(I initally meant to post this on the 1st October. Go me.)

Brideshead Revisited

Up until this point I always assumed Evelyn Waugh was a woman, but this is the name, in fact, of a man. And I had no idea that the mini-series adaptation was held in such high regard. I got “free” tickets for an advanced screening at Nova, thanks to my delightful affiliation with the Monash Golden Key Society. Honestly, I paid $93 to join them; I should get the money back slowly but surely, no? In any case, I’m glad I didn’t technically pay for the film, because it was a bit of a disappointment. My appetite for visual candy was more than satisfied, however, probably to the point of gluttony. It is a sumptuous, seductive film for the senses. But for the mind? Maybe not so much. The protagonist, Charles Ryder, a modest painter is introduced to a world of decadence, wealth and opulence through his growing relationship with Sebastian Flyte at Oxford. He is swept away by the grandness of Sebastian’s home, Brideshead. What follows is a series of events that lead Charles into the closing, controlling grip of Brideshead itself, and the choices he makes …

I treated my folks to this film at Kino Dendy the weekend before last, lol. Some treat, huh? Of all movies…

Starring: Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Tang Wei, Joan Chen, Wang Lee-Hom
Synopsis: Shanghai, 1942. The World War II Japanese occupation of this Chinese city continues in force. Mrs. Mak, a woman of sophistication and means, walks into a café, places a call, and then sits and waits. She remembers how her story began several years earlier, in 1938 China. She is not in fact Mrs. Mak, but shy Wong Chia Chi. With WWII underway, Wong has been left behind by her father, who has escaped to England. As a freshman at university, she meets fellow student Kuang Yu Min. Kuang has started a drama society to shore up patriotism. As the theater troupe’s new leading lady, Wong realizes that she has found her calling, able to move and inspire audiences and Kuang. He convenes a core group of students to carry out a radical and ambitious plan to assassinate a top Japanese collaborator, Mr. Yee. Each student has a part to play; Wong will be Mrs. Mak, who will gain Yees’ trust by befriending his wife and then draw the man into …