The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Posted: 12 Apr 2013 04:51 PM PDT APRIL 13 ― It's almost kind of a default setting for most Malaysians who like to see themselves as "different" tell people that they like British music, British comedy or British films. For some reason, most things American are dismissed as crass or commercial and most things British almost automatically gain an aura of class and seriousness. I'd probably be rich now if I'm given RM1 for every conversation that involves someone with "good taste" proclaiming that they like British indie music over American crap or worse, liking "wittier" British comedy like Monty Python or Black Adder over American sitcom trash. Is it some sort of remnant of our colonized past that makes us still look up to the British? I'm not in any way putting down the quality of British art. The Beatles, The Who, Black Sabbath, The Buzzcocks, The Clash, The Stone Roses, Blur, Radiohead and so many more undoubtedly great bands. Film-makers like Alfred Hitchcock, the Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger team, David Lean and Alexander Mackendrick are all established masters. But there's something wrong somewhere with this "big-upping anything British" mentality when things that are as crassly commercial as Coldplay, Guy Ritchie films, and lame British rom-coms also get a better rep compared to mainstream American things like My Chemical Romance, Michael Bay films or lame American rom-coms. Still, sometimes the Brits do get it gloriously right. And the last few years have seen a lot of interesting new film-makers popping out numerous notable works in various genres and styles. In the arthouse world there are not one, but two female directors blazing their way through big festivals; Lynne Ramsay ("Ratcatcher", "We Need To Talk About Kevin") and Andrea Arnold ("Fish Tank", "Wuthering Heights"). Representing the boys are Peter Strickland ("Katalin Varga", "Berberian Sound Studio"), Thomas Clay ("The Great Ecstasy Of Robert Carmichael", "Soi Cowboy") and Andrew Haigh ("Weekend"). But it's in the more commercial world of comedies and genre pictures that the Brits have truly staked their claim with Edgar Wright ("Shaun Of The Dead", "Hot Fuzz") now firmly established in Hollywood and even first-timer Joe Cornish ("Attack The Block") getting into Steven Spielberg's good books with his screenplay for "The Adventures Of Tintin." And let's not forget Hollywood's current go-to man for intelligent blockbusters ― Christopher Nolan ("Memento", the "Dark Knight" trilogy, "Inception"). While these are undoubtedly exciting names, I personally think the most exciting of them all is Ben Wheatley who has firmly established his reputation as an intelligent interrogator of genre films with the three he's made so far. He's made a gangster film, a hitman film, and a couple-on-the-lam film but all three have turned out to be much more. His no-budget debut "Down Terrace" may be a Tarantino-esque take on the family gangster film due to its reliance on long and colourful stretches of dialogue, made necessary because of the low budget, but his follow-up "Kill List" is where people's jaws will drop once they see it. It's a story about two hitmen given a strange assignment, and the movie then morphs into a deeply scary (and Wicker Man-ish) later part that will both disturb and delight you with its skilful execution. What really makes the movie tick though is its attention to the earlier domestic scenes depicting the hitmen's personal lives, its absolutely serious commitment to the real. And this is where this guy's a bit special compared to all the other genre practitioners out there. Like all the other genre film-makers out there, Wheatley's got deep and loving respect for the conventions of the genre he's tackling, but despite the outlandish nature and premise of most genre outings, he tries his best to ground it all in reality and to make it more relatable to us, thus making his films accessible to anyone who'd care to watch and not just appeal to genre aficionados. All three of his films have moments of shocking violence that some, especially those unfamiliar with genre films, will find hard to stomach, but in all three instances he's been clever enough to reel us in and make us care about the characters that the violence doesn't seem exploitative and actually seems necessary to bring the story forward. And nowhere is this better exemplified than in his wonderfully nasty third film "Sightseers", about a loving couple of social misfits going on a caravan holiday. I've rarely seen the England countryside photographed so beautifully, and that beauty (and the couple's love for each other) is beautifully contrasted against the acts of murder that they commit as their holiday progresses, and all of this is coated with a wonderfully dark sheen of black comedy that never fails to provoke an uncomfortable laugh. It's only April, but I'm pretty sure that this is already one of my favourite films of the year, alongside Miguel Gomes' "Tabu" and Kore-eda Hirokazu's "I Wish", and when a genre film can sit proudly alongside quality films like that, it's already proof that this Ben Wheatley guy is most probably the real deal. * This is the personal opinion of the columnist | |
| Old Trafford and Nou Camp’s noise problems Posted: 12 Apr 2013 04:37 PM PDT
APRIL 13 ― Earlier this week I went to watch Barcelona's most important game of the season ― their quarter final tie in Europe's elite club competition. And I can safely say it was one of the best atmospheres I've ever witnessed at a sporting event. From the very start of the game, the majority of fans were up on the feet, shouting and singing, cheering every positive move made by their team and creating an intensely hostile environment for the visiting team and the poor old match officials. In the tense and nervous closing stages, with both teams chasing victory, the decibel levels rose even higher, with a cacophony of whistles almost loud enough to split your eardrums every time the visitors moved anywhere near a scoring position. But the vociferous backing of the fans was ultimately to no avail, because Panathinaikos withstood the barrage and came away with a crucial victory. Panathinaikos? Yes, that's right. Did you think it was something else? I'm talking about Euroleague basketball, and Panathinaikos sealing a dramatic one-point win in the Palau Blaugrana on Thursday night, levelling up the five-game quarter final series at one game apiece. They will now reconvene in Athens next week, with Pana having the chance to move into next month's Final Four weekend if they can claim a couple of home wins. Of course, I could have also been talking about Barcelona's footballers, who progressed to the semi-finals of the Champions League thanks to a 1-1 draw with Paris St Germain on Wednesday night. Except that nothing I said about the fans and the atmosphere during the basketball game could also apply to the previous evening at the Nou Camp, where 96,000 people spent most of the game sitting on their hands, waiting for their team to entertain them and score the goals they were expecting. OK, I'm exaggerating. But only a little. The atmosphere at the Nou Camp on Wednesday night, even though it was such a crucial game with Barca's season on the line against a difficult opponent, was terrible (except the five minutes before and after Barca's equaliser, and the final few minutes of the game). Less than fifteen minutes before kick-off, the stadium was half empty. When the players emerged from a tunnel, they were afforded a gentle, friendly but notably unimpassioned welcome more in keeping with a pre-season friendly. And when the game got underway, there were occasional outbreaks of gentle applause and modest chanting, but certainly little you would describe as fervent passionate backing. Certainly nothing compared to the support of the basketball fans the following night. This is nothing new. Although visiting the Nou Camp is a wonderful experience for the sheer scale of the place and the splendour of the football, it's hardly a stadium renowned for its atmosphere. There are exceptions, of course: The noise levels rise considerably whenever Real Madrid roll into town, and there was electricity in the air for the thrilling Champions League victory over AC Milan in March. But most of the time, the atmosphere is more akin to what you'd expect from a classical concert hall than the raucousness of a rock gig, and it's a problem that Barcelona are aware of and attempting to address, with club president Sandro Rosell getting himself into trouble a few weeks ago when he was accused of entering into a murky secret alliance with a group of particularly boisterous fans. Barcelona are by no means the only major club whose fans struggle to generate a decent atmosphere on all but the very biggest of occasions. It's exactly the same at Manchester United, where the noise levels at Old Trafford for standard league games are exceptionally disappointing. For two clubs who are similar in so many ways, it's no surprise that Barca and United's problems with stadium atmosphere share two crucial factors. Firstly, a significant number of fans are "football tourists". Barcelona has become, according to one recent report, the most-visited city in Europe (overtaking Paris). And when you're staying in Barcelona, there are two things on the essential must-do list: 1. Look at Gaudi's buildings and 2. Go and watch Messi. Which is entirely fair, because both are touched by genius. And although the city of Manchester is hardly a tourist hot-spot, Old Trafford has become a kind of Mecca for football fans: If you're in England (even London is only a three-hour train ride away) and Manchester United are playing, you simply must go and watch, even if you're not a Manchester United fan. Walking around the Nou Camp or Old Trafford on a matchday, it's remarkable how many non-native faces and languages you can see and hear, with visitors from China, Japan and Korea the most common of all. There's nothing wrong with this, of course ― it's a natural consequence of the clubs' status as global icons and they certainly do their best to milk the commercial potential of their international popularity through pre-season tours and so on ― but it does unavoidably exert a negative impact on the atmosphere, with many of the single-game tourists understandably not knowing the chants and songs, or sharing the same level of passion as die-hard regulars. The other factor is success. Barca and United have won so many trophies in recent years, especially in their own domestic leagues, that fans have ― reasonably ― started to take victory for granted. Rather than dearly wishing for goals and trophies, they now expect them and the atmosphere, consequently, could be described as: "We expect you to entertain us" rather than "We will help you to win". Again, there's nothing sinister in this and it's difficult to find a solution ― other than starting to lose, which probably isn't top of the priority list for either club. It does mean, though, that if you're a Malaysian sports fan and you're planning a trip to Spain or England, you might want to revise your football-watching itinerary. If you want to watch the best football, sure, go to the Nou Camp or Old Trafford. But if you want to sample the best atmosphere and experience what being a match-going football fan is really all about, try Espanyol or Stoke City. Ideally, of course, do both! * This is the personal opinion of the columnist |
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