Come on people make some more arguments for one or the other of the films! I’m trying to make up my mind between them and I haven’t been able to find a way to decide yet, so I’m looking for something that will help me latch on to one of them more firmly than the other.
“Curious as to what you thought was confusing about it. Of course, I did read Yuki’s article about the film.”
reads article
Ah, so it’s intentionally incoherent!
:P
Hrrmmmm. How to voice my thoughts on this…. Well…. The thing is, I like what Edwin is trying to say, and I could see whilst I was watching the film that it was trying to say something about cultural identity, however I think the film could do with more…clarity maybe? I mean, Edwin’s discussion of his movie is great and it reveals a lot of the intentions he had behind certain scenes but as an audience member those intentions were not communicated effectively to me by the film. As an audience member I do not want to be beaten over the head, but at the same time if a film is trying to tackle subject matter that its filmmaker sees as very important for people to know about then I’d like it if it would lay out its ideas somewhat clearly – I’m not dumb, but I’m no mindreader either.
When you ask what I found confusing, well…most of it? Seriously, I had very little idea what was going on most of the time (and though I don’t think anyone here has expressed the same feelings, I have seen reviews that express that the author was confused about what the film they watched was about) and what the relevance of most of the scenes was – it’s only now that I’ve read the article Yuki has posted, as well as several other articles I’ve read, that I know fully what Edwin’s intentions were. I appreciate this idea of kaleidoscopic filmmaking, and I appreciate the film a bit more now that I know how it’s form was meant to suit it’s ideas putting us in the character’s shoes, but I can’t really engage with this idea of putting together fragments of the film leading to discussion of the issues in the film – I’m aware of that that statement might seem innappropriate seeing as I’m typing this reply to you, but I think the best way to get people talking is to give them an informed viewpoint of the issue at hand.
yes, id be happy to hear some comments or questions regarding the cultural background or something else….the red bridge that’s shot quite much in Blind Pig is the bridge which connects and separates the area where the native Indonesian and the Chinese descent people live, if the fact could give some insight to the whole story :)
thanks Cecil
Edwin (Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly) —1 vs Michael Winterbottom (Wonderland) —0
I like winterbottom’s movies. I enjoyed with them. I am happy with them. Actually this vote again hard for me. A warm two movies are challenging. But I am a blind pig living in wonderland, so I voted for blind pig.
my first edwin’s movie was great. lets see how about others ;)
I can’t make my mind about these two. Both movies seem to be decent, but for me it’s so logical continuation of their traditions (East-Asian weird and British realistic), so esthetically correct, that I can’t really care and ready to vote for any or against any on different grounds.
To the managers of this match: since your opponents in round 2 have already named their next round films, how do you feel about naming your films?
Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly – 1 vs. Wonderland – 0
Nice to see a bunch of close matches as the Cup progresses.
Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly 0 - Wonderland 1
Bling Pig Who Wants to Fly was so painful to watch that pretty much I would prefer even the crapiest movie of Winterbottom. The scene of the dentist saying his wife he will get another one and the scene of the dentist with the gay couple was probably the most humilitating things I have seen in years.
As it happens Wonderland was actually quite a surprise because jugding by his other movies I had seen I was literally not expecting much. I found it to be quite a plausible and sober take on modern day life in a big city.
@ Shakha, no problem. My next film will be 24 hour Party People, the winterbottom film about the Factory record Label.
24HPP is my favourite Winterbottom from the ones I have seen. I can almost guarantee you my vote!
…
Actually it is 11-10 Winterbottom with an asterisk. The Sleeper did not name both films in the post.
he fixed his vote in his next post.
I probably counted him twice
Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly (Edwin) – 0 // Wonderland (Winterbottom) – 1
If you ask me, this is a great match-up. Both films draw loose circles around multiple characters, sometimes only tenuously connected and sometimes inextricably intertwined; but where Edwin’s has a surrealist bent and can be described as a Message Film, Winterbottom’s is practically hyperreal and takes no clear stance on its characters and their actions. I find the cinematic techniques he uses integral in turning what could have been a bleak, one-sided, drearily literal affair (I am generally not big on Mike Leigh) into a film that is very aware of both beats of melancholy and of beauty in these people’s lives. It doesn’t try to wrap everything up perfectly, but it does shoot for catharsis. I’m quite taken with it.
Edwin (Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly) – 1 vs Michael Winterbottom (Wonderland) – 0
Edwin (Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly) – 0 vs Michael Winterbottom (Wonderland) – 1
Edwin (Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly) – 1 vs Michael Winterbottom (Wonderland) – 0
I’m surprised about how much I liked Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly. The excellent use of the music made my choice quite easy.
Edwin (Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly) —1 vs Michael Winterbottom (Wonderland) —0
@Shakha My choice for the 2nd match will be Hulahoop Sounding, a short film and it will be uploaded soon as the1st Round ends.
Edwin (Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly) —1 vs Michael Winterbottom (Wonderland) —0
It was easy enough to engage with the trails and tribulations of the characters in Wonderland, I liked the feisty Debbie/Sarah Henderson and Nadia/Gina McKee ( last seen by me in a terrific performances as the beleagured wife of Soames Forsyte – The Forsyte Saga) I really felt for anxious nervous Eddie and the poor dog, honestly people who just tie their dogs up all the time and let them bark should be fed rat poison! But a barking dog can send you barking mad too… what I don’t understand is, why don’t they also drive their owners mad, it always only seems to be the neighbours. But in the end Wonderland, though a most competently presented slice of comtemporary life, offers up familiar terrain and did all get a bit twee towards the end – so it loses out to originality and giving me awareness around new subject matter. I loved that scene in Blind Pig where they sang together at the computer, and thought it was a great choice of a theme song to run through the film. Pleased I read the intro first, it was a big help. And the piggy ran free :)
EDIT 400 people padlocked in shops and burned alive – man’s inhumanity to man is heartbreaking is it not.
14-13 Pig
Edwin (Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly) —0 vs Michael Winterbottom (Wonderland) —1
Since this is such a close match and there is only half an hour left, I think we should be accurate with the count… I see the score as
15-14 in favor of Winterbottom
Can someone double check??
Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly 1 – Wonderland 0
So it’s a tie? Someone validate this—I’m terrible at it.
I believe this match is extended for 24 hours, as it appears to be a tie.
Voting will close at 6pm GMT, Monday April 18.
I agree with Davandwar’s count, so it is 15-15, after Greg’s vote. (I think when you counted the score as 7-3 for Edwin, and later Den corrected as 7-4, it was actually 6-5)
Cat
maybe the easiest vote so far
Edwin (Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly) —1 vs Michael Winterbottom (Wonderland) —0