Paradise now

It was late Sunday night, I just finished watching “Paradise now”, my mind was filled with something rather heavy and gray, and I was still very much absorbed by this provoking story about two young Palestinians. This is such a mature, intriguing and sophisticated movie. It is a movie telling the dark truth of people living in a world that is rarely well covered by the media. And it makes you to ponder, to think deep on the complicated issues we are facing in this world. Also it is a good movie because it is using its very sharp observation to present the facts, the different perspectives of thinking and they are all woven into a very intriguing and grippinng journey that this movie takes us onto. And unlike a mainstream movie which a lot of time serves as a propaganda machine, it doesn’t give you answers to the issues or provide solutions, because the movie maker knows that these are extremely difficult and complex issues and there are no easy solutions to them.

Murdering of innocent people can not be forgiven or justified, that I fully agree. However, what we do need to understand the underlying courses of the acts by those young men who volunteered to be the suicide bombers. There is not much hope in their lives, it is all shattered dreams, miserable childhood, isolations by their own society and above all, there are no lights at the end of tunnel. The emotional despair pushed them to this belief that if they fulfil this special mission their god would save them from the misery in life and they will become someone more respectful in heaven.

It would have been a rather dark and utterly depressing movie if there was not the very lively female character in the movie, which represents more liberal and civilized views of young Palestinians who are lucky enough to be educated in the west and have developed more balanced view and prefer more peaceful solutions. She is a like a refreshing breeze blowing through the world that is torn by endless war and poverty. The character might be too perfect so it feels a little bit surreal, but it certainly paints a nice warm glow in the story that is centred on a suicide bomb mission.

It is also a very sensitive movie, with subtle touch on humanities, the good and bad side of human nature. One of the scenes in the movie, which I think it is well done, is when they accidentally find out that the videos of suicide bombers and or the traitors are both on the shelf for sale or rent. I could feel a deep sigh inside me, so what perceived as martyr or enemy may as well be good entertainment material for others. That is sad, but it is the cruel truth we live in.

Two thumbs up for this first Palestine movie, very insightful and delivering heart felt insider view from a well rounded perspective. Personally I think movies like this help us understand better the conflicts on the other side of the world, we may not have immediate solutions, but understanding in a profound manner, could be a good start.

English Countryside

South Coast - Eastbourne and Brighton

Beautiful coast with white cliffs.

Cookham - very typical English countryside, lots of green, nice gardens on the hills. And the walking finishes off by the river Thames. Lovely sunny day!

Security and Prosperity, the Rich and the Poor

Do I have sympathy over the people killed on the plane United 93? Yes, I do, just as million of others. But not to be simplistic and naive here, one reason we do feel sad and devastated is that because this is something we easily relate oursleves to, something that could happen to ourselves.

How many people got killed during 911 compared with how many people who got killed everyday in Africa and other developing nations due to hunger, disease and war? That is an easy math. One of the reasons these people have long been ignored by the wealthy nations is that the people in those developed countries can't really relate themselves to them, it is something they don't really encounter in their lives, so they just don't feel the pain.

I believe all good natured human beings deserve love, security and prosperity. Those hijikers on United 93 should be condemned but don't forget when we spend a lot of resource and time on anti terrorists, there are million of others who desparately need help. Are we better off trying to help these people, so at least they get to enjoy a fraction of what we enjoy in life, or should we sit here mourning the dead and condemning the terrorists? For me, there is a clear answer.

How much do we know about the lives in those poor nations and how much do we know about war against terrorism? The media coverage can tell us quite a lot. It is so easy to say "the trouble in those countries is their own trouble, we should focus on our own people", but the reality is if the countries and people who have resource to help but not doing it, who else they can count on?

911 is a wake up call, but it seems that for a better world and a better earth, maybe we do need another wakeup call on other ongoing devastating issues. After all, even we are not born to be equal but we should try to give everyone equal opportunities.

Three very distinct movies

The three movies I have watched recently: the Da Vinci code, Crash and United 93. Very distinctive movies, from the storyline, the characters to its target audience.

The Da Vince code, a Hollywood blockbuster type of movie, leveraged on the hype of the book, didn't make me either disppointed or thrilled. I simply didn't have much expectation for this type of commercial movies. I thought it was quite entertaining, and Andrey Toutou didn't look as great as she was in "Amelia" but that was 6 years ago, she was much younger by then. I think French women have a charm and elegance that are hard to beat.

Crash is such a good movie that it blends the racial issues, humanity and social and moral values into one box and shakes it up, make you really thinik deep and comtemplate on who we are and what are the secret hidden thoughts inside us. It is a rather sad movie, which I prefer in some way, because happy ending usually doesn't leave much space for you to linger and digest. On the other hand, I think dramas with a rather sad, sentimental ending are more powerful and it puts a weight on your mind.

United 93, a very vivid restrospect on what could have happened on that day on that flight, the story itself is gripping and heart-braking enough, although at the end I was surprised I didn't shed any tears. I think maybe it is much of a documentary than a movie, so I don't feel it really extends beyond the story itself which we probably already know the piece by piece details from media coverage. One of the extension or inventions by the movie is one of the hijikers who looks rather scared and nervous, and less determined than others. This is a character who was struggling between justification of his act, his love for life and the shadows on his heart. I like the way this role is portrayed in the movie because it gives a certain degree of sophistication behind the drive of human beings.

Dead people don't talk

Why people committed suicide ? That is always a mystery when they were already dead. Though we live in a world that this kind of drama do happen, and certainly boosted by media coverage early this week when it was unveiled that the three prisoners hanged themselves at the Guantanamo bay detention center. It is an act of war cause, the Washington official said. Well, too late to prove it is really an act of Jihad, or rather it is an act out of desperation or mental illness. They were not charged or convicted before they killed themselves. Now it seems we can inteprete what prompted this in whatever way we want to, after all, dead people don' t talk.

One thing, I realize recently, is that we are facing a choice between "innocent until proved guilty" or "guilty until proved innocent". This famous hypothesis , which I learned also in school how to use statistical model to project its probability. But mathematics itself doesn't give us answers, the fact even the probability of danger is small, like the recent police raid (which proved to be led by faulty intelligence later on) in London, we still have to pursue it, because the potential damage could be huge. Living in a world troubled by certain conflicts for which we don't have a total solution, we simply can't afford to take chances.

But is this approach "Guilty unless proved innocent" the right thing to do?

Well, the question is, is there a better approach?

In love with the green

It's been more than four months since I arrived in London, somehow I feel it is a landmark time, from now on I can't really call myself as a newbee in town anymore. But the truth is, I think I have fallen with the city. Summer is late here, and so was spring, but even before it finally warmed up, the tree lined streets with old buildings on the side, the gardens in the park or even your frontyard and backyard started to show its resistable charm. For someone who had been fed up with the dust and dirt in a deeply polluted mega city, this is a real blessing. Just a few shots to give you a flavor of the beauty of the city and its vicinity.

This is the massive botanic garden "Kew garden", quite a nice place to spend a lazy Sunday strolling around, have ice cream and do some reading.

I also had a walk through St. James park on a rainy day, after passing by the famous big ben and heard the chime. It was quite a nice feeling. And St. James park in the rain looks a big foggy.