【枫叶电影文学评论】'Double Happiness' -the other side of the coin

【Double Happiness】:【枫叶电影文学评论】

Friday, April 04, 2008

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"Double Happiness" -the other side of the coin  （ A
喜喜 字 和‘硬币的另一面’

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Watching “Double Happiness” directed by a Canadian, Mina Shum is a real enjoyment for the audience whether familiar or not with the mixed cultures.

It was an awards winner at international movie festival, Toronto 1994. Sandra, Oh (Korean, named Jade, Li in movie) won the Best Actress playing a Chinese-born Canadian girl of 20’s in love, seeking career, and emotionally in conflicting with parents, struggling in between cultures. Obviously, as entitled the “Double Happiness” is a symbol vital for the making and enjoying the film. Also seen in the Character, Jade Li, performed in a way “double-sided”, which is quite amusing.

Starting from the symbol, Canadian director,-Mina Shum unfolds the bicultural romance uniquely with symbolic elements in filming. Let’s take a look:

Note how the ‘Double Happiness’ stands? The film is charming, first of all, for its comedic translating of the symbol. “Double Happiness” is the Chinese Character, often seen at weddings. In a very early scene, Mina Shum focuses “Double happiness”, in the center of the screen. This is very serious “character’, a big word, allows no mistake in life. This Chinese character symbolizes a good matched the marriage doubles the happiness

But viewers can notice one part of the character is up-side down. It really serves as a key symbolic hint for audience with the Culture, asking a big “why?” to hook the viewers. Interestingly, it is taken away.
As we are watching later, Jade, Li suffers, and tries to escape from “parents’ arrangement for her love and the marriage. Quite lot of the film used to picture how she fails to meet ‘parent’s chosen’ life partners.
Later her secret meeting with a white university student Mark too is totally against family’s wills, a rebel action in Oriental value. Climaxed in a later scene, as Jade runs into the rain, showing Jade’s innate furious and pain

“Lazy Susan”, ‘Red-bean-bun’ and “Curtain’ to the window.  The symbolism is very strong and unique in Mina Shum’s movie. So real in life it may looks. Decoding those symbols in its cultural origin is really a lure, and satisfy viewers curiosity.
 
There are many scenes are related with ‘foods’. The ‘lazy’ Susan’ slowly turns, from the very beginning, when family is at table, viewers are getting closer to the Chinese family eating manners, the ways how the family communicates, and even can smell the culture already.

Then the repentance “red-bean-bun” so peculiar a kind of ‘food’ that the father so keen on eating is another example of symbolism applied to tell the stumble-ness of the ‘Father’ sticking to his way of living; reflects also the unchangeable mind-set, the family value in making the decision to arrange Jade ‘to make decision’ and to meet ‘dates’ and find ‘best choice’ for his daughter’s partner for marriage.

Another symbolic is at the end. “Finally, Jade, Li is frustrated and decides to move out. She is saddened in an empty room putting down unconsciously a family picture they took in rain. Then she walks towards the window, in the last few seconds of the film: she is hanging and covering the window with a colorful ‘west-patterned’ curtain facing the screen…”

Then viewers are looking a window in an “oil-painting frame” with some uncertain pattern as a picture closes implicating the uncertainty mixed with excitement inside of being free, or “being not knowing" what’s going to happen after”. Here the spiritual freedom is strongly symbolized and so nicely framed.

From the acting side, performed by talented actress Sandra, Oh, (Korean) in the play Jade, Li’s life is double-sided too. She not only playing role of an obedient good girl at home, but suffering dates arranged by the parents, but on the other side enjoys seeking happiness, love (with a white university boy), career and soul; her own self-recognition of the identity in struggling, and in conflicting between values is really a double-sided role hard to play.
 
The movie offers us a closer look at some of these Chinese symbols, mirrors what happens to Jade Li’s ‘double sided’ aspect of life controversially.
The joy ‘doubles’ as well in watching, either you re within or out of the oriental culture. Or just familiar with, and you are interested in, this is a film pictured in a way of “doubling” and you’ll feel like sitting in between the conflicts.
It’s a provocative stuff to watch. The two sides of the coin turn smoothly and humorously for multiple audiences in multicultural cities.

-750 words Rated 7+

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所有跟帖： 

• 哪位给翻成中文？^^ -rayray- ♀ (0 bytes) () 04/06/2008 postreply 22:33:33

• 回复：不好意思只是笔记，求高手赐网络中文语音出入，以利交流？ -一语湖边_lakeshore- ♂ (0 bytes) () 04/06/2008 postreply 22:39:53