Freedom?

Ha Yoon-ju (codename Piglet) 

I've just had one of the most important cinematic nights of my life. One of those nights that has shed light on my wants and the flaws in what little remains of my shattered dreams. Even before my ear-trauma escalated I was already toying with the idea of switching focus from West to East. The further down this miserable path I make it the more I rely on this one last bastion of hope to get me to move forward.

So when the 24th Stockholm International Film Festival came up I decided to challenge my ears and do what felt right. I wasn't going to ignore it like last year. This year I was going to see as many Asian films I could fit into my schedule. And now? Halfway through the festival and I have managed to see 8 films so far, with 7 more screenings planned along with a short film event two days from now. The films so far have all been from the Orient and have varied in quality quite a bit. However I can without a doubt say that my favorite films so far are the ones I just finished watching as of writing this entry.

Of the Oriental countries I have (what I would at least claim myself to be) a firm grasp of the film culture, my favorite is probably South Korea. Japan may have a vast library of films both modern and historical, but there is something about the polish of South Korean thrillers that just appeals to be like few other films do. However the gap between Korea and Japan is very slim and I can only rejoice and smile at the fact that these two countries are within boating distance of one another.

The third country I have some (lesser but still noteworthy) knowledge of is of course China. I would claim that Hong Kong cinema is where my Chinese cinema knowledge lies, but I have endulged in classical mainland works, especially those made by the People's Republic's flagship directors Zhang Yimou and Ang Lee.

As far as Hong Kong cinema goes, In the Mood For Love is probably my favorite film.

Whenever I get a chance to inform someone (in very broad strokes, mind) about my impressions of Asian cinema I usually state the following: Korea make probably the best and most throughly polished thrillers in the world right now, Japan makes essentially everything from quirky comedies to badass action movies and are masters at blending genres defying Western expectations of how a movie's narrative should progress, whilst China make beautiful love stories both visually and story-wise.

Of course there are exceptions to this, China has an immense culture of Martial Arts and action movies, I've seen Korean comedies that have made me laugh so hard my sides ached and Japan is without a doubt able to spin beautiful and engaging romantic stories that ask complex questions about relationships between men, women, children and adults. I feel that having some appreciation of what I have come to get as my frame of reference, might be benefitial to comprehend what my feelings on the two films I just saw is.

The first movie I went to see is the South Korean thriller "Cold Eyes", a story about a team of government agents who specialize in reconnaissance and surveillance. The film is extremely well-made, with great use of camera movement and perspective, and is one of few Korean films I have seen where the lead is a strong, competent woman which is a pleasant surprise. The title of the movie refers to the changing structure of our society and how it is harder and harder for any of us to hide when there are cameras watching nearly everywhere in the places we share with each other. In this film the cameras are a positive presence, aiding our heroes in their attempt in apprehending a particularly cunning team of bank robbers who seem to know all the city's blind spots.

The movie blew me away and I wish I could spend this entire text speaking about how much I loved it, from its humor to the intensity of the action sequences, but the focus for this text sadly isn't that. No, instead of praising "Cold Eyes" we instead move our attention to the seonc film of the evening; the Chinese drama/thriller "Trap Street". "Trap Street" is the story of street serveyor Li Qiuming, who on a routine assignment sees a beautiful woman and becomes immediately smitten with her. As luck would have it he manages to run into her several times. After giving her a ride during a harsh rain storm she accidentally leaves a case with two USB memory sticks in the back of his truck.

Qiuming is thrilled by this golden oppurtunity to see the woman again and it does indeed work out t his benefit. The two begin to date, and despite her rather mysterious and reserved demeanor the two begin to fall in love. It is known to both Qiuming and the audience that his new girlfriend's job is top secret and lies somewhere on the street where the two met. Qiuming also realizes that that particular street is for some reason virtually invisible, not appearing on any GPS and all the data they collect while surveying comes back as corrupted or otherwise unusable.

Eventually it turns out that some of the data on the USB sticks that Qiuming came across has been leaked and that this along with his obsession with trying to figure out why the street his girlfriend works on is invisible lead to party officials stealing him away and locking him up in an apartment where they keep him for days, trying to make him confess to stealing government secrets and working against the party.

A woman, who had recently met with the film's director and writer Vivian Qu in Beijing introduced the film on her behalf and explained how the film was based on real experiences and how the film is forbidden to be put on exhibition in the People's Republic of China. The whole festival's theme is in fact "freedom" and one of the judges invited to the event is Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei, who is currently in house arrest, and therefor unable to attend the festival. He introduces every screening via a video message where he takes off his clothes and flipping the audience the bird while telling them to "be happy", and the film "Trap Street" is a great examination of fears that have struck me several times over the last few years.

It wasn't until after "Trap Street" had ended and I was on the way out of the theater that I came to realize how truly perfect the two movies fit together. Beyond the whole mental conundrum of "what Asian country should I focus on trying to move to?" both films shared themes but also served as each other's exact opposites at the same time. "Cold Eyes" revels in showing us how intelligent the infrastructure of Seoul is, and how technology can be used to stop crimes. It's highly polished, cinematic and melodramatic in its presentation and it all wraps up in a near perfect piece of cinema. It is also based on a Chinese movie called "The Eye in the Sky", which is also a good thing to remember since that is an easy way to assure the populace in the People's Republic that the government is keeping them safe with their surveillance systems while also reminding them to uphold the law.

Qiuming before the shit hits the fan.

"Trap Street" is a film that instead of going for sheen chooses to show a more dirty and down to earth world where the eye of the government is as far from beneficial as it could possibly be. In fact there is a scene in the movie where Qiuming, in an attempt to make some extra money helps his roommate to sweep hotel rooms which will be used to house party officials for hidden cameras and microphones. This scene is perfectly juxaposed with another scene where the two friends install cameras in a men's bathhouse, citing regulations from the government as the reason when patrons complain about having their privacy taken away from them.

The sombre tone in "Trap Street" fills my head with a lot of emotions and thoughts. Guilt, for turning my head the other way, choosing to begin my trek into Asian literary culture not by reading Mo Yan's "The Garlic Ballads", Chan Koonchung's "The Fat Years" or Yiyun Li's "The Vagrants", books that deal with the oppression of the Chinese populace, but by reading Koushun Takami's "Battle Royale" where the social commentary is drenched in enough science fiction to make it easier to swallow. Anger, for all people who deserve the closest thing to freedom that our world can allow, but are denied it by greedy people. Helplessness, for not knowing how to help. I've resigned my self from so many causes I secretely care for, but can this one really be surpressed with the rest of them?

But more than anything it makes me feel fear, a powerful fear that has festered within me for years now. What happens to us when the People's Republic no longer secretely stand as the true leader of the world? But when they openly do so? Can we of the "free world" remain free when the country that we answer to is not? I want to say yes, but my head whispers the answer I don't want to hear. I thought freedom may come to the Chinese people, and I still hope it will. Internet, the mixing of the races, the world is changing both technology wise and ethnically, but where I used to say that the over reliance on the internet for entertainment and comfort would bring the downfall of the western world while giving the oppressed a chance to taste what we have for so long had. I forgot something in all my dreaming though, they will have the same cameras covering their street corners, the same satellites bouncing signals through the air. The silver lining just got a little less clear to me.

I'll try to keep my hope alive, because the more I think about it the more I truly believe that my path will probably see me end up on that small peninsula by the Yellow Sea, or on that small strip of islands where so many stories of cherry blossoms and honorable warriors have been told over the years. And the closest country will be whichever country is lucky enough to not have me as a resident, along with the world's most populated country, where the government is eager to move as many millions of people as possible from the countryside to the cities. Where they are easy to count, easy to reach and easy to control.

"Cold Eyes" may have been my favorite out of the two films I saw today, but "Trap Street" has kickstarted something within me that had stalled among personal worries, sadnesses and anger. I see censorship. Barred windows. Locked doors. But the fight is everlasting within the human heart, and one day things will have to change. Somehow.

Where will I be when it does? In the ground? In the same chair I am now? In a front row seat? I don't know, but until then I guess I'll start by reading "The Garlic Ballads"!