flow

Just as books, I think I have found my favorite film of the year at the first week of the the first month. Flow is wonderful and everyone needs to see it. I had seen the trailer a long time ago and I knew it was going to be a great watch. But at the time it felt like the release date was still so long. So when the film won the Golden Globe for the best animation feature, I was a little sad because I was hoping The Wild Robot would win. And then I watched Flow and immediately hoped it wins all the awards out there. (Not that awards matter.)

I saw The Wild Robot in theatre and I thought it was great. I watched a lot of behind the scenes footage and I always have a huge respect for filmmakers doing their craft passionately. But then I think Flow is even more admirable. It started from the idea of this young guy from a small country. It didn't come from big studios with big budget. No Hollywood stars whatsoever. The film doesn't have any human, no human voices, all animals with their natural animal sounds (except for the capybara). Also the animation doesn't look perfectly polished and I love that. The plot is also great. Cat's adventure, birds' quest to enlightenment, interspecies camaraderie. Ten out of ten no notes. 

The only thing I regret is that I didn't catch it in theatre. I think every animation film deserved to be seen on the big screen. I watched the Spiderverse movies in theatre and it didn't feel the same as when I watch them streaming on smaller screen. A lot of the details whether it's the visual or sound were many times better in theatre, enabling the audience to appreciate even more all the hard work behind the films. 

I am now looking for a way to purchase Flow. It's the first time ever since the era of streaming I have thought about purchasing a film. But I want to be a part of the numbers that support this film, to let the filmmakers know they're much appreciated, to let studios know people out there like this kind of films. And also because, now that I knew how the film ends after all that stress, I know I'm going to watch it again and again. 

neon noir stray cat

i should have posted this one last year. when a friend sent me the youtube link the day the gameplay was released i immediately freaked out. it might be the best thing i've ever seen. first, whoever had the idea of creating a game with a point of view of an adventurous stray cat is a genius. second, as someone who loves cyberpunk genre, although it is not cyberpunk itself, the aesthetic and the visual detail are just the too good. people often misunderstood cyberpunk as merely neon and dark futuristic dystopian aesthetics, but as the word "punk" itself suggests, it isn't cyberpunk if there's no some sort of opposition against the authority. so i'd call it neon noir instead, and that's should be more than interesting enough for a story involving..a cat. sad thing is i won't even be playing this since the last console game i played was probably ps1 or 2 some decades ago. but i'd still enjoy the hype that celebrates stray cats in the best way.

life is a career

"My philosophy is, 'living is life'. As long as I'm healthy, I am passionate about photography 'til I die. I will be curious 'til I die. No matter who we live with, we should be independent individuals. It's important to not depend on anyone. Running your own life is a career. Living itself is meaningful enough." - Yuriko Takagi
 

it was a sunny spring day in a classroom in a small town in central italy our professor asked us students to name three things that are most important in our life. one guy answered, "potato", which was a witty response that prompted a longer discussion. most others answered, "love" and "family" or something along those two. i, in just mere honesty and not attempting to be intellectual or anything, answered, "works or crafts to dedicate myself to", "a functioning city to live in", and the third one i can't remember.

that was seven years ago. and it still rings true to this day. those two are still what i'm searching for in life. some people are lucky enough to have find their "life", maybe through privilege or through serious hard work. i, on the other hand, am still on the journey of searching. and i don't mind it at all. to me this is life. the most important is never "family" or such thing. my upbringing didn't prompt me towards that trajectory. the third one i'd probably say now is "money", not for the sake of money itself but for the less burden it brings.

i have to say i'm sort of satisfied with the views of life that i have currently reached at this point of my life. they will of course keep growing and changing as life reveals more of itself. people can just judge as they may, heck i judge people in my own way too, but why care at all? the societal and cultural dictation that only allow one way of life over another is ridiculous. allowing ourselves to live in our own rules is surely more rewarding than suffering by succumbing to the expectation of others.

ps. personal relationships are of course important, as they are usually what teach you to be a better person. but relationships come and go, it might bring a deep profound joy one day and and utter sadness or anger the next day. i just don't think it should be the main goal in life, just let it come and let it go as it may. the only thing we can surely hold on to is ourselves.

ps2. remember the beaver.

paintings and cinematography

i have been watching a lot of videos on cinematography on youtube. on one that i recently watched, the panels are discussing on how they light night scenes: backlights, lamp posts, shop windows, gas light, wet down, and all those interesting things. and then one of the panel mentioned paintings by Atkison Grimshaw as his inspiration, on how it doesn't have to be monochromatic when it comes to lighting a period piece, how Grimshaw uses gas lighted windows and wet down (splashes of water on the ground) making his night scenes very much vibrant and not monochromatic. reversely i say, we can see right away a cinematic feeling out of his paintings. he uses of vibrant light but still depicts a somewhat sad landscape of the industrial towns.

i always feel somehow cinematography doesn't received the credit it deserved in general when it comes to movies. the public put too much recognition and celebration on actors and how much efforts they make for the success of a movie and too little appreciation on the more technical things behind the scenes. yes actors are the forefront of a movie but cinematography is literally what makes a movie. it dictates how a movie would look like. it would be ridiculous to put too much credit to a model in a photograph without much appreciation to the photographer.

luminarium

still on my current cyberpunk obsession mood, there was this traveling exhibition by architects of air, a group of artists from the UK led by alan parkinson, an artist working on inflatable structure transmitting radiant colors inside. now i've seen a lot of different versions of inflatable structure as a form of urban art, which usually comes as transparent space, but nothing quite like this. this one looks ugly and unappealing from the outside but once you stepped inside it was a complete outer space experience. when i was outside queuing in line to get in, i kept wondering what kind of lighting trick they use, turn out it was actually not as complicated as i thought. they use special translucent fabric and shot just some simple light source on several spots. it was a combination of the design of the space and the light cut-out that makes the experience of it. once inside i was surprise of how small the space actually was, from the outside it looked kind of gigantic. i was also surprised by how calming the whole atmosphere was, despite the striking colors. it was almost therapeutic. they did play an ambiance kind of music but it really was the light and the space that created the whole mood. now if only the audience care much more about the space itself rather than taking as many selfies as they could. i really am tired of complaining about living in a society which is really self-obsessed, where art has really been degraded into a pretty background to take pretty pictures. i hope this would change in the future. maybe in a million years from now.