Cart: a Korean drama that may resonate with Hong Kong Umbrella Movement members and supporters

Cheers (to) Korea -- and the continued fight
against injustice?

Cart (South Korea, 2014)

- Boo Ji Young, dir.

- Starring: Yum Jung Ah, Moon Jeong Hee, Kim Young Ae, Kim Kang Woo, Do Kyung Soo

In the wake of the political protesting that took place on the streets of Hong Kong during much of the second half of last year, I wondered if there'd be many protest-oriented films screened at this year's Hong Kong International Film Festival.  And although there weren't any from Hong Kong itself, there were indeed a fair few in the HKIFF program, including the likes of 1989 and Pride.  

Even on the commercial cinema circuit, there have been offerings in recent months that have resonated with supporters of the Umbrella Movement.  Chief among these has been Selma, whose relevance to Hong Kong was made obvious by Common in his Oscar acceptance speech.  And coming to Hong Kong cinemas next Thursday (May 14th) will be Cart, a South Korean drama pitting long suffering people who decide they need to make a stand against injustice that possesses scenes that will definitely bring to mind last year's "occupation" for many of its Hong Kong viewers.

Based on real life events that took place in 2007 and involved a supermarket chain who sought to illegally replace its contract workers (cashiers and cleaners, all of them women) with outsourced employees, this ensemble drama's early section plays out like a farcical comedy, with employees being instructed to bow and scrape in front of the store customers and even address them as "beloved customers" and other exaggerated honorifics.  Quickly though, it becomes apparent that this mega supermarket can be a veritable nightmare to work in; with one humiliated employee being made to kneel when apologizing to an angry customer and tired women being regularly asked to work overtime without any extra pay.

Desperate to hold on to their low-paying jobs (in what appears to be a recession where even university graduates end up working as supermarket cashiers), the women suck it up for the most part.  And even when they finally rise up in protest, it's actually because they seek a return to the status quo rather than ambitiously demand far better terms.  (Does all this sound familiar, Hong Kongers?  It sure does to me!)

Although some are scared and others initially skeptical, the women collectively reach a decision to go on strike (rather than work for the remaining days they have been told to) and "occupy" the supermarket space.  But what initially seems like a feminist tale -- whose main characters are a model worker cum mother of two (Sun Hee), a tough single mother (Moon Jeong Hee) and a motherly cleaner whose matronly nature belies her possessing a fighter's spirit (Kim Young Ae) -- becomes more universal when some male workers, notably a young assistant manager (Kim Kang Woo), also get to realizing how terribly callous their employers and their suited accountants and advisors are.

As the seasons change and the protests drag on, the film itself begins to drag a little.  On a related note: while there's something admirable in wanting to flesh out the stories of several characters, Cart does suffer from having too many sub-plots; with the one involving a rebellious teenage son (played by K-pop singer Do Kyung Soo) being that which would get my vote for being the least necessary to include in the overall tale.

At the same time though, there's little doubting that those who sought to tell this David vs Goliath tale have their hearts in the right place.  And there definitely are scenes in this film which will put a lump into one's throat -- and perhaps get people realizing (if they didn't before) that righting injustice is not easy and does not happen overnight... but eventually, especially when people put up a united, commited front, we can overcome.

My rating for this film: 7.0

A Hong Kong Island hike that served up lots of examples of Hong Kong's biodiversity (Photo-essay)

The first few years that I hiked up Mount Parker Road (which takes one from Quarry Bay up to Quarry Gap), the cool red-bricked building known as Woodside was not open to the public and I could only admire it from the outside.  But after it came to house the AFCD Woodside Biodiversity Education Centre, I got to finally see the historical building's interior as well as to check out the biodiversity education centre's exhibits.

And although I didn't spot any snakes outside of Woodside that day, I thought it appropriate that I did spot quite a number of interesting critters as well as natural sights after my visit that attest to Hong Kong really being a place where biodiversity really can be found and quite easily observed! ;b

 Not too far up the hill from this handsome building

is one of the main entryways into Tai Tam Country Park

The Woodside Biodiversity Education Centre has some live animals

on exhibit, including this green snake which had recently shade its skin!

 Within the grounds of the centre was this sign whose

garbled English I found rather amusing ;)

Minutes after I left the biodiversity education centre, 

I came across this long-legged example of biodiversity ;b

Believe it or not, I found the mist up near the top of Mount Parker

to be creepier than that long-legged arachnid!

I wish I got a sharper photo of this beautiful butterfly

but it just wouldn't stop flapping its wings!

 Upon venturing down a path I previously had never been on,

I came across buildings that I got to thinking may date back 

to the second world war -- or have been in use then

My hike took me all the way to the Tai Tam Tuk Reservoirs

and Tai Tam Road -- and I have to say that I find it impossible

to resist the urge to take photos of the former :)

The Jo Bithume Company in Hong Kong

A conservative looking sign for what turned out to be

a "come on, stand up and dance" concert :b

For the first 45 minutes or so of the concert featuring the brass band music of the Jo Bithume Company, the audience stayed in their seats; this despite one of the musicians -- flautist, trombonist, vocalist conductor and worker of the machines producing electronic beats Elisabeth Herault -- leaping off the stage and personally inviting a couple of people sitting in the front row to get to their feet.

It wasn't that the rhythmic music wasn't good.  It's just that I'd wager that the audience attending the concert at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University's Jockey Club Auditorium was on the shy side compared to those in the west that the French company probably are more familiar with!  And I, for one, started feeling very conscious of the fact that I, too, happened to be seated in the front row and nervous that I may be the next person that was going to be invited to shake her booty in front of hundreds of people (something that happened decades ago in Tanzania -- and is something I don't particular want to repeat!)!

At the same time though, the music produced by Herault and her fellow musicians (trombonist Alain Lardeux (AKA Bopchon), trumpet players Jacques Douvet and Aurelien Joyau, saxophonists Frederique Espinasse, Emannuelle Rualt and Alexandra Bourigalt, tuba player Kevin Thiebot and bass guitarist Pierre-Yves Sourice) was so pulsating and mesmerizing that it was well nigh impossible to stop one's feet and fingers tapping at minimum.  And after Herault issued a general invitation about midway through the concert to people to feel free to go to the front and dance in the space between the stage and first row of seats, a few audience members -- led by Le French May staffers -- decided to go and do just that!

At the risk of sounding like a killjoy, I must admit that I would have preferred for there not to be a row of people in front of me blocking the view -- especially since the tall woman directly in front of me ended up standing still rather than actually bopping about most of the time!  This is because even while the primary sense used at concerts is hearing, I do often enjoy watching the musicians go about producing the sounds they do too -- and several members of the Jo Bithune Company appear to be into visually entertaining as well as making cool music. (I found Herault and Lardeux -- who, probably not coincidentally, are the Jo Bithume Company's musical directors -- particularly expressive and fun to watch.)

Still, it's also true enough that the musicians did seem genuinely delighted to have managed to get some members of the audience out of their seats and on their feet.  And the last two musical sets produced a heartwarming response from some of the younger members of the audience -- including a few teenagers clad in their school uniforms -- who enthusiastically accepted  the invitation by the musicians to not only to get up and dance in the auditorium where the concert was being held but also go up and join them on stage for a bit.    

Music-wise, this was a pretty enjoyable concert.  Experience-wise, it turned out to be joyously entertaining -- thanks in large part to the musicians on stage (who boogied as well as made music, and appeared to be really enjoying themselves)  but also the exuberant youth who turned a couple of encores into a demonstration that music can help at least some -- even if not all! -- people let go of  their inhibitions for a time. :)

A kaito ride from Sham Chung to Wong Shek Pier

What glorious views there were to be had on the kaito ride

from Sham Chung to Wong Shek Pier yesterday afternoon! :)

 While cruising along the Tolo Channel, we got to see 
parts of Hong Kong many people haven't seen, never mind visited

 The tops of Tap Mun's visually impressive Tin Hau temple and 
its highest pavilion are visible in this photo

At nearby Ko Lau Wan, a bamboo theatre looks to 
have been erected to celebrate Tin Hau's birthday

Four times a day on weekdays and six times a day on weekends and public holidays, a kaito stops at Sham Chung on the route between Ma Liu Shiu, over on the southwestern side of the Tolo Harbour, and Wong Shek Pier.  And as my hiking buddy and I neared this distant village on the far western side of the Sai Kung Peninsula, I looked at the time and realized that we would be able to catch a ride on the kaito -- and was delighted to find him also all for ending our hike excursion at Sham Chung in favor of a boat journey that wouldn't only save us quite the trek out of there but, also, promise to be on the scenic side!

Sitting on the shaded upper deck and enjoying the breeze as the kaito chugged along felt like a nice reward for our earlier physical exertions.  But rather than fall into a stupor, I felt myself getting all excited by the views that were being offered up -- of hilly green lands, waters that were generally turquoise blue (though once in a while, they'd turn gray and, at other times, silvery or golden), beautiful blue skies (with some nice puffy clouds floating about too) and the occasional village with their dwellings and other buildings mainly facing outward to the water.

It also was nice to see places I had previously hiked to and along (such as Lai Chi Chong, Tap Mun and the ecologically diverse coastal area along which the Tai Tan Country Trail runs through) from the water.  At the same time though, the boat ride got me realizing that there's still so much of Hong Kong I've yet to explore and would like to!  From vantage points -- and on occasions -- like these, Hong Kong can look so very beautiful.  And on days like this, one feels grateful to be alive and able to appreciate all this.  Truly. :) 

Sham Chung excursion highlights

Grasshoppers spotted getting frisky -- 

yes, it's that time of the year! -- at Pak Sha O

One of the more amazing looking caterpillars moving about

on what a friend and I took to calling the Caterpillar Highway ;)

 

 What I think is a cattle egret in breeding plumage

enjoying the green space of Sham Chung

 

Today was one of those days that the not always reliable Hong Kong Observatory predicted would be hot and humid, with a few showers raining on the territory.  Perhaps because they believed the weather forecast, there were fewer people out and about in the Sai Kung Peninsula than I had expected -- and, in fact, the queue at Hang Hau for the green minibus to Sai Kung town was way shorter than I thought it would be too!

 

But although I did see threatening grey clouds on the way to Sai Kung and after dinner this evening, the weather turned out to be rather pleasant, even if admittedly a few degrees hotter than it has been in recent weeks.  Coupled with the air being clearer and visibility consequently being higher than it has been for a while, this all made for pretty good conditions for an outdoor excursion today.

 

Even while there were times today when I enjoyed taking in the views though, I have to admit that critter spottings made up the highlights of this afternoon's hike from Pak Sha O to Sham Chung (whose trail I had previously done in reverse some time back).  Seconds after starting our trek, my hiking buddy and I caught sight of the first of many (small) spiders and cool caterpillars we would come across today.  In addition, on the approach to Pak Sha O village, we heard -- but didn't see -- a number of frogs and saw such as the pair of grasshoppers doing their business on a leaf as brightly green as those particular randy bugs!  

 

When another friend and I had passed through this area a little more than a year ago now on the way to Lai Chi Chong, we got to observing so many caterpillars moving atop a set of metal railings at one point along the path that we nicknamed it Caterpillar Highway.  And it lived up to its moniker again today -- with assorted caterpillars, many of them brightly colored and on the hairy side, busily moving along it in either direction!

The previous time I had been to Sham Chung, I had my first encounter with an amazing creature that I later found out is known as the lantern bug.  This time around, I had no such luck.  Still, along with the human visitors frequenting the area this afternoon were a number of butterflies and also what I think (from online research!) are cattle egrets.

 

Part of me wanted to tary a while at this rural idyll but the part of me that wanted to catch a kaito out of there rather than hike some more in what was admittedly rather energy-draining heat won, so my hiking buddy and I prioritised getting to the pier before the kaito (which even on Sundays, does not stop that frequently at Sham Chung).  And yes, the boat ride was lovely -- and I do intend to blog about it (maybe as early as tomorrow)! ;b

Natural attractions at Hong Kong Disneyland's Inspiration Lake Recreation Centre

Not your usual MTR carriage or line...

Not your usual (Hong Kong) Disneyland sight highlight!

...and yes, I thought this white spotted black caterpillar's 

pretty cool to behold too! ;b

 

When I was nine years old, I went to the USA for the first time.  From London (where my parents and I stayed for a time), I flew on my own to Los Angeles, where I visited with a friend of my parents and her two children.  Among the early trip highlights was a visit to the original Disneyland in Anaheim.  And after I came down with mumps (the first case he had seen in years, the doctor I was taken to exclaimed!) and my mother flew over to look after me in LA, it almost seemed worth all the pain of having had the sides of my face swell and my throat ache for a time that I got taken again to Disneyland -- this time by my mother -- after I had recovered!

But while I've enjoyed all my visits to Anaheim Disneyland (with there being at least two more in later years) and also Florida's Walt Disney World (which I went to as an adult with a friend who had up to then never stepped out of the US, so Epcot's international pavilions were about the most foreign he could take at that point!), I've had no compulsion whatsoever to visit the Disneylands outside of the US -- particularly the smallest of them all here in Hong Kong.

Earlier this week, however, I took a train on the Disneyland Resort Line.  But rather than go to the paid sections of Hong Kong Disneyland that's the destination of most people who go on that line, I made my way instead to the Inspiration Lake Recreation Centre (note the British rather than American English spelling!) that's managed by the Disney folks but is actually is open to the public for free!

A 30 hectare facility, its central attraction is a 12-hectare sized artificial lake that's the largest in Hong Kong, around which are nicely manicured green park area whose grass -- very unusually in the Big Lychee -- people are allowed to walk, play and lie on! And on the beautifully sunny afternoon that I visited, there were a number of people doing just that at the park as well as riding four-wheel Surrey bikes on paved paths and pedal boating on the lake.      

Although my initial impressions of Inspiration Lake was that it was, well, too well tended to the point of being too artificial for my liking, things began to look up after I ventured into the arboretum area of the facility, located to the far side of the lake from the park entrance.  For one thing, it was on the quieter side since most visitors to Inspiration Lake don't seem to bother to walk that far away from the entrance.  For another, this was where I spotted a few interesting non-human visitors to the park (or do they actually live there -- probably against the better efforts of the facility's maintenance staff?)!

 

While strolling about in that green space, I saw what I thought was a lizard run for cover into a nearby bush.  After I stopped for a bit and stayed as silent as I could, the creature emerged -- and revealed itself to be a beautiful skink with a considerably longer tail than other skinks I'd previously seen, whose length rivalled that one the changeable lizard I spotted on Lantau a couple of Sundays ago!  

Up until then, I had "just" seen butterflies and dragonflies flying about that afternoon.  After that though, I started looking more closely about me -- and also spotted such as a beautiful spotted caterpillar, stinkbugs, and tadpoles swimming at the edge of Inspiration Lake!  Put another way: I got to realizing that at least in this part of Hong Kong Disneyland, there are more natural elements than I had hitherto thought would be the case; and this increased my appreciation of what turned out to be quite the nice and unexpected breath of fresh air to be found at the end of the Disneyland Resort Line! ;b  

Helios -- Longman Leung and Sunny Luk's sophomore directorial effort reviewed

One of the recognizable Hong Kong landmarks

that appears in Helios

Helios (Hong Kong-Mainland China-South Korea, 2015)

- Longman Leung and Sunny Luk, dirs.

- Starring: Nick Cheung, Jacky Cheung, Chang Chen, Janice Man, Ji Jin Hee, Choi Si Won, Wang Xueqi 

Experienced art director Longman Leung (Bug Me Not!; Magazine Gap Road) and long-time assistant director Sunny Luk (Black Mask; Cheap Killers) made impressive directorial and scriptwriting debuts in 2012 with Cold War, a star-studded crime drama-actioner that went on to win nine Hong Kong Film Awards as well as be a big box office hit.  Now the partners are at the helm of another crime drama-actioner: not the long-anticipated sequel to that movie but one which once again makes "Asia's safest city" appear to be a very dangerous place to be.

DC8, the world's smallest nuclear weapon, is stolen from an unspecificed location on the Korean peninsula by master criminals (Chang Chen and Janice Man) and transported -- on a commercial jetliner and past customs! -- into Hong Kong, where its buyers await.  A trio of South Korean agents (Ji Jin Hee, Choi Si Won and Joon Yi Ni) are despatched to retrieve the doomsday device.  Undeterred by their being told by the Hong Kong authorities that while in Asia's World City, their status is that of "observers" rather than more active participants, they do what they can to have some input in the efforts to not only track down the nuclear device but also the criminals involved, particularly the mysterious mastermind known as Helios.

Heading the Hong Kong operations is police detective Lee Yin Ming (Nick Cheung), who has nuclear physicist Professor Siu Chi Yan (Jacky Cheung) on board to advice on the scientific front. After the senior scientist finds out what they're dealing with, he emphasizes its ability to destroy Hong Kong and that the best thing to do once they get DC8 into their hands is to get it out of the city as soon as possible.  But while that sentiment would appear to be shared by his fellow Hong Kongers, the uniformed personnel among them have to obey a meddling mainland official named Song An (Wang Xueqi) when he insists that DC8 remain in Hong Kong and be used as a political tool against the foreign powers he perceives to be greater threats to Hong Kong's security than even a poewrful nuclear device.

Watching Song An arrogantly ordering people around and ignoring the concerns of others, it's hard to not think of him as this movie's true bad guy -- something I can't help but wonder if Helios' mainland investors are aware of.  (If so, I guess they are of the mind that so long as this production makes lots of money, they don't care.)  And it's interesting to see that the ways in which the work's ostensible main hero, the Hong Kong cop Lee, reacts to Beijing's demands, treats a female criminal and ultimately fares in this film are not necessarily those that be expected and condoned.

While I enjoyed those aspects of Longman Leung and Sunny Luk's scripting and helming, I was far less impressed by Helios containing certain elements that made for major credibility issues, including it being too easy for a talented criminal to escape from the binds of the police by way of their putting that individual at the wheel of a car which, on top of it all, doesn't have any other person in it!  Also, here's a plea to Hong Kong filmmakers: please do not have paperback novels masquerading as academic tomes in a professor's office -- especially if the aim is for people to see your film on a big screen (where the names of authors as well as the titles of books stacked on desks, in bookcases and such can be very clearly seen and read)!

If not for the vast majority of people in the picture being Asian, I could easily look upon this work as a typical Hollywood blockbuster that requires its viewers to suspend their disbelief in order to enjoy it.  But I'm going to have to admit my bias and state that I did generally get entertained by this Asian co-production -- and enjoyed that so much of its action does take place in a Hong Kong with landmarks (the Tsim Sha Tsui Clock Tower, the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Canton Road, and Temple Street Market!) that are recognizable to me.  

Speaking of action: if anyone in this film deserves an award for his work, it's action director Chin Kar Lok.  Not only are there set pieces galore in Helios but they are pretty uniformly impressively and creatively staged -- with highlights including the set pieces in a multi-storey parking garage and also the one-v-one fight sequences involving the character played by Janice Man in what looks to be the actress's best role and performance to date.  

My rating for this film: 7.0