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

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