on a train with gong li and other thoughts

Tomorrow, I'm art directing a photoshoot for a client at the Manila Peninsula - which got me thinking of directing in general, and Zhang Yimou in particular and by extension, Gong Li.

Apparently, this ethereal beauty spent a few years as a housewife in Singapore before acting in a new film - Train, which is unfortunately not directed by her ex-lover.

Initial reviews have been lukewarm (the production saved by Gong Li's sheer Gong Li-ness) but still it is something I'd like to watch. How can I resist the star of so many excellent films like Raise The Red Lantern? Now that she's back (it must be hard to have been eclipsed by other actresses, most notably Zhang Ziyi - both in reel and real life), we can hope for some more of her gossamer magic.

Which leads me to thinking of the other film I'd like to see. The Thirteen Steps was one of the two Japanese entries to Sundance and received a degree of acclaim. In a world where people are motivated by shame and censure (as opposed to Western man's sense of guilt), two men seek atonement.

Which, in turn, leads me to thinking about revisting A Clockwork Orange.

Go figure.