@T: ALWAYS THE TWAIN

I just watched this trailer and it looks……………ROTFLOL! I love the comment about Jedis — ha ha.

Whilst in Spain I had yet another surreal film watching experience. We went to see Wong Kar Wai’s Ashes of Time (Redux) which is essentially a re-edited version of his 1994 classic, starring Tong Leung Chiu Wai (the Johnny Depp of Chinese cinema in terms of versatility who everybody says my brother looks like, btw). Whilst the dialogue was in a 50-50 mixture of Cantonese and Mandarin, the subtitles were in Spanish and I found myself understanding both forms of Chinese and also trying to translate the Spanish subtitles into English in my head!

Here’s the version of the trailer with English subtitles:

It was surreal not only for the linguistic differences and “lost in translation” effects I was dealing with, it was also surreal because Ashes of Time (Redux) is a distinctively art house piece, full of aphorisms and profound Chinese wisdoms from the wuxia era and plays as a collection of the central characters’ memories, hallucinations, reveries about lost and forbidden loves and mental illness psychosis.

Despite the Spanish subtitles, my friend left the cinema none the wiser about what the film was about and meant! All she came away with was an impression of the visuals and how the lighting was very specific — reflecting the seasons.

I contextualized it and said it’s about chance and the connectedness of seeming strangers. Each passes on a communique or a chain of actions which links back to the moment the central character lost his love to his brother in marriage — a connection of unity — and the madness which splinters and affects his perspective on life and personality thereafter. He drinks a “memory wine” to forget the pain without knowing that the wine is a gift from the woman.

Ashes of Time is definitely not as easy to follow or as simplistic as typical Hollywood films: boy meets girl, obstacle appears, obstacle is overcome and they ride happily into the sunset.

Hollywood draws from the traditions of Homer and the stepwise trials of Hercules; that’s how film arcs get structured. Homer and Chekhov and Shakespeare. Chinese films nod to different reference frames: Luo Guanzhong, Cao Xueqin, Wu Cheng En and Shi Naian.

Often Chinese films are multi-layered, complex characters, multiple time-stranded and imbued with philosophies and allegories. Hollywood versions are perceptibly different — think Infernal Affairs compared with The Departed (ambiguous, mysterious, like a puzzle to be cracked rather than a straight story about two guys from opposite tracks playing cat+mouse). Give me the Chinese version any day of the week………as much as I think Leonardo di Caprio, Jack Nicholson and Martin Scorcese are great!

Other surreal film watching experiences include:The Wonder Boys starring Michael Douglas, Frances McDormand and Tobey Macguire…..all dubbed in Spanish; K9 — The Widowmaker with Harrison Ford dubbed in German with subtitles; and Cyrano de Bergerac in Cantonese.

In any case, for me, film as a medium can transcend cultural differences in ways in which the written word in the blogosphere certainly can’t! Is the pen sharper than the sword? I’d say perspectives are sharper than both!

Back in the place Brits call “Blighty” and I can’t tell readers how different the topics agenda is in Spain. We had some really interesting discussions about life after Franco, the Suarez presidency, why a generation of 40-something men in Spain are commitment dilettantes and how Zapatero is considered by the Spanish electorate to be Europe’s worst leader………..next to Gordon Brown. Apparently, the Spanish media have a seriously low opinion of the British Prime Minister.

We talked a lot about the political, media and television sectors in Spain and Latin America, and again the frames of reference are so different! My friend referred to someone the Spaniards know as the “Prince of Darkness” in British politics and it’s a completely different person to the ones Brits themselves have labelled with this moniker! Then there was also the different references between the Spanish, Imperial Chinese and British Rpyal Families, someone called the Duchess of Alba and various Spanish and Chinese restauranteurs, architects and actresses who may/may not be equivalents of Jamie Oliver / Sir Richard Rogers / Johnny Depp.

Anyway, onto our inspirational people for this week……….

(1.) Lord Adair Turner

Lord Adair Turner is the current Chairman of the FSA (the UK’s equivalent of the SEC / Consob / AMF / regulatory agency for the financial sector). His biography can be read here:

* http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/About/Who/board/turner.shtml

His recent article in Prospect magazine on the Tobin tax attracted a strong reaction from the City and its financial professionals, according to media commentators:

* http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/wp-content/cache/supercache/www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2009/08/how-to-tame-global-finance/index.html

* http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/331e7a84-958f-11de-90e0-00144feabdc0.html

* http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/hamish-mcrae/hamish-mcrae-lord-turners-tax-is-a-trauma-too-far-for-our-biggest-foreign-earner-1778376.html

* http://www.silobreaker.com/tobin-tax-explained-5_2262559664539435011

It’s not for the Tobin tax or the fact that he has the audacity to say that some banking activities are “socially useless” that he’s listed here in Inspirational People. It’s because he’s also interested in and committed to climate change issues:

* http://www.climatechangecorp.com/content.asp?contentid=5825

* http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/02/climate-change-lord-turner

(2.) Mike Perham

This 17 year-old Brit became the youngest person to sail around the world single-handed. What he did shows us that achievement and inspiration are not just about passing national exams and getting good grades. It’s also about facing the challenges of nature head on — solo even — and showing perseverance, endurance and temerity. It’s an amazing triumph for this young man and now he’s planning to set up a Sail Mike Foundation to encourage youngsters to sail!

Here’s hoping he achieves his dream of taking part in London 2012 sailing competitions!

(3.) Hayley Lister

Another amazing sailing star from the wee islands of Britain! This 37 year-old today became the first female quadriplegic to sail around “Blighty” solo.

* http://www.hilarylister.com/

* http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20090831/tuk-disabled-sailor-sets-yacht-record-6323e80.html

* http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/sailing/article6816329.ece