Thank you for the mention, Sam. Such an honor and joy to contribute to INNER LIFE. Stay well. (Poor Things is one of my new favorite films. Can't wait to also read Gray's novel.)
Thank you Chen! Yeah, I guess it’s more extreme than I realized. It’s very difficult to come up with any. Some scholar online claims that “epic and masculinity appear to be co-terminus.” I guess Fanny Hill and Nymphomaniac, although maybe they’re better described as a sexual picaresque. Possibly Orlando. According to somebody like Joseph Campbell, the entire structure of the epic is about growing up as a man. But even by a much gentler definition - a character traveling in search of themselves - it’s really hard to think of examples.
I reacted differently to Past Lives' cinematography and music (liked both), but ultimately agree—the ending makes the film say something. Mostly though, I just appreciated how the film showed modern, mundane life and love honestly.
I loved Poor Things too. Not much more to say about that on my end.
I didn't see Past Lives and I've been putting it off for various reasons. One day, I'll get around to it. But you got at the heart of my ambivalence towards it. I'm sure it's a fine movie. But so much of Asian American art is geared towards assuaging the angst of the most elite and assimilated 2nd generation Asian Americans (i.e. the Noras among us) that even though they've taken the easier path at almost every turn in their lives (the "less-challenging choices" you speak of), that they not only did questionable (edit: that they not only did nothing questionable), but they are also the great protagonists of our community. That the most worthy cultural and political projects of Asian America all revolve around their uplifting their feelings and self-esteem.
"Here’s an alternate reading of Past Lives: Hae Sung is an emotionally stunted man who tacitly betrays his girlfriend to chase his fantasy image of a woman he once knew when he was 12. Nora is a status-seeking individualist who has internalised hegemonic Western notions of success and views Korea as ‘too small’ for her ambitions."
The first part is uncomfortable, yes. But the second part is where it gets very taboo, especially because of the highly genderized ways that Asian American men and women are unevenly granted paths to assimilation via coupling with white partners. Asian America is currently too emotionally stunted to actually talk about this in a mature way, much less make any decent art about it. The middling movie Shortcomings is another example of this.
Thanks Chris. Yeah, I didn’t write about the immigration side to it but I share your misgivings. I felt that it was largely a movie version of the type of book that seems to be swamping indie bookstores - a very gentle comedy of matters on immigration angst for upper middle class people (being caught between two cultures, etc). The dynamics you’re describing - highly disparate, genderized immigration experiences - would make for a much more interesting movie!
Your reviews resonated, and it's comforting to know that I'm not the only one who did not appreciate fully the greatness of Past Lives. On the other hand, your stellar review of Poor Things merits multiple readings. You nailed both Belle's Candidian journey and the treacherous waters of female sexuality, as well as the other masterful cinematic touches - oh how I wish to travel on that vessel. The more I think about it, the more I relate. Kudos.
Thanks Diana! I was reading about how they built the sets for Poor Things and it’s stuff that’s never been done before - two production designers working on it for years. They talk about each location feeling like it’s own theme park. I found every shot in the movie to be stunning - just on a whole other level from virtually anything else.
Interesting! I usually agree with you, but this time I had the exact opposite takes. I felt that Poor Things was fun to look at, but the story got bogged down when Bella and Duncan stay together after that dance. She was ready to move on into the world. The rest of the plot felt like a record skip to me.
Conversely, Past Lives was such a slow burn of real people figuring something out without knowing exactly what it was that they were grappling with. So often, when big issues come up in life, half the challenge is seeing through the confusion and actually seeing what it is that’s happening.
We thought that Nora was confronting a rekindling romance, but that final walk revealed that she was grieving the loss of an identity that she’d had to repress in order to assimilate. Her husband was forced to live in the ambivalence. Maybe it’s because I’m also in an intercultural/interracial marriage but it really resonated with me, especially his longing when she dreamed in Korean.
Thank you for the mention, Sam. Such an honor and joy to contribute to INNER LIFE. Stay well. (Poor Things is one of my new favorite films. Can't wait to also read Gray's novel.)
Thank you Laura! Very nice to find your work.
Looks like I'll watch these indeed. Thank you for the reviews, Sam.
What books you'd call "epics about women"?
Thank you Chen! Yeah, I guess it’s more extreme than I realized. It’s very difficult to come up with any. Some scholar online claims that “epic and masculinity appear to be co-terminus.” I guess Fanny Hill and Nymphomaniac, although maybe they’re better described as a sexual picaresque. Possibly Orlando. According to somebody like Joseph Campbell, the entire structure of the epic is about growing up as a man. But even by a much gentler definition - a character traveling in search of themselves - it’s really hard to think of examples.
I reacted differently to Past Lives' cinematography and music (liked both), but ultimately agree—the ending makes the film say something. Mostly though, I just appreciated how the film showed modern, mundane life and love honestly.
Lol. Maybe I was being a meanie about this one. The ending is really nice, but I did feel it to be very flat most of the way through.
I loved Poor Things too. Not much more to say about that on my end.
I didn't see Past Lives and I've been putting it off for various reasons. One day, I'll get around to it. But you got at the heart of my ambivalence towards it. I'm sure it's a fine movie. But so much of Asian American art is geared towards assuaging the angst of the most elite and assimilated 2nd generation Asian Americans (i.e. the Noras among us) that even though they've taken the easier path at almost every turn in their lives (the "less-challenging choices" you speak of), that they not only did questionable (edit: that they not only did nothing questionable), but they are also the great protagonists of our community. That the most worthy cultural and political projects of Asian America all revolve around their uplifting their feelings and self-esteem.
There's a great review in ArtReview by Ian Wang about this movie (https://artreview.com/the-critics-are-wrong-about-past-lives/), and its best line is this:
"Here’s an alternate reading of Past Lives: Hae Sung is an emotionally stunted man who tacitly betrays his girlfriend to chase his fantasy image of a woman he once knew when he was 12. Nora is a status-seeking individualist who has internalised hegemonic Western notions of success and views Korea as ‘too small’ for her ambitions."
The first part is uncomfortable, yes. But the second part is where it gets very taboo, especially because of the highly genderized ways that Asian American men and women are unevenly granted paths to assimilation via coupling with white partners. Asian America is currently too emotionally stunted to actually talk about this in a mature way, much less make any decent art about it. The middling movie Shortcomings is another example of this.
Thanks Chris. Yeah, I didn’t write about the immigration side to it but I share your misgivings. I felt that it was largely a movie version of the type of book that seems to be swamping indie bookstores - a very gentle comedy of matters on immigration angst for upper middle class people (being caught between two cultures, etc). The dynamics you’re describing - highly disparate, genderized immigration experiences - would make for a much more interesting movie!
Your reviews resonated, and it's comforting to know that I'm not the only one who did not appreciate fully the greatness of Past Lives. On the other hand, your stellar review of Poor Things merits multiple readings. You nailed both Belle's Candidian journey and the treacherous waters of female sexuality, as well as the other masterful cinematic touches - oh how I wish to travel on that vessel. The more I think about it, the more I relate. Kudos.
Thanks Diana! I was reading about how they built the sets for Poor Things and it’s stuff that’s never been done before - two production designers working on it for years. They talk about each location feeling like it’s own theme park. I found every shot in the movie to be stunning - just on a whole other level from virtually anything else.
Interesting! I usually agree with you, but this time I had the exact opposite takes. I felt that Poor Things was fun
I think you got cut off Sean. Curious to hear more of your take on Past Lives! It’s totally possible that I missed something about it.
Thanks! Sorry about that. I’m on a plane so my connection is weird. See below.
Interesting! I usually agree with you, but this time I had the exact opposite takes. I felt that Poor Things was fun to look at, but the story got bogged down when Bella and Duncan stay together after that dance. She was ready to move on into the world. The rest of the plot felt like a record skip to me.
Conversely, Past Lives was such a slow burn of real people figuring something out without knowing exactly what it was that they were grappling with. So often, when big issues come up in life, half the challenge is seeing through the confusion and actually seeing what it is that’s happening.
We thought that Nora was confronting a rekindling romance, but that final walk revealed that she was grieving the loss of an identity that she’d had to repress in order to assimilate. Her husband was forced to live in the ambivalence. Maybe it’s because I’m also in an intercultural/interracial marriage but it really resonated with me, especially his longing when she dreamed in Korean.