But as the title of this column shows, it is an aim of mine to show that this term is somewhat outdated and outmoded, despite the ease of use it has. To that end, enjoy or decry the films I’ll discuss, but be pleased that we have the option to explore and discover them, or re-visit and cherish them, and not be forced to have Hollywood or nothing. Upcoming Releases Wild Grass The latest from veteran French new-wave filmmaker Alain Resnais (perhaps most famous for his seminal Hiroshima Mon Amour, an incredible work well worth checking out), this film tells the tale of a lost wallet, and the romantic entanglements that its return leads to. Released 18th June Nationwide (UK) Retrospective Trans-global cinema has a history even longer than that of Hollywood cinema. Despite where the current power may lie, cinema is actually very much a European invention, both technologically, intellectually, and formally. Added to that is the oft-quoted fact that Bollywood is the largest producer of film and it is clear that there is a wealth of cinematic gems to discover. I won’t be doing a chronological voyage through film history, but instead using this part as my personal soapbox to give coverage to films that are close to my heart, or weird and interesting enough to seek out. I’ll go both broad and niche, and if anyone has any recommendations, please let me know and I’ll include them too! Chungking Express (directed by Wong Kar Wai, 1994) To me, this is the film that opened up a whole new world of cinema and what it could represent, and how stories could be told. Before this, I had only really had a diet of Hollywood and the occasional British breakthrough hit. Afterwards, I devoured cinema from other cultures at a prodigious rate, and gave up my ideas of a law degree in order to study film instead. It may not be my favourite film of Wong Kar Wai’s anymore, but it remains a powerful emblem of the power of cinema for me. Telling the two separate yet interconnected tales of lovelorn policemen in Hong Kong, Chungking Express is, on the surface, visual poetry for the MTV generation. It really does play as an electric jolt of a movie, shocking the unprepared into paying attention. Through use of contemporary pop music and riffing on Hong Kong action themes (the frenetic opening sequence through Chungking Mansions is a delightful example of this), a melodramatic love story unfurls. He Zhiwu has been dumped by his girlfriend and gives himself thirty days to win her back, in the process encountering and falling for a woman on the wrong side of the law. I think the phrase that best sums up the experience is ‘it’s not where you’re going, it’s how you get there’. Not only did it open up this entire new way of viewing film, but Chungking Express continued to offer rewards as I grew older and (hopefully) more knowledgeable about film theory. Without realising it at the time, it redefined and clarified concepts of time and space and notions of transitory cultures and identities for me. Anyway, that’s your lot for this week. I hope you enjoyed reading, and I’ll see you next time!
