Month: August 2008

Movie: 钱不够用 2 & 十二莲花

Leave a comment

钱不够用 2

这是一部写实电影。梁智强以一贯的手法，轻描淡写的将新加坡人的一些不满和牢骚 – 如人民对 ERP、物价不断上涨和建赌场的看法 – 都给表达出来。但我要问，梁导演反映出来后除了得到了我们会心一笑，又对我们新加坡人又有些什么好处呢？政策从来就没有因为我们反映了而改变，通常还不是新加坡人自己咬紧牙关挨过去？

不过可以肯定的是，电影里描绘的杨家三兄弟所遭遇的，却也是典型新加坡人面对的一些问题 – 如对年迈家长和孩子在物质上给予的肯定不会少，但是在关怀与爱护方面却肯定做的不够。我不禁要问，电影的主题是表达新加坡人对金钱和物质生活追求的荒谬呢，还是要给新加坡人理解一下 ‘树欲静而风不止，子欲养而亲不在’ 的真正意义，让我们更加明白孝道的定义？又或许要我们除了物质生活外，要更注重家庭和亲属？就是说，不管一个人在金钱上如何贫穷，总不会比一个事业和家庭都失去的人更孤独、更可悲。

不管如何，这是一部把普通的人的喜、怒、哀、乐完全都表现出来的电影。我不想讲太多电影里的情节，但这些情节虽然没让我悲从中来，但却令我热泪盈眶。因为实在是我们生活中可以感受的到的。它娱乐和教育性两方面都很高的，但结尾却有点不切实际。为何如此说呢？因为戏里杨家的三兄弟的不屈不挠虽然值得我们学习，但是实际上能像他们跌得那么惨却又能从新再来的人又有几个？

总的来说，我个人虽然不是很喜欢梁导演，但仍然觉得这是部值得一看的电影。有空就去看吧，不过如果不太懂福建话的人就比较难理解里面的对白了。

十二莲花

我看电影通常都不会以艺术的角度来观赏，因为我缺乏艺术细胞。所以如果你问我， ‘十二莲花’ 和 ‘881’ 比较，我会比较喜欢哪一部，那么我比较喜欢 ‘881’ 多一点。原因很简单，虽然两部电影都以歌台为背景，但是 ‘881’ 就比较没有那么抽象和脱离现实。简单的说，虽然两部电影拍摄的手法都非常的 ‘波里活’ (Bollywood)，但是 ‘881’ 的娱乐性却是比较高的。

戏里主人翁 – 刘莲花 – 的悲哀命运让人心酸，可能甚至于掉泪。这也令我想起 ‘881’ 的结尾也是令人伤心的。我必须要问，是否导演陈子谦的人生中，个人遭遇了很多天意弄人的事？如果还有下一部以歌台为背景的电影，结局可否可以快乐一点？要不然王欣这个演员可能就会永久被定型，只能演那些楚楚可怜，命运坎坷的女子了。这样会否限制了一个演员的发挥空间呢？

而且，没有多少部电影能让我不断的看手表和盼望它的结束。因为有些情节我真的觉得和现实完全脱节，令我觉得我必须调整，不以看现实剧的的心态、沉住气的继续看下去。

弹的说完，说些赞的。这部电影并不是完全一无是处。刘玲玲演技是不错的，在这部电影里可以说是发挥的淋漓精致。而且戚玉武演的两个角色都演得不错。他是演什么就不必多说了，免得破坏还没看的人的兴致。

我个人的建议是，没必要在电影院看。最好是等 VCD / DVD 上市了才买回家看吧。和 ‘钱不够用 2’ 一样，不太懂福建话的人就比较难理解里面的对白了。

Bashing Foreign Talents

12 comments

The in-thing these days, seems to be the bashing of foreign talents. From Amit Nagpal’s letter to the forum on getting a flat direct from the HDB to Li Jiawei dragging the Singapore flag on the ground in the Olympics Opening Ceremony. Are you ‘in’?

Frankly, I might have an opinion about foreign talents in this nation, and I have probably blogged a few times about them too – mostly on whether some of them are really talented or my disbelief that those jobs cannot be filled by Singaporeans. Otherwise, my unhappiness is with foreigners whose CVs look impressive but can’t work for nuts, or those who thinks they should be treated like kings as if we owed them a living. I am quite sure some of you would agree with me here as you have run into them at work, or read about foreign athletes quitting on us after we spent a lot of money nurturing them. And these are the black sheep – the fallen talents – which have given them all a bad name.

Over time, I have tried to look this objectively. Foreigners take up many jobs in our economy. For e.g. the hard labor workforce, i.e. the people who are doing jobs that most Singaporeans wouldn’t do (or possibly can’t do at all) even if that means they have to beg on the streets. These are the people who have the lowest chance of even getting a PR. Consider the ‘environmental engineers’ (road sweepers and cleaners by another name), the China or Bangladeshi worker you see digging the holes at road works and building our new flats / condominiums, the China person at your local coffee shops taking your order or making yor fishball noodles etc. When some of these people go, just which of us – except maybe some of our old folks who are above retirement age – would even consider filling some of these jobs?

Some wouldn’t consider these people as real talents, but from a different perspective, their hard skills is actually a talent. Some of us probably don’t know how to mix cement for nuts, or dig a hole better than some of them. Simply put, I would say we should at least appreciate their contribution to the comfort we enjoy, though we might not like their presence because we dislike their behavior and manners. But remember, it is not entirely their fault for not being better mannered or more educated. They didn’t really have a choice when it comes to their land of birth.

As to Li Jiawei’s ‘dragging of the flag’ during the ceremony, I have looked at the video on Youtube. Yes, a part of the flag was on the ground and a lot of us think of the fact that the flag should not touch the ground because of our National Service background. But does she know these things? Was she even told of it when we screamed about how she dragged our flag on the ground of China – the land of her birth?

Now, consider this: in a few more years, Jiawei would have been lived in Singapore longer than she has been in China. Now, some of us may have ancestors who has lived in China longer than they are in Singapore. I am a 2nd or 3rd Generation Singaporean, depending on maternal or paternal lineage.My maternal grandfather came from Guangzhou to Singapore before the Japanese invasion. My paternal great-grandfather came from Hong Kong probably in the early 1900s. What difference are they from Li Jiawei? Li Jiawei, as a child, left her home to come here. She has persevered unlike some of those who gave up and really went home. So give her a break already!

I admit I am no lover of Foreign Talents. However, I disliked some of them because some of them did not live up to what they claimed they are. Some of us have definitely worked with those who clearly have no clue what they are doing in spite of what they claimed they know. I am also unhappy with the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme or whatever because I felt the money rewarded to them for their performance can be better used for other social needs. I might not be right about some of these things, but at least I don’t just dislike all of them for no better reasons.

Anyway, I also disliked some of them because they think Singapore owed them as if they are doing us a favor while our country gave them the opportunity which maybe available in their home country, but probably with fewer perks. Granted they can take their skills elsewhere with a better offer, but that’s nothing to boast about since even the ‘environmental engineer’ cleaning my rubbish bin everyday would probably work for another contractor or in another country if he is capable of leaving here to go there. Just like I would say to Singaporeans who always complain about Singapore – leave! I would say the same to these FTs unless you really have an exceptional talent that no one else could replace. In other words, if Stephen Hawkins comes to Singapore and lecture at NUS or NTU, and then he chose to leave, then this country has indeed lose a rare talent. But if you are just say… a currency trader, then come on… where you came from there’s probably someone else who is even better for a lesser price tag.

Simply put, my fellow Singaporeans, let us be clear what we are unhappy with, and not just go all out and whack FTs with even the lamest excuses we can think of. It brings shame upon all of us and make us no better than xenophobic skinheads we read about in other countries.

Hong Kong Vacation – After Thoughts

4 comments

These are some of the observations I have when I was in Hong Kong.

Housing

Hong Kong island [香港岛], parts of the Kowloon Peninsula [九龙半岛] and the Tung Chung [东涌] area of Lantau Island [大屿山] looks quite mountainous, and you can see that in most of the photos I have taken. I am given the impression that on while on paper Hong Kong may have a large surface area, but a lot of it is mountainous which makes it very expensive for construction. In fact, even Lan Kwai Fong [兰桂坊] itself is built on a slope as I remember making my way up after coming out of the Central [中环] MTT station.

After a few days in HK, I have become quite reluctant to make my way down slope for fear of going the wrong way and then having to make my way back up again. The only place that reminds me of this is probably that stretch of road behind Lido. Perhaps that’s the reason why the land and housing in Hong Kong is very expensive and yet very small. My colleague joked that had Lao Lee been Chief Executive of Hong Kong he would have emptied out those mountains and use the soil for land reclamation.

Transportation – MTR and Bus

I like the fact that I was able to get to most of the places I have visited by the main mode of public transport – bus and MTR (the equivalent of our MRT). Being able to read both Chinese and English, and understanding the Cantonese announcements over the PA system is a real plus in Hong Kong. Of course, the announcements are also repeated in Mandarin and English for the benefit of the Chinese mainlanders and foreigners there..

By the way, I didn’t really use the buses there, and never once the cab, since I managed to find my way to where I wanted to go by MTR using… well… Google.

While using the MTR, I also observed that while some of the stations always appear to be crowded, the trains come often enough to clear much of the crowd. Other than in some of the farther out areas like Tung Chung, I rarely have to wait more than 2mins for a train in the city area even during off-peak hours. That’s very very unlike the experience I have when traveling with our MRT. Is it a wonder why I keep whining about Singapore’s MRT?

Anyway, it may be true that going by the key performance indicators, Singapore’s MRT is really nothing to complain about but I doubt it would have passed at all if they take a commuter satisfaction survey not by sampling, but at places like Boon Lay, Pasir Ris, or Yishun MRT. One of the key reason is the long standing periods one has to suffer unlike the Hong Kong MTR where there is a large turnover every few stations to make seats available. There is really not much we can do about that, since the satellite town design of our city makes this an inherent problem with all modes of our transports – be it bus, taxi, MRT or even by car.

Before I forget, I must also point out also that the HK MTR website recommends to you the best path of travel to minimise travel time and get to your destination when you are changing between lines. I rarely spend more than 30mins moving from one point to another using the MTR and the trains are almost always synchronised at the interchanges – i.e. by the time you moved across, the other train would have just arrived. If you think I am making this up you really need to go to Hong Kong and see it for yourself.

Transportation – Ferry and Tram

Curiously, there are also other modes of transports like the Star Ferry [天星渡轮] which transits between Tsim Sha Tsui [尖沙咀] in the Kowloon Peninsula and Central or Wan Chai [湾仔] of Hong Kong Island. I am not sure if they are still useful as the MTR also links these 3 places together conveniently. I took it once just for the fun of it though and I think it was like just 10 – 15 minutes from Central to Tsim Sha Tsui.

On Hong Kong Island there’s also an electric tram [电车] system running more or less from Central to Causeway Bay [铜锣湾]. I am not sure why this is kept there as the MTR is more convenient and way more efficient. But it’s really cheap… just HK$2 and you can use it for sight-seeing Hong Kong at leisure just by hopping on one that would transit the whole length of the route.

Customer Service

This is exceptional and I have to give them a very, very high mark. Once I asked one of the shopkeepers at the night market why the other shop was selling stuff at HK$140 for 3 pieces and he was selling me 2 for HK$158. The guy actually told me his shop also has stuff going at that price but the reason is that the ones I bought are 2-sided while the 3-for-HK$140 ones are only single sided. I thought he was bullshitting me and after walking some way down I actually asked another shop if the 2-sided ones are same price and the guy told me the exact same thing. And here we are arguing on our newspaper forum about service. * sigh *

Either way, I must have been really lucky because the sales people in Hong Kong are generally polite and courteous. In one of the them, they greet me as I entered the shop, approached me to offer assistance without being asked and stood by respectfully without hindering even when I waved them away. They may not be fluent but they generally try to reply in English or Mandarin when I use those languages, and they become even friendlier when I speak Cantonese. When I leave – even when I didn’t buy anything – they say thank you and good bye without giving you a dirty look and always with a smile on their faces. (I don’t care if they say bad things after I am gone.)

I am not saying all Hong Kongers are polite people, as I have also run into some rude and grouchy ones, but generally the service people do make an effort to offer assistance and genuinely tried to help you complete a purchase when you are in the shop. That appears to be quite lacking in Singapore, as you can at times stand around looking as stupid / lost as you can and no one would give you a flying damn.

Food

There is much variety of food and I didn’t have time to try them all out. Either way I won’t go into the details. I did try out some of the eateries though, and in Hong Kong you can forget about finding a table all to yourself or your friends. The people generally just check that there are no items on the seats, sit down and then go on to order what they want to eat since eateries are generally crowded during the meal hours.

As for tastiness, the food I ate is pretty alright and there’s definitely more variety than in Singapore. Service is quite fast most of the time and you only need pay after eating at the counter.

I also tried the McDonald’s once, and I think that they have some burgers we don’t have here. And maybe it’s just me, the one I tried seems different and was way better than what I ate here in Singapore.

In short, I think I like Hong Kong as the sales & service people (even those at the restaurants) attempt to make me feel welcomed. I may go back to Hong Kong again in the future because it’s really easy for me to move around and I have not visited some of the tourist attractions yet.

Hong Kong: Ocean Park 11.08.08

One comment

It was a rainy day on Monday 11.08.08 in Hong Kong, and the rain here is really ‘long winded’… it basically went on and on for the whole day. I was sort of kicking myself for choosing the day to visit, and I can’t not go because I will be flying off on the 12.08.08. Despite that, there was surprisingly a lot of people in Ocean Park – many of them Chinese nationals and I must say Chinese tourists must have brought in a lot of foreign income for Hong Kong.

Personally speaking, I don’t see that many people neither in the Singapore Zoological nor the Jurong Bird Park when I was there. In fact, when I visited the Bird Park some time ago, it was also raining and there wasn’t a lot of people. And what do I think of it? With hotels mostly concentrated in the CBD area, where the shopping centres are located, getting to these locations is a pain. No one would really make their way to these places except for those on package tours, considering that it takes more than an hour to get to any of these places by MRT or bus. For me to go to Ocean Park from my hotel in Mongkok took me about 1 hour, that’s including fumbling my way to the wrong MTR station, wasting time to find out where is the bus stop and what bus to take, and missing my stop which required me to walk an extra 10 minutes in the rain.

Ocean Park seems part zoo, part theme park to me. There are roller coasters, hot air balloon, a cable car ride and a lot of carnival like stuff. Then there are pandas on display, Chinese Sturgeons in a really miniature version of Sentosa’s underwater world, a large 3 level aquarium with many sharks, sting rays and deep sea fishes, and a special room dedicated to all sort of jelly fishes all rolled into one. I think if not for the proximity of Macau, the HK SAR government gahmen should just put up a casino in it too just like what ours did with Sentosa.

My personal suggestion is… don’t go on a rainy day, because it drives everyone in doors and you can’t stand long holding up a camera to take photos without someone bumping into you and spoiling your shot, and don’t go alone, because you need someone to hold your stuff when you go try the roller coasters and stuff.

I reached there around 1pm and I was only 50% done with the place when I had to leave at 6:15pm to rush back to Central Hong Kong to meet a friend for dinner. I would say it’s a place worth going if you are going in a group for a day of fun in the sun.

Hong Kong Island Proper – 10.08.08

2 comments

The thing about a free and easy trip is that you sometimes end up wasting a lot of time sleeping in the hotel room. Today I woke around 10am because a fire has broken out some where nearby. I can’t see it, but I could hear the sirens going on and off and past my room Apparently, it’s a fire so bad that several firemen were killed..

Anyway, the view outside my room is actually quite hideous, if you can even call that a view. You can see from the first photo and it looked exactly like the kind of place show in the movie 老港正传… and it shows a city in decay. Anyway, after lazing in the room and analyzing where I wanted to go, I finally decided to go to Wan Chai and to the Peak.

This trip was made based on the recommendation of my best friend’s dear wife, who is a Hong Konger herself, but I made some modifications myself. Took the MTR down to Wan Chai MRT and walked to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre first instead of taking the MTR down to Tsim Sha Tsui and take the ferry across.

After taking some photos at the place, I made my way back to Johnston Road and took the Tram to the Legislative Council and take a short walk up the Tram Terminus (to the Peak) past St. John Cathedral.

It was a great trip as it was quite cooling up at the Peak, and the view is… well, you have to see on your own. It’s definitely a place you should not miss when you visit Hong Kong, provided you have not visited it before. My personal recommendation is to reach the Terminus around 6pm as there might be a long queue at the Terminus so by the time you reach the top the sun is about to set.

After which, pick up a good position and wait to darkness to fall. Then you can start snapping away. I am quite sure you can’t find any such great vantage point anywhere else in Hong Kong, and by the way, is there any place in Singapore we can take photos like these?

1 2 3 4