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Finally Ang Lee’s much anticipated work was unveiled this past weekend in Boston. What I knew before hand included his emotional break down in front of the news media, the unshaven arm-pit of the young lead Wei Tang, the much talked about sex scenes in the movie.

I liked Ang Lee’s delicate sensibilities in his movies. He’s very versed in the world of emotional subtleties. Without reading anymore, I thought it would be an erotic love story (obviously, I have never read Eileen Chang’s original short story).

What struck me was the intensity of the film and the fullness in terms of the encompassing multitudes of genres. After the film, I felt it was like having eaten a full Chinese banquet course - it was too much for my taste.

The acting was very good for the lead actors. The focus was too into them and the details of the genres that left the supporting actors rather weak (in particular Lee-Hom Wang and Joan Chen’s characters were rather one dimensional).

The start of the film was unnecessarily complicated in terms of subtle exchanges of looks at the Mahjong table. I was reminded of another Taiwan director - Hsiao Hsien Hou’s film Flowers of Shanghai. The dialogues are short and fast. The scenes swiftly change from one person to another. I was quite confused. After watching the entire film, I realized at the end that I didn’t have to try that hard to remember all the subtleties at the Mahjong table. Half of the women at that Mahjong table did not matter in the story at all. By going deep to the emotional worlds of the lead actors, Ang Lee neglected to develop these other characters.

The details of Shanghai in the 1920s were incredible. That’s first thanks to Eileen Chang who’s very adept at recreating fine details in her novels. Certainly, Ang Lee is sensitive enough and smart enough to bring all to the screen. This included the intentional showing of the unshaven arm pit to give the audience a sense of authenticity.

I can’t help but to compare this film to Kai Wei Wong’s In the mood for Love. They both portrayed an earlier period of Shanghai people, Tony Leung starred in both films as male lead. They were both of unexpected love story. To me, the difference is very clear. Watching a Wong’s film, makes one feel as an experience of seeing a Chinese watercolor painting - there is a lot of negative space available for the mind and the characters to expand. Each scene creates some space from the next one, but yet, they are connected by our own interpretation. Lee’s Lust Caution is like looking at an oil painting. By focusing on the realness of the environment, the characters (oh, Wei Tang’s character with makeup, looks like a girl stepping from those old Shanghai posters), he left little room for imagination. The entire canvas was full with his carefully portrayed scenes. He is a very skilled painter, but Wong is a gifted master.

I still think this film is worth seeing. I only think in this film, because of Lee’s Chinese heritage, because this is really a film (with its references) made for Chinese people, he made it too heavy. I think Broke Back Mountain is his better work.

Wow long time no change over here! The usual things have kept me away from this little place.

Now finally, I changed my server, changed the looks.

As an aspiring investigator, I certainly keep an eye out for my neighborhood police/crime report. It is really a fun pass time activity. I highly recommend anyone to read these reports at their leisure. Here is the latest taken from the local Brookline Tab:

On July 20th at 8:06AM at 1655 Beacon St, one Starbucks customer called the police and reported a giant turkey “half the size of an elephant”, feared it will wander into traffic.

On the same day at 9:31AM one resident at 6 Rawson road reported:” 18 turkeys in the backyard… something must be done, it is just not right.”

I want one of these!

Have you heard of guerrilla gardening?There is even an official term in wikipedia:

Guerrilla gardening is political gardening, a form of nonviolent direct action, primarily practiced by environmentalists. It is related to land rights, land reform, and permaculture. Activists take over (”squat“) an abandoned piece of land which they do not own to grow crops or plants. Guerrilla gardeners believe in re-considering land ownership in order to reclaim land from perceived neglect or misuse and assign a new purpose to it.

Some guerrilla gardeners carry out their actions at night, in relative secrecy, to sow and tend a new vegetable patch or flower garden. Others work more openly, seeking to engage with members of the local community, as illustrated in the examples that follow.

So basically (this is my own interpretation), if you like to garden but you don’t have any space and you don’t want to wait for the little patch of garden space from the city lot, you have this alternative of gardening on other people’s land. To add more thrill to this, you can do it at 2AM in the morning! Just be careful, don’t be caught.
Here is an example: