The Icing on the Cake

I have taken an interest in the films selected for the Cross-Strait cum Hong Kong and Macao College Student FilmFestival at Cinematheque.Passion. I enjoy the films partly because they satisfy my curiosity about the skills of young directors still in the infancy of their exploration into the filmmaking world. My greatest pleasure, however, is attending the post screening talk. To a certain extent, I find it identical with a class in the Film Critics Program, from which I have derived so much joy and satisfaction.

Guided by the host, each individual director shares about his/her experience of film production and the message he/she wants the film to deliver. And there is inevitably discussion about some techniques used. To my great satisfaction, some of the techniques mentioned happen to be those I focused on while watching the film. On the other hand, I also get happily inspired by some details I have left out.

The interaction between the guest speakers and the audience is a great highlight, too. It reminds me of the Q & A session of the Film Critics class. But this time, instead of our lecturer explaining the techniques, it is the director talking about his own movie. As mentioned previously, questions usually arise on my mind while watching a film or afterwards. What can be more delightful than having the questions answered by the director himself?

During the talk after the movie “The Premise”, I asked a question about its Chinese name “Egg Wash”. In his answer, the director explained that the expression “egg wash” referred to a deliberate explosion in protest against an unfavourable condition. In the movie, people throw eggs at a farmer’s window in an attempt to make him agree to sell his farm. And the director’s mentor, who was among the audience, further explained the implication of the expression, referring even to its relation to democratic movements. This is a detail we audience may not have expected to learn from the movie.

I was particularly impressed by the director of a Hong Kong film named “Bomb of Love”. The pretty young girl’s sharing clarified some of my doubt about the film. Then a lady beside me raised questions about a few shots used. Obviously a director herself, she spoke so fast in PuTong Hua that I could not figure out what it was that she wanted to know. But seemingly without much thinking, the director responded to the questions fluently, also in PuTong Hua. I marveled at how the young girl took the challenging questions in stride. 

That is why I enjoy the post screening talks so much. In my opinion, while a well presented movie is already an art of self-expression, the director’s interaction with the audience is the icing on the cake.

Be appreciative

I was in Hong Kong attending a spiritual retreat organized by the Macau Biblical Association over the past weekend. Prior to that, we had been assigned a few paragraphs in Pope Francis’ Encyclical Letter “On Care of Our Common Home” for our reading. We thus went with the expectation for a message from God through our contact with Nature.

The retreat began with a hiking trip in the Pak Sin Leng Country Park in Tuen Mun  (八仙嶺郊野公 園),  Hong Kong. Upon our arrival, we had a leisurely walk along the Lau Shui Heung Country Trail (流水響郊遊徑), stopping occasionally to admire the breathtaking scenery. The trail was lined with trees of different kinds. In spite of the approach of winter, most of the leaves remained fresh and green. We were particularly captivated by a rectangular-shaped pond with rows of trees forming what seemed to be a green curtain on one bank while their shadows cast on the water looked like a green carpet covering part of the pond. And in one area there was a large patch of flowering plants with a delightful pink that broke the monotony of the greenness. 

Fascinated by the scenic beauty of the place, we could not resist the camera urge. It seemed as if photo taking were the only thing we could do to show how much we appreciated the beauty of Nature. In fact, we saw the beauty as a rarity in Hong Kong, a city so prosperous and so filled with boisterous activities.

On our return journey, we met a number of school boys coming in the opposite direction. As a few walked past me, I heard one of them saying with excitement, “I’ve just scored a goal!” I then noticed the mobile phone in his hands. Obviously absorbed in his game, he walked unsteadily as he was making his way along the narrow path. I was about to call out to him to mind his steps but thought better of it when I caught sight of a young man who was probably the teacher.

When I got back to my reading later that evening, I started searching for the verses which had arisen on my mind during the hiking. One of them was verse 97 of “On Care of Our Common Home”, which tells how Jesus has taught us with his exemplary deeds to be in constant touch with Nature and to be attentive to its beauty.

In addition, verse 215 stresses the importance of the relationship between a good aesthetic education and the maintenance of a healthy environment. If we learn to see and appreciate beauty, we learn to reject self-interested pragmatism and consumerism. On the other hand, people who do not learn to stop and admire something beautiful tend to treat everything as an object to be used, thus abusing without scruple. It further draws attention to the need for education on a new way of thinking about human beings, life, society and our relationship with Nature.

The new way of thinking, as I see it, refers to being appreciative of beauty in its natural sense. Only when we appreciate the beauty of Nature will we show genuine concern about environmental conservation. When I was admiring the towering trees along the country trail, I wondered how long they could survive. Would these trees fall victims to increasing urbanization one day? On the other hand, people who care only for material gains from a prosperous economy and do not see the beauty of trees would find deforestation a means to an end and turn a blind eye to the resultant damage to the environment.

An awareness of the beauty of Nature ought to be aroused among the people, especially the youngsters. The school kid whom I met on the trail was so engrossed in his game that he was hardly aware of the trees along the way, far less admiring their beauty. Their teacher had done a good job arranging for them a visit to the country park but more efforts were needed to educate them on the right concept about the beauty of things. If youngsters like that one do not learn to appreciate the natural environment, and, instead, constantly indulge themselves in material goods, how can they be trusted to contribute to environmental conservation? 

We have got a lot of inspiration from the retreat. And my reflection focuses on one particular message from God: we must learn to appreciate the beauty of Nature, our common home, and take great lengths to ensure its sustainability.

What Damages the Boy’s Beauty – Movie Review: Beautiful Boy

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“Beautiful Boy” is a movie telling a plain story. The few preview shots already give a sketchy summary of what it is all about. In his interview by Los Angeles Times, David Sheff, a veteran journalist, relates his long struggle to get Nic, his son, out of the abyss of misery into which he has fallen as a result of his drug addiction. However, by no means is the movie weakly plotted. Though without an interesting dramatic story to captivate the viewers with, the movie serves well to draw attention to long established facts in relation to teen drug abuse problems. And, to achieve this aim, the director has used very impressive filming and editing techniques.

To show David’s repeated attempts at helping his son stop drug taking, the editing uses a number of “jump-cuts”, in which a continuous shot is suddenly broken and the image jumps to another background or even the same background but at a different time. At one shot David is reporting the loss of his son to the police and the next moment finds him talking with the latter at a different scene. Similarly, Nic, who is the sweet innocent teenage boy, suddenly becomes the drug addict that he has later turned out to be. This may be the director’s intention to show the father’s unfailing love for his son since his childhood. Hence, the temporal continuity of the scene is broken up from time to time, sometimes even in a rather confused fashion. 

Good sound effects are also used to keep the audience engaged emotionally. Very heavy rock music accompanies the boy driving a car in a heightened mood under the influence of a drug. Jazz music shows that the father is high on meth when he tries its effect for the purpose of research. And there are repeated multimusical beats getting louder and louder as the worried father is waiting in the hospital for news about his son. There is dead silence when the couple is watching their kids singing and dancing on stage, signifying David’s obsession with Nic’s critical condition. In addition, the appropriate use of canned music to punctuate a scene enhances the mood to be created. A few classical songs such as “Sunrise, Sunset”, “Heart of Gold” are an occasional welcome relief from the sadness of the family. And John Lennon’s “Beautiful Boy”, the theme song, is undoubtedly the most soothing piece. Sounds, on the whole, are carefully constructed and manipulated with more satisfactory effects than what dialogues could have achieved otherwise.

We are all aware of incessant efforts to raise public concern about the serious harm done to the drug addicts and their families. And, in this aspect, “Beautiful Boy” is doing a good job. And, viewers are advised to stay till the end of the closing credits and be prepared for an amazing presentation.

My Venture into Film Analysis

In response to curious questions about my participation in the “Film Critics Program”, here is a brief account of my venture into the field of film analysis.

When I enrolled in the program I had actually been writing movie reviews for quite some time already and had, in fact, derived immense pleasure from it. My fondness for movie viewing all began two years ago when I was first recommended a film in Cinematheque.Passion. It was ‘Fukushima, Mon Amour’, one of the films selected for “German Film Festival 2016”. I was much attracted by its genre, which I found to be greatly different from that of most of the mainstream movies. I wrote something about the film. And that was my very first movie review. 

That movie viewing experience was followed by more and more others. Gradually, I have come to know that there is far more in movies that we can appreciate than their mere elements of entertainment. And now it is no longer for seeking entertainment that I go to movies. I enjoy digging out hidden ideas behind the scenes and making guesses about the director’s intention by analyzing certain shots that seem to be out of the usual pattern. I even go so far as to consider how the story plot could be reorganized to make the ending more impressive to the audience.

It is often with bountiful thoughts on my mind that I leave the cinema. On returning home, I can’t wait to put the thoughts into words before they are lost. This way I have written a number of movie reviews over the past two years. The joy is twofold: it satisfies my passion for movie viewing as well as extending my interest in writing.

Knowing that I had been writing nothing more than personal reflections, thus lacking in intellectual depth, I enrolled in the “Film Critics Program”. I am glad to have gradually acquired some of the useful techniques. Of course, there is far more about film analysis that Mr. Kaming, our lecturer, would have liked to share with us than he actually managed to during the six monthly modules. We are to explore further on our own and acquire experience through frequent practice. Mr. Kaming has also kindly offered to make himself available any time we need his advice.

As mentioned in my previous posts, I have learned a lot not only from our lecturer but also from my classmates, young people with a passion for movies and for writing. I thank Cinematheque.Passion for organizing this excellent course and look forward to another program as informative and enjoyable in the near future.

A movie that will touch every heart - Movie Review :Happy As Lazzaro

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From the very start the movie reminds me of “The Wonders”, a film by the same director, as both feature a vivid description of the simplicity of rural life and the country dwellers’ crudeness in appearance and behavior; there are, for example, kids running freely about unattended while their parents are busy working for a living. Long shots are used quite often to show the vastness of the open fields in which the people appear as merely tiny dots. There are also close shots of the grains during harvesting time, all typical of the farms in different seasons with intensive work in progress. This is probably one of the director’s favourite styles, preparing the audience for a poetic village prose. 

“Happy As Lazzaro”, however, is more than a simple country folk story. The plot is well organized to cast light on the wide gap between the rich and the poor. There is great emphasis on the poverty of the farmers as evident from such details as a shared light bulb, the meager shares of food on a celebrative occasion and the shabbiness of the lodgings. This well serves the purpose of exposing the problem of severe labour exploitation in the form of illegal share-cropping.The farmers are unknowingly victimized to the extent of being constantly unpaid for their work and are submissive to Marchesa Alfonsina de Luna, the queen of cigarettes, who interferes with even very small details of their lives such as a couple’s marriage plan.

The same problem exists when the movie undergoes a change in time and in the background. The victims are now the poor urban dwellers who are egged on to compete for jobs by minimizing their wage demand. On the other hand, there is repeated mentioning of high prices of goods, suggesting the possibility of the rich taking advantage of the underprivileged. 

“Happy As Lazzaro”, however, is not a tragedy. Quite on the contrary, the country folks are often seen to be very cheerful, laughing over a trifling matter and brushing off ill luck with just a sneer. And it is amidst these simple country folks that Lazzaro, the chief character, draws gradual attention. Though the Masques remarks on his “being exploited by the exploited”, always being ordered about and doing endless jobs, usually hectic and even risky ones, he never utters a word of complaint. In fact, as the movie name suggests, he is always wearing the same smiling face, impressing the audience with his innocent and angelic nature, loyal to his friends and always ready to offer help.

To audience with Christian beliefs, the name Lazzaro is somehow reminiscent of Lazarus, the poor man at the gate of the rich man in Jesus Christ's parable related in the Gospel of Luke. It is perhaps the director’s actual intention to refer to this Bible story to point out the fact that the rich who treat the poor with injustice will suffer evil consequences. On the other hand, the name may also refer to the Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead on the fourth day after his funeral. Such a reference is also reasonable, considering Lazzaro’s “resurrection” years after he had fallen to his death off a cliff. Even with the religious aspect aside, the message is quite clear that the gap between the rich and poor is a stubborn problem regardless of time and place.

With a theme so solemn, the film on the whole mirrors the realities of life and is very rationally convincing. The audience are taken quite aback, however, when it takes a dramatic turn, shifting forward in time, thus ending up being an imaginative story. There are, therefore, incidents and cases not easily understandable such as the edible plants in the vicinity and the chapel music audible from a great distance. And Lazzaro still sees his friends in their former appearance though they have grown a lot in actual age. Has Lazzaro been reborn with a kind of supernatural power? And what is the wolf doing in the city? Though wolves are said to have long haunted the village, posing a threat to the fowl, their appearance in town is a mystery, especially that of the one seemingly related to Lazzaro’s death and rebirth.

There are indeed questions left unanswered. And what actually happens can be a topic initiating much discussion. This is perhaps what makes the movie more inviting. One can always view the movie the second, or even the third time, just to find out more about the mystery surrounding the fate of Lazzaro and his friends. 

All in all, this is a story that will touch every heart and has a special appeal for audience who enjoy films that go in strange and unexpected directions.

福傳使命在堂區的傳承 - 望廈堂區主日學小導師

天主教澳門教區於10月20日（星期六）晚上，於聖若瑟勞工主保堂舉行2018普世傳教節祈禱分享晚會，主題是《躍進見證的洪流， 世代交替，將信仰傳遞》。我們望廈堂區主日學18位小導師被邀在祈禱會中作分享，見証《福傳使命在堂區的傳承》。

當晚出席祈禱會有10位小導師，他們首先以整齊舞步動作演繹一首勵志的歌曲。在音樂過場中有四位小導師輪流作分享， 簡述自己如何回應天主的召叫，加入小導師團隊， 也分享當中所經歷的挑戰和困難、 樂趣和得著， 最後由 “資深”的大哥哥作總結, 承諾會繼續學習為堂區、為主日學服務。聽著他們娓娓道來，大家都很感動， 鼓勵的掌聲不絕。

我們在現場的導師們也為這些少年人感到自豪，他們的承諾是對我們培育孩子工作的一個肯定。同學們領堅振聖事之後，仍然願意留在主日學，是因為他們對這個大家庭產生一種親切的感情、一種歸屬感。更重要的是，他們了解到堅振聖事賦與他們福傳的責任，這都讓我們感到欣慰，因為我們撒播的福傳種子，在不知不覺中，已經開始萌芽，且漸漸成長。

另一方面，這個承諾也給我們的薪火得以相傳，為導師團隊增添生力軍。培訓小導師是我們非常重視的工作，在這個日新月異的年代，為要適應社會的轉變，我們需要不斷求變。主日學也不例外，如何吸引孩子們每星期天都乖乖地到來上學，如何令他們放低手上的遊戲機，這一切都有賴具創意的、多元化的課堂活動，而小導師們在這方面往往能够提出很好的意見，為我們解决了不少問題呢！

當然，小導師初期的工作表現，是強差人意的，他們經驗尚淺，耐性和投入感亦有所欠缺，且由於仍是在求學階段，承受着功課和考試的壓力，偶然會有個別失責的情况。

但經過多年來的實踐經驗，小導師們的進步是非常令人鼓舞的。他們在祈禱會中的表現給人一個眼前一亮的感覺！他們真正長大了，我們樂見他們充滿信心和喜樂，繼續在福傳路上向前邁進!

We should at least give it a go

After our contact with Nature through mountain climbing and visiting the tea plantation, we attended a two-day workshop on Spiritual Ecology at the Sacred Heart Spirituality Center (聖心靈修中心) in New Taipei City. 

The workshop was designed with reference to Pope Francis’ encyclical letter “Care for Our Common Home” and included the use of the geological elements of the Sacred Heart campus. It consisted of various sessions on knowledge input, reflection and sharing as well as green outings.

The theme on the first day was “On Trees”. We first underwent meditation training, during which we were guided to develop an awareness of our relationship with trees on an imaginary tour in a wooded area. We then had an actual walk among the trees on the campus, observing and touching them, praying and feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit in the form of an occasional breeze blowing through them. Later in the afternoon, guided by Miss Yuen, we planted young shoots in pots to experience the joy of tree planting. We thus came to know that there are things we can do to maintain a good relationship with the environment and also with the people around us. An experiment on pomelos’ skin in the production of a liquid cleanser also convinced us to cut down on the use of harmful chemicals in our daily lives.

Another focus of the workshop was the appreciation of Nature’s beauty and the natural balance of the earth’s ecosystem. Through meditation, we were guided to admire the flowers blooming, swaying in the wind, falling and then regenerating. We also spent some time strolling round the campus, where there were sites reminiscent of Gospel teaching. For example, the Good Shepherd Park made us think of Psalm 23. The pond with lotuses growing was a living proof of what is known as a pond ecosystem. There were also a few rocks where we could sit and enjoy a few silent prayerful moments.

Having watched a video about the flight of birds, we meditated on a few questions based on it. The questions initiated thinking about our attitude towards life. We reflected on how we responded to life’s ups and downs, whether we enjoyed working singly or jointly with others and whether we had ever experienced God’s companionship in our journey through life.

On the whole, the workshop enabled us to have a better understanding of the message from the encyclical letter “Care for Our Common Home”. We were particularly enlightened to ponder his advice on ecological conversion: “More than in ideas or concepts as such, I am interested in how such a spirituality can motivate us to a more passionate concern for the protection of our world.[151] 

Now that the ecological spirituality tour is over and life is back to normal, we must ensure ourselves of a reformed lifestyle, one that is in agreement with what our Pope refers to as an “ecological conversion”, in appreciation of "our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork. [217]  This cannot be easy but we should at least give it a go.

A Dedicated Land Caretaker

Our ecological spirituality tour included a two-day visit to Shifan Tea Plantation in New Taipei City. There we enjoyed the experience of tea picking, tea processing and making delicious snacks with tea. Above all, we learned a lot about land use and ecology from Mr. Chan Ding Hong, the owner, who, as we all agree, is a lover of Nature and a dedicated caretaker of land.

Guided by Mr. Chan, we had a try of tea rolling, one of the steps of tea processing. It involved rubbing a number of fresh tea leaves between our palms. After some time we were amazed to find on the palms an oily film which gave out a very good tea fragrance. This, according to Mr. Chan, was the sap that had oozed out. Then Mr. Chan knelt on the floor and demonstrated the proper way to do it. As if performing a magic trick, he threw on the flat-bottomed basket a big heap of tea leaves, ten times the amount we had dealt with, and kept rolling it back and forth until it became a moist ball. We were then told that the purpose of the rolling action was to enhance the taste of the tea. All our tea leaves were then put into a glass bottle, and, one by one, we were invited to pour water into it. This was the tea brewing process and the tea was expected to be ready for consumption in a day’s time.

The visit to the tea field later that afternoon was another experience of novelty and interest. Equipped with the pickers’ straw hats and baskets, we were shown to a part of the field where there were neatly aligned tea bushes less than a meter high. As instructed, we took great care to pick the top leaves, three at a time, leaving the tiny, tender ones to grow to a proper size. It being a labour-intensive process, as we came to know, a lot of seasonal workers are hired in due time, helping out in one field after another.

On the tour round the plantation, Mr. Chan told us his story about giving up his professional expertise in civil engineering all because of his love for organic farming. He had decided to come back to take care of the plantation which his father had founded. He stressed the importance of land conservation. In his opinion, land does not belong to any special person. In ancient China, the Emperor owned all the land in the country but now not one of his descendants has a chunk of land to his name. In fact, every one of the inhabitants on earth has the right to the land. He, therefore, appealed to us to take good care of the land lest we should deprive our future generations of usable land, which is their right. It is important to maintain soil health so that it can continue to sustain biological productivity. Genetic engineering to improve quality and productivity of crops could pose a threat to the soil condition and should, therefore, be banned. We were so much inspired by his sharing that we even had it video-recorded to remind ourselves and others of the importance of land conservation.

In Mr. Chan I see a person of lofty aspirations. And, though he is not a Christian, what he has been doing is reminiscent of a message from Pope Francis’ encyclical letter “Care for Our Common Home” - The best way to restore men and women to their rightful place, putting an end to their claim to absolute dominion over the earth, is to speak once more of the figure of a Father who creates and who alone owns the world (57). 

Now whenever I am enjoying a cup of tea, I think of a friend who shows us with his own exemplary deeds how we should respect  and treasure land as part of God’s creation.

The Best Magic He Has Ever Played - Movie Review: “The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir”

   

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“The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir” has everything we are looking for in an entertaining movie, with a mix of a ton of laughs, a romance, a sequence of adventures and even a couple of singing and dancing scenes, keeping the audience joyfully engaged till the very end. It is fun watching how Ajatashatru Lavash Patel is transferred as a refugee from one country to another and how he uses his magic tricks to get himself out of trouble. The vivid performance of the actors playing the role of Ajatashatru Lavash Patel, both the kid and the adult, is itself a source of amusement grabbing much of the audience’s attention.

Ajatashatru Lavash Patel’s life story weaves through the entire movie. In fact, there are other stories told which inspire not only the different characters in the movie but also the audience. The blind man’s story, the story the lady tells the taxi–driver and the one written on the shirt, which later fetches a very high price, are all good examples.

Instead of being just a comedy, the film has a moral lesson about life. It starts with the statement that equality of life does not exist and that one has to play the hand that one is dealt. Since childhood, Ajatashatru Lavash Patel has been lamenting the lack of chance on his side. To lift himself out of poverty, he keeps trying to scam people for money. But he later comes to realize that life is not all about getting rich and that the best magic he has ever performed turns out to be an act of charity.

I give full marks to the movie as it is recommendable to people of all ages.

Something New Can Always Emerge

I was in Taiwan last week on an ecological spirituality tour named “New Exodus”. As the Chinese name “同行覓主踪” suggests, it was aimed at seeking encounters with God through close contact with Mother Nature. 

Before we set off, we had been instructed to read Pope Francis’ encyclical letter “On Care for our Common Home”. Initially, I did not have much interest in the book and actually gave up reading several times. Now that I have completed the tour, however, I find the book very meaningful and inspiring. A few paragraphs are particularly enlightening as they are so closely associated with the remarkable experiences I have been through. The following is an account of what I now see as a miracle God has worked in me.

Imagine a person of my age climbing up a height of more than 800 metres in a matter of seven plus hours, during which we were allowed only short pauses at wide intervals including a 15- minute lunch break. The climb alone was challenging enough, given the steep gradient and the ruggedness of the steps paved with sandy mud and scattered pebbles. It gradually became more difficult and at times even dangerous as the climb proceeded. To make the matter worse, the rain that we had brushed off as a drizzle had now become heavier and the accompanying wind had also begun to gather speed and strength. Despite the raincoat I had on, I felt water dripping down my forehead and into my eyes. 

The uphill path, strewn with puddles, became more and more slippery. I thus had my eyes fixed on the steps every minute of the climb, trying to decide where I should place my walking stick before landing first on one foot and then the other. Often time I had both feet on the same step to keep myself well balanced before climbing up another, thus proceeding at a very slow pace. 

When we had finally arrived at the peak, the wind was blowing so violently that I was thrown off balance. I thought I was going to fall down the stairs when a strong pair of arms caught me just in the nick of time. It was a team member who had arrived there before us.

I ought to have felt ecstatic over the conquest of the height. But my worry had not lessened as I had heard comment about the increasing difficulty of the descent.  And we were allowed time only enough for a few mouthfuls of the sandwich and a quick change into dry clothes.

The descent, however, turned out to be less hectic than expected. In spite of the ongoing wind and rain, I felt my body weight less pressing. But my pair of legs had become so weak that they could hardly support me. I became wobbly, swaying slightly from side to side out of control. And when the descent finally ended and we settled down in the sheltered quarters, I threw myself onto a stool, dead beat, speechless and drenched to the skin.

Well, it was indeed a miracle that I had completed the climb. I owed much to my team mates for their loving care and support, without which I could have quit shortly after the journey had started.

This experience of mine has convinced me of the truthfulness of the message implied in this quote from “On Care for our Common Home” … “God in some way sought to limit himself in such a way that many of the things we think of as evils, dangers or sources of suffering, are in reality part of the pains of childbirth which he uses to draw us into the act of cooperation with the Creator. … The Spirit of God has filled the universe with possibilities and therefore, from the very heart of things, something new can always emerge.”

Indeed, I now realize that through my participation in the climb, God has taught me to overcome my fear of danger and of suffering by cooperating with Him. God has also made me realize that there are possibilities that I have previously been unaware of. My success in the climb has proved to me that new things can emerge if only I dare to venture beyond my capabilities and to meet new challenges.

Another Wake-up Call from Mother Nature

We had been warned of the tremendous force of Typhoon Mangkhurt days before its arrival. Important advice and instructions about preventive measures went viral on Facebook and WhatsApp. The various government departments concerned were fully geared up for the attack and so were we citizens. 

And Mangkhurt well deserved its super typhoon status and the attention it demanded. On the day before its arrival, there was hardly a speck of cloud in the blue sky. It was perfect weather … except for the scorching heat, unusual for an autumn day! It went without saying that the heat was the precursor, paving the way for Mangkhurt’s “grand entrance”. And, as if an enhancement to its dramatic impressiveness were needed, loud crashes of thunder broke the silence of the night with the heat still felt long after sunset. 

Indeed Mangkhurt demanded full attention for every minute of its presence! Shortly after 8:30 a.m, it arrived unannounced. I had prepared a book to while away the hours with. However, hardly had I started reading when I heard the wind coming, howling fiercely and driving rain like stinging knives in a torrential downpour. The book thus remained untouched during the nine-hour ordeal. 

The roaring wind became more and more terrorizing. Facing north-east, my bedroom window was exposed to the full impact of the attack. The glass film and the venetian blind could hardly be trusted to provide adequate protection. Despite my fatigue from the wakefulness on the previous night because of the thunderstorm, I did not dare to lie down for a while as the bed was right beneath the window.

Instead, I spent most of the time in the study room with the window facing away from the typhoon. Albeit still within earshot, the roaring wind was a bit less threatening there. However, before long, I could feel the armchair moving slightly. Then I realized, to my terror, that the building was swaying! The typhoon was making a turn and now even the study room was within its range of attack. But going back to the bedroom did little to calm me down as the sound of the howling wind was no less intimidating there. In fact, the typhoon covered such a wide area across that it would be a long time before it completed its change of position.

I moved restlessly from one room to another but, no matter where I was, I could not rid myself of the fear. There was a moment when I even thought of getting dressed just in case I needed to flee to safety. Eager to get informed about Mangkhurt’s track and changing positions, I kept text chatting with friends on the mobile. Images and videos of the hard-hit areas served only to heighten my fear about the worst that could happen. I simply could not stop worrying until I received a message from a good friend with a prayer she had written to console me. I was moved to tears, feeling God’s consolation through her.

Now the worst is over. The government is said to have learned a good lesson from Typhoon Hato’s attack last year and is credited with high efficiency in adopting appropriate precautionary measures against the typhoon attack and in conducting effective emergency operations to minimize the damage caused. The city is gradually restored to its former peace thanks to the selfless dedication of the frontline staff and the volunteers in the aftermath of the devastating typhoon.

Whether there will be more super typhoons like Hato and Mangkhurt in the coming years remains to be seen. However, we should take destructive typhoons as a wake up call from Mother Nature for better attention to environmental protection.

Movie Review - PK -來自星星的傻瓜

http://www.koimoi.com/reviews/pk-review/

“PK” is an Indian film directed by Rajkumar Hirani and written by Hirani and Abhijat Joshi. The Chinese name “來自星星的傻瓜” may hint at its being a sci-fi film featuring the story of an alien. But it is also a movie with a mix of a ton of laughs, a melodrama, a musical, all rolled into one, thus abounding in entertaining elements. 

The story begins with the alien, who, shortly after his arrival on Earth on a research mission, is robbed of his remote, his only means of contact with his fellow countrymen in the extra-terrestrial world. As the device is later known to have been sold to a godman in Medi, India, a country with polytheistic beliefs, his quest to retrieve it leads to his encounters with people engaged in different religious practices and he ends up questioning the religious dogmas and superstitions.

What impresses me most is that despite his non-earthly identity and limited understanding of human nature, he gradually develops very enlightening ideas about religious faith. According to him, there are two gods, one who has created human beings and the other whom human beings have created. And it is the second god that is responsible for sins such as greed, wickedness, deceit and foolishness, suggesting that self-centeredness is the root of all evils. He points out that fear is the reason behind religious faith as people tend to turn to a supernatural power for security and protection. 

Above all, he understands what genuine love means, condemning the act of inflicting pain to oneself in an attempt to please god. The true god, like a kind father, will not take pleasure in seeing his children hurting themselves. And he is, in fact, a living proof of sacrificial love. He chooses to hide his love for a journalist, knowing that she has got someone else in her heart. “He loves me enough to let me go,” the journalist says with tears in her eyes. So he has deeply touched not only the journalist but practically every one of us viewers.

This is a great movie with a meaningful message behind the hilarious jokes, the romantic aspects and the boisterous singing and dancing. If you care to reflect on your faith from a point of view different from what you have been accustomed to,  this is a movie for you.

They will always remain in my prayer

Picture from https://www.ancient-origins.net

In response to God’s call, I paid my second visit to Shanxi, six years after the first. The pilgrimage tour brought us to a place of which the residents are predominantly the descendants of the early martyrs. There I got greatly enlightened by stories about dedicated priests and nuns who sacrificed their lives for their steadfast faith. Apart from that, we witnessed God’s presence also on our visits to some remote rural areas where poverty had been an ingrained problem for generations. My encounter with the children there has somehow affected the way I see acts of charity: I now realize that to address the problem, there is more we can do than the mere offering of financial help.

Divided into six groups, we were dispatched to visit several families, one on each of the three consecutive days. WN was a boy belonging to the first family my group visited. Though sixteen years of age, he was still attending junior secondary one because of his constant visits to Beijing for treatment to his inborn leg weakness, hence his frequent absences from school. Previously informed of his taciturnity, we were surprised that he responded readily and smilingly to our questions. And he also told us gladly that he was no longer on medication though check-ups in Beijing were still necessary once every half a year. Later, at dinner, he even took the initiative to serve us bottled juice. Obviously, he had achieved delightful gradual achievement in his emotions and behavior due to the caring concern he had received over the past year.

WWT, the second boy, was fourteen years old and also a first former. He spoke very little. We had to go to great lengths to get him to share a few words about his school life. Despite his reticence, however, he did not hide his delight at our visit. Later, when we rose to leave, he walked us all the way back to the centre. Obviously, he was eager for friendship. If only he could be guided properly to be more outgoing, he could enjoy a better social life.

I was most impressed by the third boy we visited. His mother had passed away and he was living with his half mentally retarded father in a cave-house borrowed from a relative. He was not very well taken care of as could be seen from his soiled T-shirt and dirty finger nails. Reported to be autistic, he was indeed almost speechless and would not even look us in the eye. And when he did utter a word, it was hardly audible. But he looked lovely especially when he was smiling. Though very shy, he finally joined us in making a V-gesture when posing for a group photo.

Those who visited the other families also came back with touching stories about the children and teenagers. From them we have got a sketchy picture of the poverty problems of the remote rural areas. Understandably, financial aid can help alleviate poverty only to a certain extent and more is needed to bring joy to their lives and to ensure their healthy growth. We can at least bear in mind, however, that while enjoying the convenience and comfort of an affluent society, we have to show genuine concern for people who are scraping a living. For the sake of contributing to a more even distribution of resources, we should adopt an austere life style, avoiding food and water wastage, which, according to Pope Frances, is like stealing from the poor.

I am grateful for having participated in this inspirational tour. The children and teenagers as well as those who have been doing frontline jobs to help them will always remain in my prayer.