THOMAS PODVIN’S FREELANCE WORK
Freelance writer - translator - Editor

This month, Chinese filmmakers and moviegoers celebrated the tenth anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to the motherland. Arguably, very few works on the big screen have come to represent this decade as aptly as Andrew Lau’s and Alan Mak’s trilogy Infernal Affairs (IA), starring Andy Lau, Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Kelly Chen. Immensely successful and influential, the film relates the uncertainties of the Hong Kong people (citizens and filmmakers alike) prior to and after the 1997 handover.

“The IA trilogy speaks of the times,” writes Gina Marchetti in her insightful and accessible book, Andrew Lau and Alan Mak’s Infernal Affairs – The Trilogy. An Associate Professor in the Department of Comparative Literature at the University of Hong Kong, Marchetti has written several volumes on Chinese cinema. In her new book, published this year and edited by the Hong Kong University Press, she explores, among other things, the significance of IA in the last decade. It’s hard to compare the history of the new Special Administrative Region and its cinema with anything that came before. In the period following the handover, the people of Hong Kong have endured much hardship (the SARS outbreak; the Asian financial crisis, the death of superstar Leslie Cheung; rising unemployment and the collapse of the local film industry). Hence, this decade might be termed the era of existential doubts.

“Not all films or film series lend themselves to book-length study,” says Marchetti, who has peeled away IA’s multiple layers to reveal its underlying themes. The deceptively simple plot is much more than a cat and mouse tale about two moles, one a triad member working in the Hong Kong police department and the other a cop passing as a mobster. The film also concerns Hong Kong history, Chinese religion and moral philosophy, global capitalism, the dynamics of the Hong Kong film industry and much more besides.

If the trilogy speaks of the times, its depth also speaks to the audience. After years of avoiding the cinema – in part because of rampant piracy, but also due to the rise of home video and cable TV – the release of IA saw locals once again queuing for tickets. Indeed, box office receipts broke new records (HKD 54 million, HKD 25 million and HKD 30 million, respectively for each of the three films).

In short, IA was soon regarded as a significant cinematic achievement, one that few industry observers had predicted. And that success came at time (2002) when confidence in the industry was very low indeed. Explains Marchetti: “[Infernal Affairs] helped to show that Hong Kong could still produce a film that could make a profit.” Even Hollywood took notice. Last year, the first entry in the series was re-made (and re-set in south Boston) by Martin Scorsese; the resulting film, The Departed, featured a US superstar-studded cast and won multiple Academy Awards. Scorsese’s version grasped the film's universal appeal: the struggle with identity in a complex urban environment. “The experience of Hong Kong as a place [as portrayed in IA] – constantly changing, global, at the cutting edge of economic and social trends – speaks to viewers who live in similarly cosmopolitan, highly competitive, consumer-saturated environments,” says Marchetti.

But many critics of the American version argue that Scorsese failed to capture IA’s depth. Comments Charles Leary, a professor of Hong Kong film history at New York University, “The Departed does not have the epic scope of the IA trilogy and the sense of history in the making.”

That said, Marchetti insists that though many viewers prefer the original, “both films need to be taken seriously.” While IA depicted Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland in the decade following the handover, The Departed has a lot to say about the state of America today and its institutions, especially post-9/11. “If Hong Kong suffered a crisis in its identity and the legitimacy of its key institutions after 1997,” says Marchetti, “then the US suffered a similar crisis after Bush’s response to 9-11 with [for instance] the bankruptcy of its political institutions after the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.”

Info on Marchetti's book is available at: http://www.hkupress.org

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2007 issue

Published in a different version in that's Beijing
Chief editor: Oliver Robinson
July 2007 issue

Steven D. Levitt, dubbed “the Indiana Jones of economics” by The Wall Street Journal, is a so-called ‘rogue’ economist. In this 2005 bestseller Freakonomics (co-authored by writer/journalist Stephen J. Dubner), the University of Chicago Professor applies economic theory to a series of diverse, and apparently, non-economic, topics. His essays cover everything from cheating sumo wrestlers to the business of drug dealing; in addition, he presents his well-known theory: “The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime.” In this paper, Levitt seeks to demonstrate (through endless statistics) that the legalization of abortion in the US was followed 20 years later by a reduction in crime. Well researched and documented, Levitt’s work has led to a re-examination of the way economic theory can be applied to sundry social issues, and, along the way, stirred much controversy. The author expresses his desire to replace “moral posturing by an honest assessment of the data, because only numbers will scrub away layers of confusion and contradiction”. For the most part, largely due to the author’s jargon-free prose, he succeeds in peeling back at least several of these layers.
Penguin Books

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2006 issue

In Cantonese, gweilo means “ghost man”, a somewhat derogatory piece of slang referring to Caucasian males. However, its use is so prevalent in Hong Kong, that even Westerners employ it to describe each other. This ambivalent approach to the issue of race and culture is central to author Martin Booth’s memoirs of his early childhood. Booth’s family arrived in Hong Kong in 1952 (his father was a civilian employee of the Royal Navy) and for the next three years, young Martin set about exploring every nook and cranny of the colony, then a sleepy outpost of the British Empire. In his book, he vividly recounts his daily adventures, from exploring the darkest reaches of the infamous Kowloon Walled City, to defending his father from an angry mob by surprising them with Cantonese obscenities. While at times Booth’s writing can be overly novelistic, his entertaining voice and lively tales bring to life a Hong Kong forever gone. That said, the book ends with a sad footnote. Booth wrote Gweilo after he was diagnosed with brain cancer, completing the work just before he passed away in February, 2004. For readers though, the author’s past will never be lost.
Bantam Books/Transworld

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2006 issue

Los Angeles-born Anna May Wong (1905-1961) was the most prominent Chinese-American actress during the silent era, though her career extended to the early 60s. From 1919 to 1960, she played in more than fifty US and European movies (The Thief of Baghdad, 1924; Shanghai Express, 1932) with stars such as Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. and Marlene Dietrich. More celebrated in Europe and Japan than in the US or China, Wong, despite her many roles, still suffered from racial typecasting. At the time, the Hollywood system cast whites in Chinese roles, while ‘real’ Chinese were relegated to (often demeaning) supporting parts. In addition, mixed race romance was forbidden on the screen. As a result, Wong’s enormous potential as an actress was never truly given reign, though decades after her death she was given a star on the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame. In this compelling biography, professor of history Graham Hodges provides copious accounts of the glamour, and the prejudice, that was the fate of many an actor of Chinese descent in the first half of the twentieth century.
Palgrave Macmillan

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
June 2006 issue

(c) that's PRD
PRD Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
June 2006 issue

Since the early 17th century, Westerners have been intrigued with that decorative fairyland known as Chinoiserie. That said, Chinese interior design has been constantly reinterpreted over the centuries, in both the West and in Asia, and China Style presents a fascinating look at how decorators from Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, New York, London and Minneapolis have used this fanciful and elegant style in personal and commercial interiors. Illustrated with photographs by Michael Freeman, this 208-page coffee table book examines Chinese design influences from five periods: the Ming and Qing dynasties; Chinoiserie Old and New, the new Shanghai style, and China Modern. As evidenced in 36 settings ranging from a scholar’s garden to an opium den, and from the imperial palace to a rural home. Such is the sumptuous sheen of Freeman’s work that the text, written by Sharon Leece, the former editor-in-chief of Elle Decoration magazine, is almost superfluous, though she does offers tips on how to achieve the art of Chinese style.
Periplus Editions/available in foreign book stores and at https://peripluspublishinggroup.com/periplus/

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
June 2006 issue

(c) that's PRD
PRD Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
June 2006 issue

Korean pop culture has been fashionable in China for several years now, and enthusiasts will be delighted with this work by one of the country’s leading cartoonists. Seyeong O's Buja’s Diary offers, in manwa form (Korean comics), an insightful, incisive commentary on Korean life in the 80s and 90s with thirteen stories in black-and-white panels. The author tackles a number of subjects in societal, familial and behavioral patterns – in a mature and thoughtful manner. “The Leather Pouch”, for instance, examines the national wound caused by the North and South division; “The Real Estate Agency”, the lack of filial devotion in the younger generation; while “Buja’s Pictures Diary” looks at the precarious situation of a single mother through the eyes of her daughter. Other entries, however, are less easy for non-Koreans to comprehend. After all, though Korean culture is more widespread than, say, a decade ago, is it hardly as universal as American. Fortunately, an epilogue written by Seoul International Comics Festival organizer Han Chang-wan provides astute comments (and context) on the Seyeong O’s work.
NBM Publishing/available at www.nbmpublishing.com

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
May 2006 issue

A sequel to the best-seller Bangkok 8 (reviewed in our March issue), Bangkok Tattoo once again features the devout and incorruptible Royal Thai Police detective, Sonchai Jitpleecheep. And once again, in this installment, Burdett proves that he’s no stranger to the city; indeed, he knows the drill. This colorful, head-spinning novel presents street-walkers as Buddhists; army captains as drug barons; police colonels as assassins; and CIA agents as drunken, neurotic voyeurs. Throughout, the theme dwells on the clash of civilizations: Eastern spirituality versus degenerate Western rationality. Burdett delights in exposing what he perceives as a fundamental cultural gap between east and west. This works fine to a point, but the author eventually succumbs to cynicism. He addresses the reader as farang (foreigner), the Thai word for white foreigner, which is symbolic of Burdett’s rigid partition of the Thai culture from the rest of the world. After 150 pages or so, this becomes tiresome; after 200 it just seems over the top, leaving the reader feeling uncomfortably out of the game. At another level however, and sociology aside, Bangkok Tattoo delivers: it fuses sex, violence, mystery and spirituality in an altogether fresh fashion. That is if you haven’t read the first book.
Random House

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
May 2006 issue

This is a comprehensive, well-researched and accessible tome on Hong Kong cinema’s enfant terrible, Wong Kar-wai (In the Mood for Love). It could easily have been otherwise; Wong’s been in the business for 18 years, made eight feature films (As Tears Go; 2046), as well as several side projects; his career is full of contradictions and the author might have produced a book as impenetrable as the director himself. Thankfully, he hasn’t. This work provides some fascinating insights into Wong’s working methods and a clear and concise analysis of his contribution to cinema. Stephen Teo is a filmmaker, critic, and film historian; as such, his tone is authoritative and entertaining. The author sweeps aside the rumors and speculation that surrounds Wong’s career. For example, he reveals how the director’s notorious ‘shooting without script’ approach to filmmaking it is not all improvisational. He also examines the primary influences on Wong’s work: South American novelists for the plot structure, and impressionist painters for the visuals. For the record, during production, Wong actually shoots in the daytime and works on the script at night. Once you’ve read this book, you’ll view Wong’s oeuvre in a new light.
BFI/available at http://www.bfi.org.uk

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
April 2006 issue

For some observers, the tremendous expansion of China’s economy in the 21st century is an enigma second only to that of the Bermuda Triangle. Explaining that mystery is the focus of Chinese commentator/business strategist George Zhibin Gu’s second book: China’s Global Reach. Unfortunately, his analysis is rather superficial. Worse still, the book’s subject matter is presented without logic, clarity or style, although it does contain some interesting, if a tad sensationalist, case studies. And some rather bold swipes at the conventional wisdom. He explains that China’s an attractive market for international companies, but many players underestimate the challenge here, and find themselves out of their depth. Another passage reveals that many people are scared of China altering the global balance of trade, in their disfavor; yet the author states that Chinese companies are far from ready to compete in the international market. In general, what the writer does best is raise some significant questions – a pity, then, that he moves on too quickly from one topic to the next without providing concrete evidence for his arguments.
Trafford

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
April 2006 issue

In 2005, the Hong Kong international Film Festival paid tribute to actor/producer/singer Andy Lau Tak-wah (A World without Thieves) for his quantitative and qualitative participation in the film industry. This book, published in English and traditional Chinese covers Lau’s thirty years in the business. For those of you not familiar with Lau, he’s known as the Chinese James Dean – although he claims Marlon Brando as an early inspiration. Of course, Lau is alive and Dean and Brando are not, so Lau aged 44, has quite a few more film credits, 120, to be exact. This book includes an excellent in-depth interview with Lau, as well as film reviews and interesting, quirky essays on topics ranging from Lau’s ‘eagle eye’ acting style, to his hair-style and his position (he’s an idol) in the industry. Strangely, there’s not one word on the man’s long and successful musical career, or the film companies he formed to produce his own movies and promote the independent filmmaking scene, or his influence on cinema, or even his personal life. In short, the editor has narrowed his focus strictly to Lau’s acting.
HKIFF Society/available at http://www.hkiff.org.hk

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
March 2006 issue

You’ll likely read Bangkok 8 from cover to cover in one night. Set in an imaginary Bangkok, and written as a thriller, the novel concerns the twin pillars of Thai society: Buddhism and its material counterpart, the four G’s, guns, girls, gambling and ganja. Thai cops Sonchai and his soul brother Pichai are devout Buddhists following the path to enlightenment. They’re not on the take, which is to say they are a rare breed. Sonchai is investigating the murder of a US marine sergeant; in the process he encounters drug and gem dealers, killer snakes high on yaa baa, a charming FBI agent and katooeys galore. As the case proceeds, Pichai is killed and Sonchai sets out to avenge his death using modern policing techniques and his own profound understanding of the spirit world. At this stage, the novel delves deep into the world of Buddhist beliefs and karmic principles. In short, the book combines entertainment with thought-provoking perspectives on prostitution, corruption, religion and the value of life. A compelling read.
Corgi/available at http://www.booksattransworld.co.uk

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
March 2006 issue

In his introduction to The Flower Drum Song, Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang states that Asian-American literature has long been marginalized in mainstream society. Perhaps, but this novel, originally published in 1957, might be considered a groundbreaking work of popular Asian-American literature; one that is a page-turner even today. This bittersweet tale follows an array of eccentric Chinese characters in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Wang Ta, for example, opts to study medicine rather than join the ranks of the employed, and ends up entangled with a number of equally unconventional young women. His younger brother, Wang San, longs to become a ‘normal’ American teenager; he plays basketball and makes sandwiches using Chinese food, all to the consternation of his old-fashioned, rather stubborn father, Master Wang, who misses China and tries to maintain his Confucian principles in the US. Charming, sexy, poignant, cynical, The Flower Drum Song is an astute depiction of the cultural gap between generations and between Chinese and Western society. An instant bestseller, the book was made into a successful musical and feature film in the 1960s.
Penguin Books

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
February 2006 issue

Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
February 2006 issue

With this compelling book, blending autobiographical elements with elements of fiction, Shanghai-born US-based university teacher and writer Yuang-Tsung Chen delves deep into the lives of China’s peasants in the 1950s. And in the process, he exposes the myth that life in the countryside is, in contrast to its urban counterpart, honest, straightforward and happy. The novel begins in the city, circa 1949, at a bourgeois home located in Shanghai’s French concession. Ling Ling, raised by a wealthy uncle, is tired of the good life and joins a group of cadres who wish to take part in the agrarian revolution. Together they bring the concept of “land reform” and hope to Longxiang (Dragon’s Village), a tiny village in the Northwest province of Gansu. However, they soon discover that village life is less than idyllic; indeed, it revolves around outmoded traditions, superstition and secrecy. Full of drama and suspense, The Dragon’s Village offers an intriguing look at the life of peasantry as it undergoes one of the greatest societal changes in its history.
Penguin Books

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
February 2006 issue

Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
February 2006 issue

Although Cantonese is spoken by 66 million people from southern China (Hong-Kong, Macau, Guangdong), south-east Asia and, indeed, in cities all around the world, very few reference books on this knotty language have ever been published. Subtitled The Language of Hong Kong Movies, Street Gangs and City Life, Hutton and Bolton have compiled a 500-page dictionary of everyday Cantonese including colloquialisms and slang from sources as diverse as comics, street gangs, teenagers, magazines and movies. Many of the entries have never been listed in common dictionaries before. The dictionary is aimed at foreign students and Chinese alike. The foreword, signed by a former police officer, states that the book is a valuable and useful tool, containing authentic word usage from the Hong-Kong underworld. Triad-trash talk aside, this is a practical guide to the vulgar and the vernacular that will help the reader to get around the oral Cantonese trickiness.
Singapore University Press/available at www.nus.edu.sg/npu

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
January 2006 issue

Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
January 2006 issue

In his introduction to this book Jonathan Spence writes that "It is a basic belief of most historians, including myself, that the more time elapses after an event has taken place, the easier it is going to be to interpret that particular event..." During the height of the "great proletarian cultural revolution" (1966-70) Li Zhensheng worked as a photojournalist for Harbin's Heilongjiang Daily, shooting film for the newspaper and, as it turns out, for himself. While some of his photographs were published at the time, Li hid the bulk of his work in the hope that it would provide documentation of the period for others in the future. Forty years later that time has come. This book provides an amazing visual record (400 photos) and includes a preface, introduction, text by the photographer, a chronology, maps, and extensive photo captions. The photographs were selected from a collection numbering in the tens of thousands and many have never been seen before. Li's inventive techniques and powerful images make him one of the premier Chinese photographers alive today. This book, which takes its name from the literal translation of Li's accreditation as a photographer, is part of the key to understanding one of the most turbulent eras of modern Chinese history.
Phaidon

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
January 2006 issue

Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
January 2006 issue