Archemist Blog
This is a space for my own architectural related musings. Sometimes it is about a movie, a book, a show, or even something that I’ve come across online. Happy reading!
Eternity: Understanding the weight of the word - a film review
There is a lot to like in the film (for myself at least). The pacing, script writing and editing of the film has lovely changes between scenes. The biggest impact the film had on me was the noticeable colour change between earth and the junction. Eternity opens with Larry and Joan as a bickering elderly couple driving to their children’s gender reveal party. The first impression sets a mundane muted scene, and it is only when Larry dies that we notice a distinct colour shift of deep and moody warm tones(I’m willing to bet that the remainder of the film was shot on Kodak film).
Materialists – Tipping between the scales of the head and heart
Celine Song’s Materialists is inspired by Song’s brief experience as a matchmaker, a past life that she thoroughly enjoyed too much that she had to step away to concentrate on her professional pursuit in the film industry. Having consumed many interviews on the making of the film (Modern Love being one of my favourites), I eventually find myself sitting in an intimate cinema around three Fridays ago, anticipating how the story would unfold..
Past Lives : Chasing Closure through the lenses of what if’s in nostalgia
Past Lives dives into the ‘what if’’ of almost relationships and closure that many people often sought after. In this narrative, we are surrounded by three main characters: the sweethearts Na Young (also known as Nora, played by Greta Lee), Hae Sung (played by Teo Yoo) and Na Young’s husband Arthur (played by John Magaro). The film is anchored by the blossoming romance between Nora and Hae Sung that is cut short by external forces, and after a considerable time in between their own lives, the two friends reunite and answer unsaid questions that must have haunted them during their absence in communication. These are answered through awkward conversations that almost feel like small talk, added the cultural difference between the two allows the audience to see the inevitability of the outcome of this friendship.
Barbie Movie - A Film that I Observed
Last week, eyes coated in hot pink and armed with three Barbies and one Ken, I became a part of the pink-cladded audience to watch Greta Gerwig’s highly anticipated. After all the intense marketing from the franchise that included Architectural Digest’s coverage of the captivating Barbie set to the two hundred plus Barbie Pink collaborated everyday products – I was anticipating that this movie would rewrite Barbie’s political rhetoric that has continually evolved. However, I later found myself watching the film but with exhaustion…
In the Mood for Love - Stitches in time through lenses tinted with neon nostalgia
After the podcast with Adrian on architecture and film, as well as being a 35mm analogue enthusiast, my friend and I found ourselves on a weeknight sardined among eager film enthusiasts (or HK enthusiasts) to watch the critically acclaimed In the Mood for Love (2000). A quick synopsis: In The Mood For Love is about two characters Su Li-zhen (played elegantly by Maggie Cheung) and Chow Mo-wan (played by Tony Leung, very handsome might I add) who have come together after discovering their respective partners are having an affair with each other. Already a well-known film and being partially aware of the ending (heck they already give you written spoilers at the very beginning), I wasn’t confident in how I would feel about watching two isolated souls would make me feel. My friend, who also shared a similar sentiment decided that we would become each other’s anchor throughout the narrative.