Almost Buddhist - 戲‧論

★★★★☆ This is a horror film disguising as a love story! It seems romantic, graceful and elegant but the core of it is indeed very sick! Not that there’s any ghosts or spirits to scare the shit out of you, but as the truth gets revealed in the end, you’ll feel like throwing up a bit as it sort of contradicts what you think it is. It’s no doubt a perfect demonstration of madness and cruelty of love going pathetically extreme and dangerous, pushing the so-called S&M to a whole new level and therefore making ‘Fifty Shades’ look like child’s play! To be honest, if not for Daniel Day-Lewis, I wouldn’t have checked out such a film. ‘Phantom Thread’ is a story about a renowned dress designer who deliberately prevents himself from getting into serious relationships so as to keep his inspirations running, till later on he comes across a waitress who is destined to turn his world upside down and his guts inside out! I have a bad taste in fashion but the film doesn’t leave a bad taste...

★★☆☆☆ ‘Lady Bird’ is a coming of age story that well, gives me no tears or pleasure or anything that I expected from it in the first place. There’s a moment or two with songs playing in the back that seemed to be stirring up my emotions but it didn’t last long enough to allow me to feel it so. Again, I guess it’s not the film itself. It’s just me that my senses have been dulled by trying to stay in the comfort zone for too long, and keep up a decent life like I’m expected to! The film, though it seems totally irrelevant, reminds me of one of the quotes from ‘Fortress Besieged’, the one and only marvelous novel by the highly respected Qian Zhongshu, ‘Marriage (not just marriage as you might’ve already figured) is like a fortress besieged. Those who are outside want to get in. Those who are inside want to get out’. It’s a hopeless truth that we all kind of live in contradictions to and fro. We want attentions but at the same time we don’t like to be disturbed. We all want to be ...