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Asian Cinema: Snacking Outside the Box

Grace Slick sang about feeding your head in the song White Rabbit.
I think she was on to something.

Writers are often required to stretch limits, push boundaries, asked to stay fresh and cutting edge, while still giving the audience of readers what they will enjoy.

One of the ways to stay out on that edge involves the snacks you give to your senses. What foods do you indulge in? Are you sampling from the same buffet as the majority? Or do you have a few exotic items on that menu? An out of the way little restaurant, off the beaten path, where you occasionally bring your imagination to feast?

One of my favorite snacks, a mainstay of Saturday movie nights at my household and a major ingredient in my novel Immortal Protector: foreign films. Primarily Asian Cinema. To list all the great flicks would take more time and space then we have here today, but I’m going to toss out a few for you adventurous folk to get started on, if you want to try something to jazz your palate.

My husband is a big movie buff, and this is where I first got my exposure. We watched Chow Yun Fat and Sammo Hung gangster, action and caper movies. We viewed offerings from such edgy directors as Ringo Lam and John Woo. These guys heavily influenced American film heavies like Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, both individuals known for non-linear story telling, deft use of heroic (both light and dark) iconic characters, take no prisoners action, and seductive out-of-the-box dialogue that was so weird, it resonated on a powerful level with viewers. Here on our side of the ocean, Tarantino and Rodriguez are lauded because they step beyond the norm. Who knew what pirates they were?

But I can hardly blame them. I did some of the same pirating. Watching spectacular action, seeing interplay between heroes, found it’s way into my own story telling. One thing that I love in many of the Asian films we see is the handling of hero, heroic vs. non-heroic, and honor. Many times you’ll have two male leads, in theory on opposite sides of an ideological divide (if not outright cop and robber), yet both connect because they have a deep sense of what is honorable vs. dishonorable. The villains are found on both the criminal and lawful side of the divide. It’s not unusual for your hero policeman to be fighting villains, his team members, the police, corruption in the system, and criminal masterminds…only to find a kindred spirit in some of the folks he wars with. And the hero, no matter his job (cop, or robber, in the simplest terms), is forced constantly to make difficult choices, perform difficult actions, and live with difficult circumstances as a result of those – each time demonstrating just how heroic they are. This is true for male and female leads. It was so easy to fall for these action oriented, take no prisoners, go to the edge for what you believe, heroes. And when I wrote Gideon, for Immortal Protector, I envisioned him as that hero. Make the hard choice, do the right thing, don’t whine about, just get on about your business, and keep on taking care of business. You don’t see that so often in American flicks, at least, not to the stark level you do in the Asian action dramas.

The settings fall away often times, as complex stories evolve, and draw you in, despite the fact you have to read subtitles. It’s not unusual for an Asian flick to seem like two stories in one. You’ll view half the movie, it seems to end, and another, deeper movie begins. You’ll also have mixed genres. One of my favorite movies is a dark action drama comedy love story. Talk about boundary stretching! It’s called Guns and Talks, and it’s a Korean flick about four young professional assassins who are at the top of the assassin game, and are total screw ups at all other aspects of life. It’s a well done movie, with a very off beat approach to story telling, appealing characters, crazy action, and laugh out loud scenes and situations.

There are heavy cultural message and overtones as well. Those come clear the more you watch and immerse yourself in the medium. There are interesting interplays between the sexes. There is much darkness, action, and unusual takes on life. And, there is Andy Lau. Not only a pop singer, this actor is incredibly versatile, and prolific. His movies run from screwball comedies to deep action. Favorite so far: Running on Karma. Andy plays a monk who leaves the monastic life, and indulges in all the sins of the flesh and ego, to escape a curse: his ability to see someone’s past life as a signal that their current life is about to end. In a flesh pit in Hong Kong, he becomes involved with a young female police officer who is the personification of honor, and all that is good and right with the world. He sees her past life, a Japanese soldier who slaughtered innocent Chinese. He tries again and again to keep her alive, hoping to avert the upcoming death. This leads him back to confront that death, as well as his past, and make peace with the Buddha inside and his own Karmic destiny. Deep, right? Well, get this: he starts the movie in a prosthetic muscle suit, as a male stripper named Big. Scene two, he’s running down a dark alley, but naked, police in pursuit. So yes, it is dramatic, and moving, with strong chemistry between two heroic characters, and at the same time it has these madcap moments you just can’t believe. Sort of like real life, in a way.

I watch these movies, out of the box for me and my cultural norm, yet I can connect with these archetypal themes at the same time. It all feeds my head, and comes out by giving me a fresh view and a fresh take on the tried and true.

So, what would I recommend from the menu?
Classics, with classic heroes, and foundation elements: Chow Yun Fat’s movies, anything by director John Woo.

Star Crossed Love Story with Mad Cap Edge: Drink, Drank, Drunk. Beer Girl hooks up with down and out French Chef, opens café by day, bistro by night, complete with nutty crime boss, freaky yet loyal friends, and lots of good old fashioned angst.

Andy Lau. Get his stuff, watch it, and enjoy.

Good old fashioned honor and dishonor among thieves and bodyguards complete with wild plot twists and turns, and full of hot, sexy leads: The Mission.

Actors to watch and love: Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau, Anthony Wong, Simon Yam, Ekin Cheng (almost as hot as Andy. Maybe hotter), Daniel Wu.

Good fun with sad love story and weird futuristic twist: For Bad Boys Only

Cops, Robbers, more Cops, and such: Heat Team.

Jackie Chan: he’s more than a funny martial arts guy: Police Story and the 10 years later sequel New Police Story. New Police Story will make you cry, so get out the Kleenex. It’s about breaking the cycle of violence. Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

You can get them all on NetFlix, and many at the local Block Buster. Just keep in mind that the descriptions are translations and don’t always match what the movie turns out to be. And that’s the other thing I really love: watching is always an adventure full of surprise. Who doesn’t like a surprise now and again?

Looking for something different to feed your head? Give the wild side of the menu a try. Sample some Asian cinema. It’s one of the ways I keep my imagination happy. There are a lot of other things that feed the need, but this is a mainstay.

How about all you good folks out there? Any favorite indulgences and snacks you like to sample, the things that feed your imagination, and keep it fresh, frisky, and dancing well outside the box?

Ursula

www.UrsulaBauer.com