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

Westerners often struggle to grasp the complex concepts of Oriental religions and philosophies. Well, struggle no more. Singapore-based publisher Asiapac Books has produced a brilliant series of graphic books that put wisdom within the reach of even the least metaphysical reader. Take the Buddha, for instance, a world renowned figure associated with wisdom, magnanimity and rectitude. Legend of the Laughing Buddha reveals a new aspect of this deity, wherein the constantly smiling reincarnation of Maitreya carries a bulging sack over his shoulders, spreading happiness, abundance and contentment to all those he encounters. Of course, he still retains his pot belly, symbolizing joy, good fortune and generosity. Set in ancient China, this graphic novel is well written and of great help in understanding Buddhist thoughts. Readers of any age, and from any background, will delight in the illustrations and learn from the message so entertainingly presented here.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
Book courtesy Asiapac Books
August 2005 issue

So what's in a name? This band's moniker was borrowed from Haruki Murakami's novel Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World. But which version? Various translations of the book gave the band three choices: Cold Fairyland, Cool Fairyland and even Frozen Fairyland. At different times, they have used them all. "The name Cold Fairyland already carries a contradiction," explains singer/composer Lin Di, "and that's the feeling we want to deliver to the audience."
In Shanghai's relatively unsophisticated alternative music scene, Cold Fairyland, stands out. Arguably, the most original ensemble in the city, this quintet cultivates an image of ambiguity. In a recent gig at Creek Art's damp and dusty warehouse, the band offered a blend of guitars, drums, pipa and cello, accompanied by all-but-indecipherable vocals, that was impossible to pigeonhole.
"Typical Shanghai bands make posh fashionable music, but I think we bring a deeper meaning," Lin tells that's.
Formed in 2001, Cold Fairyland has just two unofficial releases to its credit: Flying and The Zoon of Stranger (only available on their website www.miyadudu.com). Composer, lead vocalist, pipa and keyboard player, Lin is the band's creative muse and the only band member that's doesn't have a day job. In addition to her work with Cold Fairyland, she's released two solo albums in Taiwan, Ten Days in Magic Land and Bride of Legendin. Both CDs offer her take on 'world music' and have yet to be released on the Chinese mainland.
On stage the band performs her solo works and their own music, but the studio versions of Lin's solo work bear little relation to the band's live renditions. In concert, the tone is darker, much darker. "We want to express despair rather than hope," says Lin. "When both coexist, hope comes second; it is a comfort from pain."
Cold Fairyland's unique brand of music is miles away from the Britpop often favored by local bands. But Lin is at a loss to describe her style. "It belongs to Chinese-folk music mixed with other elements—it's hard for me to identify. We never follow a pattern," she says.
While many musicians resist labeling, Cold Fairyland is one of the few groups who legitimately cross genres — from one song to the next, their style is never the same. On stage, in just one set, they go from jazz improvisation to world music —stunning the audience with their seamless transformations.
Currently, the band plans to release a collection of tracks from the first two CDs, and is working on a CD for release in the US. Meanwhile Lin is preparing for her third-solo release, a Stone Age throw back, so to speak, employing the percussive sounds of wood and stone. Says Lin, "It will be more experimental and less accessible."
Once these projects are wrapped, the only thing that's certain, is that nothing is certain. "We are considering performing only instrumental tracks in a near future," says Lin.

Cold Fairyland will play on Aug 14 at Ark Live House, 15 North Block Xintiandi, 180 Taicang Lu (6326 8008)

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
Photo courtesy Hugo Hu www.huphoto.cdd.cn
August 2005 issue

"Many young, talented actors in Hong-Kong can do three flips and give three kicks in a row," said Kung-fu star Jackie Chan at the 8th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) in June. "I am very impressed, but none of the producers want to bet on them!"
A major player in the film industry over the past four decades, Chan is getting a bit old for back flips but he knows the film business intimately. When Chan talks, people listen. And one of his biggest concerns is that this new generation of Chinese actors and directors lack industry support, without which, he fears, Chinese cinema will find it difficult to compete in both domestic and international markets.
"Nurturing new generations of moviemakers and actors should become a priority of the industry," stresses Chan. He hopes to set an example with his company JCE Movies, and has produced several films such as House of Fury and Rice Rhapsody with young actors and emerging directors. Despite his efforts, he remains worried about China's film industry: "I really don't know what will be the next step," says Chan.
One thing is clear; the future of the industry is likely to involve compromise on both sides, creative and commercial. True, the Chinese mainland is pulling ahead of Hong Kong in film production; the former released 212 films compared to 63 in Hong-Kong. But the challenges are the same. New filmmakers are under tremendous pressure from investors, stars and the media to play it safe. Few investors are willing to back novice directors, and even when they do they frequently insist on controlling the shape of the film. What's more, the field has become extremely competitive, just as investors have cooled towards the industry. As a result, young filmmakers have become more and more timid — one mistake and they're out of the biz.
Take award-winning Hong Kong filmmaker and actress Barbara Wong (Wong Chunchun), for example. Wong spent nine long months building a network of connections to finance her first project — A Carburetor for Suzy – some of whom wanted to make significant changes to her script. Says Wong, "You need to persevere and to talk to many producers, but shouldn't be influenced by others' opinions." Unlike her early non-mainstream work featuring relatively unknown actors, Wong's latest movie Six Strong Guys, starring Ekin Cheng and Chapman To, was a modest success at the box office.
But hiring 'names' is something of a doubled-edged sword. Many investors are more interested in the cast, than the script. For Chinese mainland director Lu Chuan, filmmaking is a power struggle. The first battle is to convince investors the project is commercially sound; the second is to maintain authority with often pompous and petulant stars. "I don't feel comfortable with stars," says Lu, recalling his directorial debut, Missing Gun, starring Jiang Wen. "I will never use a star that ruins the direction of my movies."
The Xinjiang-born director's second film, Kekexili, with a cast of unknown mainland actors, won many awards for its poignant story and minimalist cinematography. Indeed, awards are near essential for young directors. "The media are so picky," says Lu. "If you don't get an award you're a nobody." But making films to please festival judges, is no guarantee of commercial success.
Lu's latest project, Bian Jiang, will be shot in Shanghai in Shanghainese, and concerns a local teacher who travels to Xingjiang to teach English. To increase the film's commercial potential, Lu agreed to the producer's request to cast big names – on one condition, that he maintains full control of the process.

Special thanks to the organizers of the 8th Shanghai International Film Festival.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
August 2005 issue

http://www.snda.com

Chinese video game operator Shanda, founded in late 1999, has grown to become one of the biggest companies to offer online video game services . Shanda sells both imported games from around Asia, as well as home-grown products, including South Korea’s "The Legend of Mir II" and the Chinese "The World of Legend", the two most popular online games in China in 2003 and 2004.
Specializing in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games (MMORPG) (their latest release was the cute "Magic Land"), the company also offers less demanding entries ("The Three Kingdoms"), in addition to electronic chess and board games. The site also includes an entertainment/literature portal (stories based on magic fantasy, science fiction and online games), and also a network platform for online PC games (the classic "Warcraft"). In two words, Shanda is "geek heaven"!

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2005 issue

http://www.oneaday.org
Without daily practice, the possibility of mastering Chinese is as remote as Mars. Which is why oneaday.org¡¯s concept, learn an idiom a day, is so wonderfully practical. Since its launch in September 2004, this minimalist site displays Chinese idioms with pinyin and English translation. In addition, it includes an archive section and a search engine, both of which are handy tools for increasing your colloquial vocabulary. Learn how to say "Better to be a piece of broken jade, than an unbroken tile" and impress your local friends.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2005 issue

http://www.talesofoldchina.com/

You won’t find much about the complicated love/hate relationship between Westerners and Chinese people in history books. Which is a shame as these deeply-rooted patterns of interplay continue to affect the social behavior of both parties – and in much the same way. Tales of Old China attempts to decipher the complicated relationships between east and west of the past, poisoned, as they were, by arrogance and mutual incomprehension. This site provides an informative database of materials, in English, from 1840 to 1950. Required reading for modern, would-be colonialists, and anyone with an interest in China.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2005 issue

Arguably, Germany gave birth to electronic music. As anyone who’s ever partied there can attest. Of course, electronic music has branched out considerably since its early days, from pounding house, to, well, Naomi’s unique brand of chill-out electronic pop. "Pappelallee is a slow and relaxed album," Nico Tobias, one-half of the Berlin-based band told that’s.
Before forming Naomi, Tobias and friend Bernd Lechler, gigged in separate bands, with little or no success. Fed up with straightforward songwriting (and no money), the pair decided to try their luck with electronic music.
"We started to play around with samples and drumloops and that's how Naomi started," says Lechler. Several tracks and remixes later, they perfected their now trademark sound with the release of their debut album Everyone Loves You in 2002. The single "Go", chosen for an Amnesty International TV spot and broadcast all over Germany, won instant success.
This second album, released in Shanghai by Hinote Records, is more personal and named after the street, "Pappelallee" or Poplar Alley" in Germany, where the band lives. The CD cover features a blue monkey face. Says Lechler, "There’s one song on the album called "King Kong Is Not Dead", and that title inspired our art designer to try out the monkey cover. Once you've seen it, you won't forget it."
"King Kong", along with "Fade Out" and "October", are as warm and consoling as a cup of coffee sipped in a comfortable armchair on a rainy day. Pop elements with acoustic guitars, melodeon, jazz ballads and a hint of reggae are thrown into an electronic universe. Vocals add another distinctive ingredient, and play an important part in the catchiness and accessibility of Naomi’s music. "Including vocals is natural for us," says Lechler. "We like to build instrumental tracks, but at the same time we are songwriters in our hearts, and that will always come through. Call us electronic songwriters."

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2005 issue

This new Chinese release of Placebo's singles won't disappoint long-time fans or those new to the band’s brand of urban rock. Influenced by the Pixies and Iggy Pop, Placebo delivers a simple, but effective, blend of punk, pop, glam and alternative rock. With 17 tracks culled from four albums and listed in chronological order, this compilation provides an effective overview of their evolution after nearly a decade of recording.
From their debut album Placebo to the latest, more accessible (commercial?), Sleeping with Ghosts, Placebo’s music documents the band’s evolving state of mind: from teenage angst, sexual doubt and self-centeredness, to maturity.
In later tracks, listeners will notice that lead singer Brian Molko's voice has improved over the years, thanks to stage experience and a rocker's diet of booze and cigarettes. This record, however, is no cut and paste product, rather it's a reworking of their best tunes. For instance, on "Without You I am Nothing," Molko shares vocals with friend David Bowie, while the original "Protect Me" is swapped for a French version, "Protége Moi."
Two previously unreleased cuts, "I Do" and "Twenty Years" offer insight into the group’s future direction. Overall, this CD offers a great introduction to the band and provides enough fresh material for those who already have the first four releases. One question: where is the classic "Nancy Boy" that brought the boys to fame?

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2005 issue

Once upon a time, singer-composer Lin Di met bass player Su Yong. Together they self-produced a demo album (Flying) under the name Cold Fairyland. Later on, the pair was joined by three other musicians they’d met and befriended in bars. For the last four years, the band has performed all around China and won fame, if not fortune, in the alternative scene.
In 2003, they released a demo album The Zoon of Stranger (available at www.miyadudu.com). Influenced by Portishead and Pink Floyd, their sound is similar to dream pop, but darker in tone and with the addition of folk elements, exemplified by the cello and pipa, for example. Their ethereal melodies blend feedback and sonic textures with indecipherable vocals akin to Faye Wong or the Cocteau Twins’ Elizabeth Frazer.
Lin Di also has a solo career, one that affords a living; she’s released three world-music albums on a Taiwanese label. The band performs both her solo work and their own music once a month at the ARK Live House in Xintiandi. Cold Fairyland offers all the proof you need that the Shanghai music scene is alive and kicking. With two new works scheduled for summer release, well, what can we say. Stay tuned…

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2005 issue

When Brit Keith Gordon met American Jon Taylor, they established, with two laptops and a small keyboard, "Ryukyu Underground;" named after the Japanese Ryukyu Islands, where Okinawa is located. Obsessed with the sound of Okinawa, they blend subsonic bass, ambient sounds and beats with traditional Japanese vocals. This third release is a neatly packaged two-hour, two-CD florilegium of their best; remixed and rearranged by some of the best talent on the planet – Kid Loco, Junkie XL, Bill Laswell, Dub Farm, to name but a few – in studios around the world.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2005 issue

On first listening to Oriental is Beautiful 2, which blends down-tempo grooves and lounge music with Indian and Tibetan influences, it seems the perfect compilation to load up after a wild night out. From Indian/Enigma sounds of Bocanada’s "Fuego", to the catchy percussion and hypnotic Tibetan vocals of David Visan and Michael Winter’s "Tamtra Tibet", to sitar samples and recurrent break beats of Badarali Kan’s "Black Night", this CD just gets better with repeated listenings.
Zeb’s "Romantic" is probably the most emblematic, catchy and delightful track on offer. Featuring Asian string and woodwind instruments and percussion mixed with electronic vibes, this cut pays tribute to its ancient roots with a rich modern sound. The CD bonus track, "Oriental Soft Mixed", includes prime cuts mixed and faded by DJ La Matt.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2005 issue

Twenty-eight years after the first installment, Georges Lucas ends his six- episode saga. Things have changed quite a bit in three decades. Good and evil were clear cut in episodes IV to VI, not so given the blurry politics in episodes I to III.
The latter series went to great length, explaining Anakin Skywalker's journey to become a Jedi knight, and how faced with doubts, he eventually switched to the dark side of the force. Of course, this is what audiences have been waiting for – the final explanation.
Most heroes are plain and dull, but Skywalker’s companions, and his strong-minded nemesis, add substance and excitement to the story. In this respect, Revenge of the Sith, with its fully-fleshed characters is the best of the last three installments, even if some loose ends from previous episodes are somewhat clumsily tied.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2005 issue

Two recent releases have proven how tricky is the task of comic book adaptation; an ongoing Hollywood trend aimed at saving the film majors from bankruptcy. The theory is that the simpler the plot, and the bigger the budget, the larger the audience (profit). But consider the following: Constantine was made by music-video director Francis Lawrence for USD100 million; Sin City was co-directed by filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (From Dusk Till Dawn), comics' illustrator Frank Miller and guest director Quentin Tarantino, for USD 45 million. The former is short on character development and fails to involve the viewer; the latter is rich in situations and characterization, and draws the viewer in.
Constantine, supposedly based on Hellblazer, is another Keanu Reeves vehicle. Ironically, for a comic adaptation the film takes itself far too seriously, and audiences are unable to suspend their sense of disbelief. Oddly enough, belief is the central topic of this deja-vu, good-versus-evil fight, which emphasizes F/X over storyline. The result is a blockbuster of a bore, at least until the last reel when all hell breaks loose.
Sin City, on the other hand, gets it right. From first to last frame, the film is faithful to the original B&W comics, with its imaginative B-movie budget and sense of anything goes. Solid production values, excellent writing, directing and acting add up to a very enjoyable experience; that is, if you can stand the ultra-violence.
Smart black and white compositions (Sin City won the Technical Award for best visuals at the Cannes Film Festival), with the odd splash of color, reveal the movie’s grasp of the real world: Good guys aren’t all white, and bad guys are even worse than we thought. Outcasts, killers and virtuous prostitutes fight corrupt officials, cannibals and inhuman mobs. Comic adaptations don’t get any better than this.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2005 issue

This month’s guilty pleasures both encourage America’s paranoid tendencies. Both movies describe in a more or less serious fashion (Carpenter will be Carpenter), a society where free will is jeopardized by the government and/or secretive organizations driven by profit and power.
To escape this threat, according to the theory presented here, individuals must live on the margins of society and have no personal attachments (loved ones are either dead or absent), indeed, have no attachments of any sort. Only through utter detachment can one penetrate the conspiracy which in Pakula’s film, The Parallex View, involves the assassination of liberals. Viewers might wonder how on earth these conspirators manage to get away with the large-scale recruitment of killers and all these assassinations. You’ll have to watch to the end to find out.
Conspiracy comes from an altogether different source in They Live, which tells the story of an unemployed man who professes a strong belief in the American way, i.e., freedom. His particular brand of paranoia is the result of a pair of unusual sunglasses, which allows him to spot aliens. He uncovers the aliens’ plot to control society using subliminal messages posted on every street corner.
Both films reveal the cost we must pay for free thought, and the process reveals how painful and spectacular reality can be. Only the paranoid need apply.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2005 issue

The Butterfly Lovers is to Chinese what Romeo and Juliet is to Westerners, an ancient romantic story filled with tragedy. The story relates how Zhu Ying Tai disguises herself as a boy to pursue education at a college where women are forbidden. She befriends then later falls in love with her classmate Liang Shan Bo. But her father forces her to marry a powerful official in order to strengthen the family social position.
The Butterfly Lovers has been adapted countless times in diverse forms: operas, concertos, stage plays and movies (two versions are remarkable, Li Han Hsiang’s The Lover Eterne, 1963, and Tsui Hark’s The Lovers, 1994). Here this historical legend is animated in a rare attempt to modernize the myth and make it accessible to a new generation. With its imaginative design, international production standards and inspired direction, this version could have been a real treat.
Unfortunately, the film suffers from what seems to be two conflicting aims. With an over-abundance of characters, the viewer is confused; at the same time the complex emotions of the original has been reduced to a simple tale of good versus evil. Finally, the pop music soundtrack grates. Considering the merits of the source material, it’s a pity the filmmakers have brought this production down to the level of a Disney production.


(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2005 issue