In God's Army?

Incendies (Great Blaze, French, English, Arabic; 2010)

Director: Dennis Villenue

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1255953/

This film has garnered numerous awards and is widely regarded as one of Denis Villeneuve's greatest directorial achievements. It is a compelling film that not only unveils the brutality of wars and conflicts driven by beliefs but also depicts the trauma that ordinary people suffer and often carry to their graves. 

Like the mother in this film, who escaped civil war in the Middle East (probably Lebanon) and spent her final years bitter, she had a strained relationship with her only remaining relatives, her twin adult children.

When her appointed trustee, her former employer, reads out her will, the mother has outlined certain conditions. For the first time in their lives, they learn of the existence of a half-brother in their mother's country of origin. The children are tasked with delivering two letters, one to their half-brother and another to their father. Reluctantly, the children undertake a journey to the Middle East. After navigating a country torn apart by civil war along religious lines, they compile a composite sketch of their mother, illustrating what she endured as a teenager. Her first love with a Muslim boy was opposed and led to her family's disapproval. She had a child out of wedlock, who was left behind when she left her home.

She tried to improve herself through education, but a civil war disrupted all her efforts. Embroiled in the underground student movement, she went on to assassinate a radical Muslim leader. She was imprisoned, tortured, and raped. Her village was bombed, and her illegitimate child ended up in an orphanage. The child was recruited as a child soldier by the Muslim rebel group. What happens at the end will leave a bitter aftertaste. There's nothing obscene about the whole thing. Such events often occur during wars and civil unrest. Moral fibre and basic decency are lost. Rape, looting, and senseless killings happen when a society is broken. Moreover, when perpetrators carry out their acts in the name of God, they believe it is justified, as God is marching alongside them.

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Delon, the clothing moghul?

Plein Soleil (Purple Noon, French; 1960)
Director: René Clément

Malaysians are more familiar with Alain Delon as a stylish clothing brand than as an accomplished actor. He was definitely an accomplished person, and he is synonymous with French cinema in the vein of Gérard Depardieu and Bridgette Bardot. Like his career, his personal life was colourful, with criminal investigations, multiple affairs, and offspring.

He died at the age of 88 in 2024.

In his heyday, he was a prolific actor with sex appeal who toured between French cinema and Hollywood. 

This is one of his early movies, which launched his career. It is a dark tale about two buddies who have a strange relationship. Delon, the poorer of the duo, is constantly bullied and ridiculed by his wealthy friend. Actually, they are not friends at all. Delon is just a messenger passing a message from his father for a fee. The rich guy has a yacht and a pretty girlfriend. 

Long story short, Delon kills the rich guy and assumes his identity. He then tries to woo his girlfriend by spinning a tale that the boyfriend left her for another. Meanwhile, the police are hot on his trail because they smell a rat. The rest of the story is a cat-and-mouse game, with Delon running from the police and the girlfriend finding her lover. It has excellent entertainment value.

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The lonely road to success?

Le Samourai (The Samurai; 1967)

Director: Jean-Pierre Melville

The film title card starts with a fabricated quote from Bushido, the moral code of the samurai. It says, "There is no greater solitude than that of the samurai, unless it is that of the tiger in the jungle… perhaps". Miyamoto Musashi, probably Japan's foremost samurai swordsman of the late 16th century, is said to have said this, among other things. He describes the solitary path to success as being filled with loneliness. Solitude accompanies the path to success. He further goes on to say, in one of the books that he had written, that solitude shapes, moulds, and builds character all along our journey to success.

Does this go against the grain of what we have been taught? We had been told that we are social animals and that a man is not an island. Social interaction is essential for mental health, and a child turns out to be developmentally stunted without the tactile stimulation of his loved ones.

On the other hand, we know how lousy companies and wrong associations often derail our ambitions to attain greater heights. There is a reason why high-level athletes and sportsmen train in isolation before a major event. In the same vein, I suppose seekers of greater knowledge should focus on the quest rather than be swayed by the white noise surrounding them. Is this the detachment Buddha mentions in his teachings, with attachment being the root of all misery?

In the Samurai code, there are guidelines that they have to follow. Their allegiance and loyalty are laid out clearly. His loyalty to his Lord is paramount. But when a samurai loses his master, he drifts around aimlessly like a leaf on moving water, swaying at random to forces of nature. Yet, he is still alone but without any direction in life, clutching on straws for direction and strength. 

'Le Samourai' is a classic French noir that stood the test of time. Combining the elements of art in filmmaking while maintaining its suspense in storytelling, it narrates the tale of a paid assassin who works alone. He laboriously details his every job to perfection. His last job, even though successful, hits a snag. He had been targeted as a possible suspect by the French police. The hiring party, naturally, gets hot under their collar. 

The assassin now has to run to save his own skin, not only from the police who want to pin him down but also from his hirers, who would rather have him eliminated than squeal to the police for their involvement. The assassin, now no longer a samurai but a ronin, has to use his survival skills and judgement to be alive. The silver lining of all is that there is a pretty pianist who was an eyewitness to the murder and can identify the killer but prefers to stay mum. 

It's a good watch—4.3/5—and one of Alain Delon's best movies, which skyrocketed him to the international market.

P.S. Freud and Nietzsche found wisdom through silence found in nature walks and roaming the wilderness. Hardcore criminals are placed in solitary confinement, hoping that they will find meaning of life through self-reflection. Unfortunately, this approach of living in a silo may not be applicable to all. Men of the robe have to flaunt the gift of their gab to showcase themselves as the saviours of mankind. Politicians meet an audience to cheat them blind. Businessmen need people interaction to patronise their premises. Solitude brings these people nothing.

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End of the line...

Le Cercle Rouge (French, The Red Circle; 1970)
Written & Directed by: Jean-Pierre Melville

The 'Red Circle' referenced in the title is from a fabricated quotation allegedly uttered by Siddhartha Gautama. The Buddha had apparently drawn a circle with a piece of red chalk and said: "When men, even unknowingly, are to meet one day, whatever may befall each, whatever the diverging paths, on the said day, they will inevitably come together in the red circle." 

That red circle is where we will all converge to be judged after all our shenanigans here on Earth. We can aggrandise ourselves all we want, follow the path that we think is true, pray to the God we believe is the true God, and label others as lost causes. When we reach the end of the line, it will all be the same.

This French heist film is set in Paris and boasts an intense, suspense-filled, nearly 30-minute silent heist sequence that is the climax. Silence and intense focus create a riveting experience. 

Most people revisited this film after its leading actor, Alain Delon, passed away recently. Delon was a prolific French actor who acted in over 100 films. He became the symbol of the French New Wave movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Director John Woo was inspired by this film.

It is the story of a petty thief who is tipped off of a jewellery shop he could rob after his release from prison. At the same time, a prisoner escapes police custody and joins the thief. Together with a crooked cop, they plan the jewel theft. Hot on their trail is a dedicated police officer. A good cat-and-mouse movie. We know what will happen in the end - all will sprawl in the red circle.

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Hatred breeds hatred

La Haine (Hatred, French, 1995)
Screenplay, Direction: Mathieu Kassovitz

This hint has been present throughout our history. Contended people make peaceful nations. Peaceful regions bring prosperity, meaning wealth. When people have money jingling in their pockets, they can fill their stomachs and are happy. They are kind to each other and respect each other.

I still remember my history teacher, Mr LKK, in his theatrical manner, describing the scene in France in 1789 before the Bastille invasion. The peasants were hungry, while King Louis XVI and Mary Antonette were busy enjoying their cakes. This resentment eventually, as we know it, changed world history.

This film tries to highlight the same point: Resentment among the people brings hate, and hate begets more hate. The people in the lower socioeconomic strata will always get the raw end of the bargain. Any new legislation or taxation will affect the poor more than the affluent. Understandably, they are the community with the lowest threshold for dissatisfaction.

The hate that brews in the suburbia and the poorer side of town is dangerous. When people are helpless, violence remains the last bastion of expression. This film was hailed for highlighting the slow cancer growing in the banlieues (troubled French suburbs) that needed government attention before it became a national catastrophe. Sadly, the result of that warning is reality. Frequent rioting in French, German and Belgian suburbs is common.

The film tells the story of a broken suburbia. There is no economic activity, and the young have no future to plan for. They identify themselves with gangs. Three young lads, a Franco-African, a Jew and a Muslim, are close friends. There is a semblance of a school but hardly any teaching. Children are not interested, and the outdoors is dangerous, with frequent rioting and police raids.

One gang member is seriously injured by the police. It angers one of the two teenagers in the story. The rest of the tale is about their wasteful wandering, doing seemingly unproductive things, and getting into the wrong side of the law in the next 24 hours.

It is about a society in free fall, the nightmare that no nation leader would want to see in his tenure. The responsible citizens must read the writing on the wall and act accordingly. When the domino wall starts falling, there is no stopping. The dialogue at the end of the movie tells it all. When the society is going down, it tells itself, 'so far so good, so far so good'. It does not matter how it falls; all that matters is how it ends!

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To Money God, with love.

Traditional Vietnamese stone
carving at Ba Na Hill cable car station.

 

They led peaceful lives by their standards. They were ruled by little kingdoms with their own belief systems and mode of administration. There were little skirmishes here and there, but the subjects were contended, breaking their backs and building mammoth structures for their kings and the divine forces that protected them. They had a sense of belonging to the land that served them. In their own way, they developed their high culture for the present and the world after.

Then came the foreign invaders. With their imposing figures, strange hues, smell, and conducts, they bulldozed their ideology. They handed us the book of love with the pretext of friendship and commerce. Whilst we closed our eyes in prayer, they took our land deeds unbeknownst to us, and we were stuck with their books.

No more a godless society?

They looked down at our living and called it uncultured. The French colonist proclaimed our land theirs and decimated our structures just to replace them and build buildings in French designs. They introduced French haute culture, theatre and the French way of living. 

We fought tooth and nail to assert our dominance. Fought we did, only to be a pawn in world politics afterwards. After sending the French packing, we had to fight our brothers over political leanings beset by the superpowers beyond our control. Many had to flee the country as the Americans experimented with cocktails of chemicals on us. We again sent the foreigners again, packing in a rush for good this time. 

With a new pack of friends from the North, we again started going places. Maybe because they share a common heritage and a love for the Money God, we have set the wheel of progress. My people have what it takes and have no qualms going the whole nine yards to see us through to recreate a kingdom so prosperous so long ago. We have the tenacity to work our way all the way to the top.

Entrance to My Son, Champa heritage.
Ruins of a glorious Hindu civilisation.

View atop Marble Mountain Da Nang.

Indo-Chinese fusion: the hirsute monk and dragons.

China's marvel at engineering is on full display.
Entrance to the world's largest cable car service.
5km long in Da Nang, the 3rd biggest city in Vietnam.

Chinese architecture in Indo-China!

Not a rafflesia. 

The might of Chinese engineering Ba Na Hills.

Was the tiger awoken?
40 years ago, the US bombed Vietnam to smithereens.

Too sanitised for sanitation?

A mock French village in Vietnam? Da Nang

Is slave mentality on display? The colonised trying to mimic the colonisers?

The French left them with beer culture and a sense of dressing up.
Most Vietnamese women were dressed to the nines.
The culture of 'slutty dressing' has not permeated yet, as for now.

A peacock in a French garden?

The invisible hands that control us all?

To keep up with the Joneses?

Can we build, or ‘copy and paste’?!

Seafood galore!

We will sing for you; we will dance for you. At your service!

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The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Lost Illusion (Illusions Perdues, French, 2022)
Director: Xavier Giannoli
(Based on 'Illusions perdues' by Honoré de Balzac)

The distinction between the left and the right side of politics is said to have had its origin at the time of King Louis XVI. Those seated to the right were royalties and the nobilities who were quite contented with the status quo, that is, authoritarianism and the church's excessive meddling. The feudalistic method of wealth distribution works just fine for them, thanks to their linkages to the monarch. Those on the left of the King earned their every penny through hard work and hard-sell. Naturally, they abhor cronyism and want level playing fields.

The French revolution jolted this arrangement at its core. The peasants did not want to be reminded of their past anymore. People with surnames that had an association with the royalties and aristocrats were hunted down and guillotined. By the post-Napoleonic era, things had resorted back to how it was before the time the French broke down the gates of bastille. French society had been divided again by class. Money, wealth and ancestor became important again.

Against this background, Balzac wrote this classic. It is the story of a talented young 20-year-old man from the countryside who lands in 1821 Paris to be a somebody. Lucien, a man embarrassed by his heritage, comes armed with poetry and the zest to be a famous poet. He earlier is caught having an affair with a high society woman, somebody's wife. He soon discovers a world full of fake news and a press willing to prostitute itself to the highest bidder. His dream to be a poet crumbles as his writings hurt the sentiments of a certain section of society. Nobody writes the truth anymore. It all depends on who is their paymaster. The more things seem to change, the more they seem to recoil back to how it was previously. He falls in love with a budding actress, but her career is also cut short by these critics who shoot down talent with scathing jeers and paid negative reviews. Lucien comes home an empty man.

The kudos we read in the newsreels are because the reporters were told to do so. Publishers publish articles that meet their agendas. They realise that a lie often repeated becomes the unassailable truth.

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