Congratulations to Myra for advancing China to the finals against perhaps the strongest overall team in the tournament in terms of wins and votes. Kenji, you were a real gentleman in not using some of your strongest remaining scorers in this particular round like, for example, Rashomon, Kwaidan, or Woman in the Dunes. I guess Dimitris really got into your head, with his carping about using less well-known films! Consolations, Kenji, on still getting the most votes in this round. You gave us an excellent assortment of films from Japan, with several unexpected choices among the ‘usual suspects’. Full credit to both managers here for an exciting finish.
Well, since only one of the organizers got into the finals, I guess I can’t bring up my “I’m beginning to smell a big fat commie rat” line anymore. Too bad, I was hoping to use it once again – ha!
What a final it will be, with Myra whining the whole way through that she did the best she could for poor team China. Well, that won’t wash anymore, as China has now advanced to the all-Asian finals.
kenji, you were right about the Koizumi. That’s a pity.
Thanks Joe, but no it wasn’t Dimitris at all, i always planned to use most of my big films early to save discoveries for the late stages (as i always said- but some couldn’t grasp, ahem!!-, it was initially a concern that the usual suspects US, France, Japan, Italy, UK, Germany.. would make it and leave big films aside for the later stages, with hardly any new discoveries for people then); mine was just an unorthodox approach. I did have to use one extra big film than intended to get past Italy, who came across unexpectedly. My choices have been pretty transparent, basically my favourites. I didn’t see much point in picking famous films i’m not so keen on. I hoped i could still manage to win while promoting my favourites
My intended finalists were Ornamental Hairpin, Howl’s Moving Castle and With Beauty and Sorrow (Shinoda, which can be seen on youtube but won’t suit all tastes). I originally intended Bitter End of a Sweet Night (Yoshida) against Myra to make all 3 against China her own youtube favourites, then had a feeling for After the Rain. I also intended to pick Eureka and Floating Clouds at some point, Eureka is a bit long and for both it and Floating Clouds i thought uploading by someone would be a problem. I even considered making as one film for the final my own found footage little collection of youtube clips, eg from Ball at the House of Anjo, Pot Worth a Million Ryo, Orochi, Eureka, and the animation Glassy Ocean- with myself as official director, depending on the rules! I was gonna title it “Dreams on a Glassy Ocean” or "Kenji’s Mystery Tour*. I did think of both the long Eureka and the short Glassy Ocean together for the final
So if anyone has spare time take a look at Glassy Ocean and With Beauty and Sorrow. Myra was kindly agreeing to upload Ornamental Hairpin- i cheekily asked her to help out if i beat China!
Kenji – I think your choices indicated you were going all along with your own favourites – which is always the fairest strategy. You could have put another Miyazaki film in at anytime for an almost assured win, but didn’t. Full credit to you for all your choices and for getting this whole project off the ground in the first place. You are the winner here no matter what the result. You can now relax and enjoy the finals. I really wanted to see the two organizers advance just so I could rib you both endlessly – but, oh well…
I agree with those who have commented that Japan is perhaps the leading country in the world for fine films – as this event and your own choices have demonstrated. I thought at the beginning of this that Japan, Italy, and France could prove insurmountable – and now all are gone – sigh!
yes i am a bit tired, and the final selection and preparation was becoming taxing. i had the gut feeling i would be pipped by China in a cliffhanger (Myra wouldn’t believe me!), well at least i have new carpeting in today after it got flooded. Thanks, Joe, your comments have been great in the matches. Where is the conquering heroine anyway?
I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound like I was whining Joe… I thought it bleak against Japan, that’s all… My heart dropped when I saw the initial WKW loss. If there’s one film I wanted to pull through, it was that, being my own absolute favourite film. People may have been expecting it all along, but I chose it because I love it more than words can express…
I finally read all the comments in the thread… I also apologize that some people hated Two Stage Sisters so… I wanted variety and to showcase all the different eras of Chinese cinema if possible, knowing that many wouldn’t take to such. I found this event to be a rare opportunity to showcase films that mean a lot to me, both culturally and personally. I have in recent years come to embrace my roots, which I unfortunately scorned all the way until my mid-teens. Cinema was one of those gateways later in my life that led me to appreciate this. From it I learned about history and a way of life that I’d missed out on having grown up here in Canada, instead of in my birth country. Anyway, hopefully it wasn’t too unbearable to watch with the colours, which I know did Xie a great injustice, for which I apologize… 对不起。
Well i would normally have been delighted with the selection of Two Stage Sisters as it impressed me a lot when i picked it for the film society – and that was a fine colour print (at least compared with the youtube one disadvantaging Myra), but it will now always be the film that was my nemesis. I thought the first half was wonderful, the court case was a relative drag though, so whereas After the Rain would be generally liked (i’m so glad a few really liked it), reactions to Sisters would be more split.
Myra – I hope you realize my ‘whining’ comments were in jest and I know you were quite right to be apprehensive of the Japan juggernaut. What a nail-biter that was for both managers! We all look forward to your picks for the final, as I know you have been showcasing some fine films from all periods for team China throughout. I thought your choice here of the Xie film was a brave one, and it proved to be one of the most amazing film discoveries in the event. India will be another tough nut to crack.
A great match, Kenji and Myra. What a stirring comeback. I did not expect this result when I went to bed last night… Wow. Congratulations, Myra.
Oh i did when i went to bed, cos After the Rain was losing- that was the one i was watching as i expected In the Mood to come back, it has so many world cup regulars who give it 5 stars and is hugely popular. For some reason Humanity’s fans turned up earlier than Wong’s. This morning i felt a bit better when After the Rain was now winning by 3 votes, even with Humanity losing instead. But the Portuguese voter’s triple whammy just before i went out made me think it would turn again….now i have a splitting headache.
Congratulations Myra! And thank you Kenji! I never imagined a ‘virtual’ film competition could be as exciting as this one is. Thank you both for the great selections.
A surprising upset!
Kenji
RESULT
CHINA 2 JAPAN 1
Scenes of City Life 6 Sound of the Mountain 13
Two Stage Sisters 10 After the Rain 8
In the Mood for Love 16 Humanity and Paper Balloons 13
China 32 votes Japan 34 votes
CHINA PROCEED TO THE GRAND FINAL TO PLAY INDIA!
The world’s most populated and economically upcoming countries- you saw the future first at auteurs!