Tag: History

Every Breath You Take with Funan, on Home Video Dec 3rd!

Every Breath You Take
Available to Pre-order on AmazonEvery Breath You Take

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Release Date:
Dec 3rd, 2019

GKIDS & Shout! Factory

Funan is a deeply personal look into the life and times of Chou (voiced by Bérénice Bejo) when she faces more than a life separated from her family. Her story is based on writer/director Denis Do’s own experiences. It’s mostly about the stories his mother passed down. Her trials of wanting to reunite with her loved ones following the Cambodian uprising of the Khmer Rouge regime was difficult. This switch of power took place in April 1975 and lasted till 79.

Do hits a home run with the screenplay. The dialogue about how this new political party supposedly can do good seems brash. I see it as a conflict of one man’s ideals versus another’s in a matter of national pride. The English dub is reasonably well done, even though I switched to watching the French language version; translations can only go far and I wanted to see this work as it was originally intended. As I watched this heartbreaking movie, I can’t help but think the lyrics to The Police’s song, “Every Breath You Take” take on new meaning here. The story of love, loss and hope is every bit as powerful as the song because, quite literally, the new regime’s eyes are everywhere and ready to strike (for all the wrong reasons).

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Buñuel in the Labrynth of the Turtles

The animated look of Luis Buñuel by Salvador Simó is a captivating analysis and one I had to view a few times.

Every Breath You Take
Available to stream on Amazon PrimeEvery Breath You Take

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Released:
Nov 12, 2019

GKIDS & Shout! Factory

Mild Spoiler Alert

Ask any modern art critic what this medium is about, and you’ll get a variety of answers. It’s either a social call to arms, a reflection of life or nothing at all. Sometimes it’s easier to understand a talent’s work by examining the life and times. Anyone studying early film is likely to come across the works of Luis Buñuel. The animated look of this auteur by Salvador Simó is a captivating analysis and one I had to view a few times.

Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles concerns his attempt into the making Las Hurdes (Land Without Bread). The filmmaker was near broke because his last movie (L’Age d’Or) branded him a heretic and he needed a new investor if he’s examining an impoverished region with a higher than usual adoption rate. Also, the medieval conditions he saw was something he had to express (through surreal imagery) to the world through his own profound use of visual shock therapy.

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The Scorecard on Travel Channel’s Newest Scares

Every Breath You TakeBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

“Halloween is Travel Channel’s Superbowl,” said general manager Matthew Butler of Travel Channel in an open statement. “We’re pulling out all the stops for ‘Ghostober’ this year–from a live ghost hunt in Salem, Massachusetts, and an iconic investigation of the house that inspired The Conjuring, to reopening the case files of America’s first ghost hunter, Hans Holzer. And we have the biggest stars and experts in the field to take us to every haunted, cobweb-covered corner in America, including Zak Bagans and the Ghost Adventures Crew, Jason Hawes and his team of paranormal pioneers and newcomer Dakota Laden, who will bring fear to a new level. There’s no better–and scarier–place to be this October than tuned in to Travel Channel.”

What that means to those who loves tuning in to these shows is that we’ll have content throughout the week and well into Christmas. Obviously we can’t obsessively try to watch everything that comes what may. This weekend was a busy one with another program finally airing on television. While the others have more than an episode to offer to viewers, I offer my thoughts about these new series that I’ve been able to find crossing a different barrier: regional broadcasts. A few became quickly available for streaming before being removed on YouTube.

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Romulus & Remus: The First King … But Who’s the only King?

Every Breath You TakeBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Well GO USA
Release Date: Sept 24, 2019

Romulus and Remus, we know the legend about them, but have we ever seen a movie about the founding of Rome? Despite the debate over how this city truly developed (there’s another account concerning a lady named Roma), what this movie, The First King (Il primo re), by director Matteo Rovere offers is plenty of true grit. Filippo Gravino and Francesca Manieri co-wrote the screenplay with this filmmaker, and what I saw is the relationship of the two brothers as they struggle against a greater enemy–destiny–as who will ultimately be leader.

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What’s Next for Chimera Theatre after Robber’s Bride?

chimera theatre, chimera logoBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Kamloops based Chimera Theatre takes part of their shows to many a Fringe Festival. Over the past couple of years, the variety they offer range from dance to folklore to history to myth and the list does not necessarily end there. I may have to consider moving to their home base to see the remaining half of what they produce.

Their latest performance is The Robber Bridegroom. This adaptation of the Brothers Grimm take differs from their last tribute from years ago which blended equal parts live action with puppet theatre. This revision is far darker and the spectacle is told with glorious haunting imagery which defines many a piece of Germanic folklore. Writer Andrew G. Cooper injected a lot of wonderful additions which lives up to this company’s name. To see puppets whose only lines which sounds like Beaker from the Muppets is quite often what I recall from my dreams too.

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The Shadow You Are & Deep Within, the Shadow You Aren’t

Zhang Yimou’s Shadow is a kind of wuxia film to be best watched on the big screen for its details and colour contrasts.

Every Breath You Take
Available to purchase on Amazon (4K)Every Breath You Take

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Released Aug 13, 2019
Well GO USA

Zhang Yimou’s Shadow is a kind of wuxia film to be best watched on the big screen for its details and colour contrasts. After being enthralled, it should be viewed again on home video to understand its complex narrative. I certainly needed it especially since it last played theatrically at Fantasia Fest 2019.

This tragic tale of court drama is the type I feel Shakespeare will love, and if there is a person whom I feel is damned, that would be the king’s Commander Ziyu (Deng Chao). He challenged General Yang (Hu Jun) from a nearby settlement to a duel without royal authorization and this battle complicates things.

King Peiliang (Zhang Kai) wants that city back under his rule. He goes as far as offering his sister Princess Qingping (Guan Xiaotong) as a wife for Yang’s son, and she doesn’t like the idea at all. To make matters worse, the shadow (to which this movie gets its name) is a doppelgänger masquerading as Ziyu while the real one is recovering. Only his wife Madam (Sun Li) knows and if things are not bad enough, she has feelings for the lookalike.

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