Power

It had been a long time since I last went to a movie with Mum. It could be the first time with just the two of us because my siblings would always be around too. We watched Mandarin movies mostly when we went out with Mum because she was educated in Chinese and didn't understand English unless there were available subtitles. Movies were an escapade for her from having to mind what the three of us were up to, so I don't think she wanted the extra task of reading.

After an invigorating and inspiring trip from HK, I prompted a movie outing to the film "City of Life and Death" (南京!南京!) which if translated directly from its Chinese name, means "Nanking! Nanking!). With a desire to have special time with me, she came along though I understand that she would probably have preferred a lighter hearted movie.

Filmed entirely in black and white, it is a reminder of the great movie "Schindler's List" with similarities running throughout both films. Like the latter film with a generous German character, this film looks through the eyes of a conflicted but sympathetic Japanese soldier.

The "rape" of Nanking or the Nanking Massacre, as this event is more commonly known, takes place during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, where a massive number of Chinese prisoners and civilians were killed. This film attracted plenty of controversy because some critics felt that the film was sympathetic towards the Japanese (as portrayed in the central Japanese human figure as opposed to his ruthless counterparts), but I believe it was the most objective a war film could get.

The film did not shy with any of the atrocities that the Japanese committed - the mass firing, house burning (with thousands of prisoners of war), raping of the women, and the most disturbing to me, the throwing of a helpless child out of the window, but it also offered a human side to war that is not often portrayed. The irony.

People like to think of war in terms of winners and victims and films portray and glorify the fomer, but I think this is where most fails. When will a time come when we realise that there are only victims, no winners. The power hungry people who proclaim themselves winners, those who manipulate and move troops like pawns on a chess game, are the worst losers because they failed to understand the meaning of life.

I do not understand how we can still not learn from these past mistakes and all that suffering, and still engage in power struggles. I guess it is because these power hungry people at the top do not have to make the moves and feel the suffering themselves. They let others do the work and they reap all the benefits. In an ironical sense, it is also a reflection of the world, even in peace times, and we all have to play the game, like the soldiers during the war, for survival.

Most of the criticisms surround how the film does not encourage hatred and was too sympathetic towards the Japanese. This is dangerous ignorance. Life is not about the power over people to destroy. It is easier to hate than to love. Where this power could be used to better the lives of humankind, this is often misused to satisfy one's ego and ultimate self-unworthiness. It is their need to feel better about themselves, and in their efforts to appear omnipotent, they are ostracised and feared, rather than loved and revered.

This is definitely one of the better Chinese movies that I had watched for a long time, and though it is no means of an escapade, it helps reaffirm my priorities in life ... love and relationships, not power. I do not need to overpower someone to feel good about myself. I prefer to give and share, and though I may never be rich in money or status stakes, I am rich emotionally because I know that I have my family and good friends that I can reach out to, when I need them.

We have to play the game of life and survive, but we can choose to play fair. Not everything about life is about choice, but this is one. I am not interested in power. I believe in love instead. The love and respect for my fellow human-kind and a belief that ultimately we will reach a point in life where we will finally realise what life is all about. I just hope it is not too late for some.

Så som i himmelen

What does your heaven look like? For me, it's a place where there is no fear, only love, and I will have everything that I always wanted - not so much material goods, but the people I love around me.

"As It In Heaven" made the Australian news recently as the small film that out-grossed "Titanic" at the classic Orpheum cinema in Cremorne, North Sydney. We made plans a couple of months ago when we heard raves about the movie to watch it, but since it was a fair distance away (across the Harbour Bridge which we rarely venture unless we visit John's family in Newcastle), it never eventuated.

We finally bit the bullet in shivering temperatures last Thursday evening, and walked out close to midnight, warm in our hearts. Made in 2004 and a Best Foreign Picture Oscar nominee in 2005, this crowd pleaser is a story about relationships and how music and love can move us to open our hearts and allow love in. It could have been a real mush-fest but under the skillful hands of Swedish filmmakers, we are thankfully excused from a saccharine and sentimental experience.

The movie begins with a talented seven year old boy playing the violin in the fields and how not far away, ran some bullies who would soon locate and beat him to a pulp because he was different. His sole parent, his mother soothes him and comforts him that he will never have to suffer the pain again by moving them to the city. There at fourteen, while preparing for his entry for a major contest, he glances out of the window just in time to catch his mother being knocked down by a chair.

We are treated next to his adulthood and here he is, grand as a world renowned conductor of an orchestra, his genius in full force as blood is gushing out of his nose while he in fully entrenched in his work. The next few scenes establish him as a perfectionist as he berates the musicians for apparently not dedicating their lives as much as he does to his passion. As he walks off finishing another performance, he collapses, and it is revealed that he suffered a heart attack.

He decides to take a break and though he doesn't realise why then, decides to go back to his birthplace, and buys the school that he first studied at. Being a loner all his life, he finds life in this small town a little difficult to adjust to at first, because of the proximity of the relationships between the townsfolk, which he is not accustomed to, since he has been a loner since his mother died. One day, he makes a decision to train the church choir, and through his unique techniques, to breathe and live music instead of just singing it, he brings salvation and freedom to the many people in this choir and town. Without being aware, he buys the school he was taught and ends up teaching life lessons to them and himself.

It is not exactly "The Sound of Music", which is one of my favourite films of all time, but it does share a similar theme of the power of music and love. There are some wonderful scenes and messages in the film, the best easily being the confrontation between the town pastor and his wife. I am so happy that someone finally put it down on the screen because it is so true that Jesus Christ never forgave because he never condemned in the first place. It is all about power hungry people using religion as their own way of getting what they want, and preaching their own views and values rather than Christ. I am not religious but I really balk at what some famous archbishops have to say about issues and in particular marginalised people, just because they are not common. We are all normal, just uncommon.

I also adore the theme of honesty in the movie, and how we need to open our hearts first before love can enter. It is all about giving and the joys of it, and how when it can return if you start by giving. I love the communal feel of the small town and how these group of people learn to speak their minds and live the lives that they want, and the support they learn to provide to each other, and strength in numbers. The power of being and the inspiration of music and life.

Another scene that struck a real note with me was one of the choir members standing up to a bully, and finally confronting him for berating him all these years, giving him a nickname that he could never live outside. This really reminded me of the painful days when I was growing up, and how nicknames given by bullies at school used to hurt so much, and no matter what I did, tried to fit in, that I would never be able to be one of them. Why does this still happen in life? Oh what I would give to relive all those years and give it back to them. To be brave and say to them that I am happy with who I am and I no longer have to be afraid. Maybe this is why I have not kept in touch with them, and I know that if I stood next to them today, that I wouldn't be the one feeling ashamed. I may not be more successful or richer than anyone of them, but I am certain that I am more complete and I am happy with I am and the life I am leading.

This is a truly moving and powerful movie. It is so many things to so many people that one word or an adjective cannot sum up the entire movie, but they are speechless nonetheless. I don't want to hike up the expectations for anyone because it is dangerous to walk into any film with such hopes, but if you do get a chance to watch it, see if music opens your heart to love as well.