last evening at the ngma audi, thanks to asia society, we finally screened cheuk kwan's "chinese restaurants" - tho just the india n argentina parts. almost full the house was...watched in rapt attention n seemed to enjoy the film. it's so easy when you are presenting someone else's film... i remember the nervousness n misery i went thru at my film screenings...but this was different! the discussion though was derailed by a bad start n we never recovered from that...but clearly the film worked n was well-received. in fact, there were 8 firm orders for a box set of 5dvds!!
to celebrate, went to ling's pavilion for a sumptuous dinner...where they stuffed our faces silly!...pork , prawns, chiken, corn curd, stew, bacon steamed rice n noodles!...aaah! a perfect way to end the day!...cheers cheuk!
re-watching the film...listening to mr chiang of casa china in buenos aires made me ponder about our own smallness...here was man who left taiwan 40yrs ago changed 3boats n has now lived half his life in argentina. his wife n son live in new york n there's this loneliness n acceptance, resilience n courage you begin to respect. his world view is almost zen-like...his concept of home, of identity makes me wonder of the sena campaign here in bombay...when will we ever learn?...
closer home, the lives of baba n nini ling are played out...so different they are from each other...i cringe when a smartypants nri starts the discussion asking if "they" can speak hindi...but to my (later) disgust, i do not dismiss the premise of his question...n grow increasingly protective of them in the course of the discussion...i live n learn!
1 comment:
The films were really enjoyable. Mr. Chiang's take on life is just so accepting and open. A great lesson for all of us.
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