of characters who were on an inevitable road to collision. But whilst hurtling towards this collision it explored the idea of modern Korea through very real characters. As an independent production, it certainly was worth a watch.

In the U.K. we only see a limited output from a country which makes a fair few films every year. Your best bet is to either import DVD’s yourself from places like YesAsia OR rely on companies like Tartan, Third Window and Terracotta Films which import if not everything then a fair amount. They also hold festivals during the year which are well-worth attending to catch up said films.

So let me make a recommendation: grab a korean film today. Seriously, you’ve got nothing to lose and you might find yourself captured by the contrasting brilliance of a country at work.

The Audience - A Necessary Evil

I hate the audience.

Before you make any sudden decision about blocking my blog, let me clarify: I hate the audience members of our decade; the ones who have forgotten the difference between an auditorium, an art gallery and their bloody living room.

You might wonder where this rant has come from all of a sudden: frequently I attend press screenings where most of the time the only sound during the screening will be the sound of notes being scribbled, ditto some public screenings where only excited gasps will escape from the pursed lips of the audience. And then there’s the third type of screening: the experience equivalent of watching a film with the London Zoo.

Now dear man (or woman) – I understand that modern society has muddled your borders – the living room has become such a space that it can serve as cinema, as office, as bedroom , hell as toilet if you’re mad enough. An d when you’re home, I understand you’ll tweet every five seconds to your brain-dead mates , letting them know how the film is going – hell you might even use Facebook to get people to explain to you the plot points you might have missed or any characters which you can’t recognise ; cause let’s be serious here, any plot that requires thinking will be way beyond you.
And at home you’re fine, be an imbecile. As long as you’re in your space, I could not give a toss as to how you approach the viewing procedure.

But once you’re in my space, buddy, whoa! Hold it. because every time one of you morons ruins my film, my anger builds one extra level. And there’s only so many levels before I forcefully insert a Blackberry into your nostril so hard that your GPRS will forever be top-notch from having been welded into your synapses.

Seriously people, when did it become ok to forget that these places are public and what we’re watching is art and there needs to be some level of consideration for our fellow members? When did we lose our manners to what we consider our right to text or phone or tweet or update our Facebook status.

Two weeks ago in West India Quay Cineworld ,I would’ve murdered somewhere between 15 to 20 people. I got tired of shhh’in, complaining to the staff and yet I refused to leave – it was my right to be there, too. The reason for the noise was that the film was not what they expected – they failed to understand it so therefore their reaction was to disrupt the whole thing.

I despair, generally, at the level of idiocy we’re reaching as a society. The easier technology makes life for us, the less people feel pushed to use their brains. Can someone please change the rules, now, please, please?