Category: 2024 Entries
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka (directors), Stonewalling, 2022. 148 min. The first time she wears the t-shirt she paces before a mirror practicing a tongue twister. βForty…
![[REVIEW] βFemme Fatale: On Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsukaβs ππ‘ππππ€ππππππβ by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/huang-ji-ryuji-otsuka-return-with-third-collaboration-with-yao-honggui-stonewalling.webp?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Yiu-Wai Chu, Hong Kong Pop Culture in the 1980s: A Decade of Splendour, Asian Visual Cultures series, Amsterdam University Press, 2023. 305 pgs. While my previous two…
![[REVIEW] “Esprit of the City: Yiu-Wai Chuβs π»πππ πΎπππ πππ πΆπ’ππ‘π’ππ ππ π‘βπ 1980π ” by Mario Rustan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/hong-kong-pop-culture-in-the-1980s.jpg?w=930)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Makoto Shinkai and Naruki Nagakawa (authors), Ginny Tapley Takemori (translator), She and Her Cat, Washington Square Press, 2024. 144 pgs. As a reader, Iβd never thought that Iβd be…
![[REVIEW] βUniversally Relevant Today: Makoto ShinkaiΒ &Β Naruki Nagakawaβs πβπ πππ π»ππ πΆππ‘β by Saliha HaddadΒ](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/she-and-her-cat.jpg?w=966)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Babak Jalali (director), Fremont, 2023. 88 min. “Fortune messages are a responsibility. Consciously, or unconsciously, they are going to act on the flux of things. They shouldn’t…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Inside the Fortune Cookie: Babak Jalali’s πΉππππππ‘” by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/fremont.jpg?w=799)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Wong Ping (director), Sorry for the Late Reply, 2021. 15 min. βIf youβve ever stepped into the supernatural world during a hike, or have gotten lost in…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βSeeking Freedom in the Midst of Sexual Fetishes and Voyeurism: Wong Ping’s πππππ¦ πππ π‘βπ πΏππ‘π π
πππ𦔠by Octavia Chen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/sorry-for-the-late-reply_wong-ping.jpg?w=830)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Yangsze Choo, The Fox Wife, Henry Holt and Company, 2024. 400 pgs. One of the biggest challenges a novelist has is that of worldbuilding. In the world…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “A Historic Thriller Steeped in the Mythical Mists of Time: Yangsze Choo’s πβπ πΉππ₯ ππππ” by Kevin McGeary](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/the-fox-wife_yangsze-choo.jpg?w=974)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on A Cha Chaan Teng That Does Not Exist. Derek Chung (author), May Huang (translator), A Cha Chaan Teng That Does Not Exist, Zephyr…
![[REVIEW] βA Bilingual Local Tasting Menu: Derek Chungβs π΄ πΆβπ πΆβπππ ππππ πβππ‘ π·πππ πππ‘ πΈπ₯ππ π‘β by William Lau](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/a-cha-chaan-teng-that-does-not-exist.jpg?w=1024)
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Paul Bevan’s Introduction: This story comes from a series entitled Ways and Pathways. Each story in the series follows an individual, a man or woman, as they walk from point A to point B, and sometimes back again, and focuses…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “A Walk Around the Square” by Paul Bevan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/partial-eclipse.png?w=1024)
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Vanessa Yee-kwan Wongβs Note: βNauseaβ was published in Wong Bik-wanβs ι»η’§ι²Tenderness and Violence ζΊ«ζθζ΄η (Cosmo Books, 1994). Inspired by Jean-Paul Sartreβs novel of the same name (La NausΓ©e, 1938), the story encourages an existentialist reading of Hong Kongβs political precarity…
![[TRANSLATION] βNauseaβ by Wong Bik-wan, Translated by Vanessa Yee-kwan Wong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/wong-bik-wan-1.png?w=940)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS BuYun Chen, Empire of Style: Silk and Fashion in Tang China, University of Washington Press, 2019. 272 pgs. Although the name βSilk Roadβ is a fairly modern…
![[REVIEW] βTantalising with Questions: BuYun Chen’s πΈπππππ ππ ππ‘π¦ππβ by Stephen Maire](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/empire-of-style-silk-and-fashion-in-tang-china.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Dennis WΓΌrthner (translator), Tales of the Strange by a Korean Confucian Monk: KΕmo sinhwa by Kim SisΕp, University of Hawaiβi Press, 2020. 402 pgs. Also known as…
![[REVIEW] βFound in Translation: πππππ ππ π‘βπ ππ‘πππππ ππ¦ π πΎπππππ πΆππππ’ππππ ππππβ by Lydia Kwa](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/dennis-wurthner.jpg?w=940)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Γlise Girard (director), Sidonie in Japan, 2024. 95 min. Sidonie Perceval (Isabelle Huppert) is a writer, or at least she once was. She has now decided to…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βSpectral Valency: Γlise Girard’s πππππππ ππ π½ππππ” by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/elise-girard-director-sidonie-in-japan-2024.-95-min.jpg?w=559)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Leanne Dunic, Wet, Talonbooks, April 2024. 133 pgs. Interwoven throughout Wet, Leanne Dunicβs most recent book named as one of the 37 poetry collections the Canadian Broadcasting…
![[REVIEW] “A Poem Epic in Length, Powerfully Cautionary: Leanne Dunic’s πππ‘” by Marsha McDonald](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/wet_leanne-dunic-wet-talonbooks.jpg?w=1000)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Bingbing Shi (editor), Fu Xiuying (author, tr. Christopher MacDonald), Xu Zechen (author, tr. Eric Abrahamsen), Xu Kun (author, tr. Katherine Tse), Qiu Huadong (author, tr. Paul Harris),…
![[REVIEW] βA Quirky Composite Portrait: πβπ π΅πππ ππ π΅ππππππβ by Sabina Knight](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/bingbing-shi-editor-the-book-of-beijing.jpg?w=732)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Sosuke Natsukawa (author), Louise Heal Kawai (translator), The Cat Who Saved Books, HarperCollins, 2021. 208 pgs. The Cat Who Saved Books starts sadly when the main character, Rintaro…
![[REVIEW] “A Criticism of the Ways in Which Modern Society Treats, Sees, and Produces Books: Sosuke Natsukawa’s πβπ πΆππ‘ πβπ πππ£ππ π΅ππππ ” by Hui-Hua Lu](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/the-cat-who-saved-cats_sosuke-natsukawa.jpg?w=992)
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πRETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS πRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kim Hyesoon (author), Don Mee Choi (translator), Phantom Pain Wings, New Directions, 2023. 208 pgs. Reading Kim Hyesoonβs Phantom Pain Wings is an uncanny experience of growing wings and…
![[REVIEW] “The Birth of Deathly Birds: Kim Hyesoonβs πβπππ‘ππ ππππ πππππ ” by Kammy Lee](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/phantom-pain-wings.jpg?w=1000)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Life Ceremony. Sayaka Murata (author), Ginny Tapley Takemori (translator), Life Ceremony, Granta Books, 2023. 272 pgs. Sayaka Murataβs Life Ceremony is a disturbing…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βWhen The Translations Hit, They Really Hit: Sayaka Murata’s πΏπππ πΆπππππππ¦β by Grace Najmulski](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/life-ceremony_cha.jpg?w=933)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka (directors and screenwriters), The Foolish Bird 笨ι³₯, 2017. 118 min. One minute into The Foolish Bird 笨ι³₯, I realised that, despite being…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βA Portrait of Those Left Behind: πβπ πΉπππππ β π΅πππβ by X. H. Collins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/the-foolish-bird_cha.jpg?w=800)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Jessica J. Lee, Two Trees Make a Forest, Catapult, 2020, 282 pgs. The first day in the cloud forest softened me to fogβ¦ Behind me, if I held…
![[REVIEW] βOur Histories House So Much Loss But They House So Much Love Too: Jessica J. Lee’s ππ€π πππππ ππππ π πΉππππ π‘β by Tracy Hwang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/two-trees-make-a-forest.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Amy Lin, Here After, Zibby Books, 2024, 272 pgs. My dad became a widower in his late thirties. I was born a few years after that, a…
![[REVIEW] βTo Mourn and Remember: Amy Linβs π»πππ π΄ππ‘ππβ by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/here-after-amy-lin-copy.jpg?w=817)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Chungking Express. Wong Kar-wai (director), Chungking Express (4K Restored Edition), 2021 (1994). 103 min. To mark the 30th anniversary of the original release…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “An Ode to Unrequited Love, 30 Years Later: Wong Kar-wai’s πΆβπ’ππππππ πΈπ₯ππππ π ” by Soo Ryon Yoon](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/chungking-express_3.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS On Cats: An Anthology, introduction by Margaret Atwood and photographs by Elliot Ross, Notting Hill Editions, 2021. 84 pgs. Cats are a curious and ancient animal choice…
![[REVIEW] “The People in These Stories Have Found a Soulmateβππ πΆππ‘π : π΄π π΄ππ‘βππππ𦔠by Marsha McDonald](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/oncats.webp?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ onΒ Perfect Days. Wim Wenders (director),Β Perfect Days, 2023. 123 min. Perfect Days (2023) is a drama directed by Wim Wenders, from a script written…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “An Excellent Example of Slow Cinema: Wim Wenders’s πππππππ‘ π·ππ¦π ” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/perfect-days-copy.webp?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on In the Mood for Love. Wong Kar-wai (director), In the Mood for Love, 2000. 98 min. Wong Kar-Waiβs In the Mood for Love…
![[REVIEW] βLost in Translation: The Perverse Pains and Pleasures of Globalisation in Wong Kar-Waiβs πΌπ π‘βπ ππππ πππ πΏππ£πβ by Lorraine Yang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/in-the-mood-for-love-wong-kar-wai-2020-4k-red-ds-os-195-_blur.webp?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Untold. Bae Suah (author), Deborah Smith (translator), Untold Night and Day, Jonathan Cape, 2020. 155 pgs. Where do…
![[REVIEW] βAt the Edge of Impermanence: Bae Suahβs πππ‘πππ πππβπ‘ πππ π·ππ¦β by Jonah Wu](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/untold-night-and-day.jpg?w=985)
Cha 