Category: Cha Review of Books and Films
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “From Silence to Sound: Kaori Laiโs Microhistorical Poetics of the White Terror” by Serena De Marchi Kaori Lai (author), Sylvia Li-chun Lin and Howard Goldblatt (translators), Portraits in White, Columbia…
![[REVIEW] “From Silence to Sound: Kaori Laiโs Microhistorical Poetics of the White Terror” by Serena De Marchi](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/portraits-in-white-by-kaori-lai.png?w=1024)
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๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Jerrold Tarog (director), Quezon, 2025. 135 min. โAny man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great number who are…
![[REVIEW] โTarogโs ๐๐ข๐๐ง๐๐: A Definition of Machiavellian Politicsโ by Gene Michael M. Atanacio](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/jerrold-tarog-director-quezon-2.png?w=1024)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] โChris Martinezโs Kontrabida Academy and the Anatomy of a Filipino Teleseryeโ by Bryan Elijah Trajano Chris Martinez (director), Kontrabida Academy, 2025. 107 min. Teleserye (drama), whether on television or in…
![[REVIEW] โChris Martinezโs ๐พ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆ and the Anatomy of a Filipino Teleseryeโ by Bryan Elijah Trajano](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/chris-martinez-director-kontrabida-academy-2025.-107-min.jpg?w=1000)
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๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Pillion & Box Hill. Editor’s note: We are delighted to present Hongwei Baoโs essayistic film review, which blends cultural history, theory, and critique through the…
![[EXCLUSIVE] โRiding Together: ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ and the Radical History of Queer Cinemaโ by Hongwei Bao](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/pillion-film-review-2025-cha-an-asian-literary-journal-hongwei-bao.png?w=1024)
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๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Uno Chiyo (author), Rebecca Copeland (translator), The Story of a Single Woman, Pushkin Press, 2025. 106 pgs. Everything in Uno Chiyoโs The Story of a Single Woman, translated from…
![[REVIEW]ย โThe Trembling of Memory: Self and Society in Uno Chiyoโs ๐โ๐ ๐๐ก๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐โ by Wani Nazir](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/uno-chiyo-author-rebecca-copeland-translator-the-story-of-a-single-woman-pushkin-press-1.jpg?w=977)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] โAlternative Local and Translocal Hong Kong Histories in Larissa Laiโs The Lost Centuryโ by Yiwen Liu Larissa Lai, The Lost Century: A Novel, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2022. 374 pgs. Published…
![[REVIEW] โAlternative Local and Translocal Hong Kong Histories in Larissa Laiโs ๐โ๐ ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ก ๐ถ๐๐๐ก๐ข๐๐ฆโ by Yiwen Liu](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/larissa-lai-the-lost-century.png?w=1024)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] โThe Mountains Speak: The Himalayan Arc” by Abhinav Tulachan Namita Gokhale (editor), The Himalayan Arc: Journeys East of South-east, HarperCollins India, 2018. 352 pgs. Namche Bazaar has always been my…
![[REVIEW] โThe Mountains Speak: ๐โ๐ ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ด๐๐โ by Abhinav Tulachan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/namche-bazaar-the-himalayan-arc-journeys-east-of-south-east-copy.jpg?w=695)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Filial Piety and Farce: Negotiating Family and Queerness in Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet” by Jade Guย Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Ang Lee. Ang Lee (director), The Wedding Banquet, 1993.…
![[REVIEW] “Filial Piety and Farce: Negotiating Family and Queerness in Ang Lee’s ๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ต๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ก” by Jade Guย](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ang-lee-director-the-wedding-banquet-.webp?w=1024)
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๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Sean Wang (director), Didi, 2024. 96 min. In Chinese culture, parents often address their children by their familial roles, a gesture of affection and intimacy. My mother calls me…
![[REVIEW] โThe Weight of Love: Sean Wangโs ๐ท๐๐๐ and the Chinese American Familyโ by Theodora Yu](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/sean-wang-director-didi-2024.-2.jpg?w=625)
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๐ย RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐ย RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kevin Alambra (director), Warla, 2025. 111 min. I have just watched Warla. I cannot claim any lived experience concerning trans issues; however, I found myself uneasy with the bluntness…
![[REVIEW] โ๐๐๐๐๐: A Crime of Passionate Advocacy?โ by Matthew Ordonez](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/warla_kv.png?w=600)
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๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Johannes Schรถnherr, North Korean Cinema. A History, McFarland, 2012. 224 pgs. My experience with the three books on North Korean cinema I had read up to this pointโPaul…
![[REVIEW] โJohannes Schรถnherr’s ๐๐๐๐กโ ๐พ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐๐:ย Rise (and Fall?) (and Rise again?) of the Propaganda Machineโ by Cyril Camus](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/johannes-schonherr-north-korean-cinema.-a-history-1.jpg?w=838)
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๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Kiriti Sengupta. Kiriti Sengupta, Selected Poems, Transcendent Zero Press, 2025. 228 pgs. It has been more than a decade since the medical practitioner turned poet,…
![[REVIEW] “The Stillness Between Fire and Water: On Kiriti Senguptaโs ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ” by Abhik Ganguly](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/selected-poems-final-1-scaled-e1754154149300.webp?w=1024)
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๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Mallika Bhaumik, When Time is a Magic Jar, Red River Press, 2025. 108 pgs. When Time is a Magic Jar by Mallika Bhaumik is like finding an old, dusty…
![[REVIEW] โWhen the Jar Spills Time: Reading Mallika Bhaumikโs ๐โ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฝ๐๐โ by Wani Nazir](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/when-time-is-a-magic-jar.jpg?w=1024)
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๐ย RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐ย RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Mending Bodies. โ Hon Lai Chu (author), Jacqueline Leung (translator), Mending Bodies, Two Lines Press, 2025. 240 pgs.โ Michael Shanks (director), Together, 2025. 102 min.…
![[REVIEW] “The Fantasy of Wholeness through Body Horror in Hon Lai-chuโs ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ต๐๐๐๐๐ and Michael Shanksโs ๐๐๐๐๐กโ๐๐โ by Charlie Ng](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/the-fantasy-of-wholeness-through-body-horror-in-hon-lai-chus-mending-bodies-and-michael-shankss-together.png?w=1024)
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TIFF 2025 โ 10. The Archivistโs Film: A Conversation on Kunsang Kyirongโs 100 Sunsetโ 9. She Was Screaming into Silence: A Conversation on Cai Shangjunโs The Sun Rises On Us Allโ 8. You Don’t Belong to Anyone: A Conversation on…
![[TIFF 2025] “You Don’t Belong to Anyone: A Conversation on Kalainithan Kalaichelvan’s ๐พ๐๐๐ข๐๐ฆ” by Nirris Nagendrarajah & Kalainithan Kalaichelvan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/kalainithan-kalaichelvan-on-karupy-1.jpg?w=1024)
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TIFF 2025 โ 10. The Archivistโs Film: A Conversation on Kunsang Kyirongโs 100 Sunsetโ 9. She Was Screaming into Silence: A Conversation on Cai Shangjunโs The Sun Rises On Us Allโ 8. You Don’t Belong to Anyone: A Conversation on…
![[TIFF 2025] โThe Paper Boy: On Park Chan-wookโs ๐๐ ๐๐กโ๐๐ ๐ถโ๐๐๐๐โ by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/https-tiff.netfilmsno-other-choice.jpg?w=1024)
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๐ย RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐ย RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Thuแบญn (author), Nguyแป n An Lรฝ (translator), Elevator in Sร i Gรฒn, New Directions, 2024. 192 pgs. Nobel laureate Patrick Modiano once wrote that โit is not the future which counts,…
![[REVIEW] “Truth, Lies, and the Mask We Choose: On Thuแบญnโs ๐ธ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ก๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐” by Michael Londra](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/f09f9381-return-to-first-impressions-f09f9381-return-to-cha-review-of-books-and-films.jpg?w=881)
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๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Eva Yip Man-lai (director), Cecilia Lau (organiser), Yat Yat Kingdom, 2025. In the world of theatre, actors often serve as vessels for the stories of others, portraying characters born…
![[REVIEW] “Between Play and Pain: ๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐ก ๐พ๐๐๐๐๐๐โs Tender Confession” by Dawna Fung](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/e3808ae4b880e4b880e9818ae6a882e5a0b4e3808b.jpg?w=1015)
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๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Mahmoud Alshaer & Mohammed Al-Zaqzooq (editors), Letters from Gaza: A Collection by the People; Unveiling Their Stories and Emotions from the Year That Has Been, Penguin Random House SEA,…
![[REVIEW] โA War, Many Cries, and a Long, Unkind Sleep: ๐ฟ๐๐ก๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐ง๐โ by Kabir Deb](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/letters-from-gaza-a-collection-by-the-people-unveiling-their-stories-and-emotions-from-the-year-that-has-been-1.jpg?w=906)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] โLav Diazโs Magellan: From Counter-Time to Counter-Historyโ by Ramzzi Fariรฑas Clickย HERE to readย all entries inย Chaย onย Magellan. Lav Diaz (director), Magellan, 2025. 165 min. If the art of history is to be…
![[REVIEW] โLav Diazโs ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: From Counter-Time to Counter-Historyโ by Ramzzi Fariรฑas](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/images.jpeg?w=294)
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๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kong Shangren (author), Wai-yee Li (translator), The Peach Blossom Fan, Oxford University Press, 2024. 816 pgs. Wai-yee Li is one translator who knows how to hook a reader.…
![[REVIEW] โThings Fall Apart: Kong Shangrenโs ๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐โ ๐ต๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐น๐๐โ by Jeff Tompkins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/the-peach-blossom-fan.png?w=1024)
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๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on So That You Know. Mani Rao, So That You Know, HarperCollins India, 2025. 312 pgs. “Isnโt it better to write poems about topics? On the…
![[REVIEW] โHaunted by Words, Hunted by Silence: Mani Raoโs Radical Intimacy in ๐๐ ๐โ๐๐ก ๐๐๐ข ๐พ๐๐๐คโ by Wani Nazir](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/mani-rao-so-that-you-know-cha.jpg?w=1024)
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๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Joan E. Ericson, Be a Woman: Hayashi Fumiko and Modern Japanese Womenโs Literature, University of Hawai’i Press, 1997. 292 pgs. The vicissitudes of womenโs literature in Japan have undergone…
![[REVIEW] โRe-evaluating ‘Womenโs Literature’ as a Category: Hayashi Fumiko as a Woman Writer in Modern Japanโ by Charlie Ng](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/joan-e.-ericson-be-a-woman-hayashi-fumiko-and-modern-japanese-womens-literature-.jpg?w=907)
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TIFF 2025 โ 10. The Archivistโs Film: A Conversation on Kunsang Kyirongโs 100 Sunsetโ 9. She Was Screaming into Silence: A Conversation on Cai Shangjunโs The Sun Rises On Us Allโ 8. You Don’t Belong to Anyone: A Conversation on…
![[TIFF 2025] โThe Need for Change: On Kei Ishikawaโs ๐ด ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ค ๐๐ ๐ป๐๐๐๐ โ by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/2a-pale-view-of-hills-e981a0e38184e5b1b1e381aae381bfe381aee58589-kei-ishikawa.jpg?w=1024)
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TIFF 2025 โ 10. The Archivistโs Film: A Conversation on Kunsang Kyirongโs 100 Sunsetโ 9. She Was Screaming into Silence: A Conversation on Cai Shangjunโs The Sun Rises On Us Allโ 8. You Don’t Belong to Anyone: A Conversation on…
![[TIFF 2025] โThe Angel of Death: On Jafar Panahiโs ๐ผ๐ก ๐๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ข๐ ๐ก ๐ด๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐๐กโ by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/jafar-panahi-director-it-was-just-an-accident-1.jpg?w=1024)
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TIFF 2025 โ 10. The Archivistโs Film: A Conversation on Kunsang Kyirongโs 100 Sunsetโ 9. She Was Screaming into Silence: A Conversation on Cai Shangjunโs The Sun Rises On Us Allโ 8. You Don’t Belong to Anyone: A Conversation on…
![[TIFF 2025] “Of Eros & Of Dust: On Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s ๐ด ๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ ๐บโ๐๐ ๐ก” by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/a-useful-ghost-film-poster--1.jpg?w=1024)
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TIFF 2025 โ 10. The Archivistโs Film: A Conversation on Kunsang Kyirongโs 100 Sunsetโ 9. She Was Screaming into Silence: A Conversation on Cai Shangjunโs The Sun Rises On Us Allโ 8. You Don’t Belong to Anyone: A Conversation on…
![[TIFF 2025] โLight At The End of the Labyrinth: On Genki Kawamuraโs ๐ธ๐ฅ๐๐ก 8โ by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/exit-8.jpg?w=1024)
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TIFF 2025 โ 10. The Archivistโs Film: A Conversation on Kunsang Kyirongโs 100 Sunsetโ 9. She Was Screaming into Silence: A Conversation on Cai Shangjunโs The Sun Rises On Us Allโ 8. You Don’t Belong to Anyone: A Conversation on…
![[TIFF 2025] โAffairs of the Heart: On Cai Shangjunโs ๐โ๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐
๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ด๐๐” by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/cai-shangjuns-the-sun-rises-on-us-all-2025.-131-min.jpg?w=1000)
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๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Edward Yang (director), Yi Yi, 2000. 173 min. Edward Yangโs Yi Yi opens in a register of melodrama. A frantic woman bursts into her ex-boyfriendโs wedding venue, collapses…
![[REVIEW] โEverything, Nothing, All at Once: Edward Yangโs ๐๐ ๐๐” by Keziah Cho](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/edward-yang-director-yi-yi-2.png?w=1024)
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๐ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS๐RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Arun Budhathoki, And I Blamed Canadian Winter Again: Poems East & West, Nirala Publications, 2025. 98pgs. Nepali poet Arun Budhathoki, who has been living in Canada, has recently…
![[REVIEW] โDiaspora and Duality: The Emotional Cartography of Arun Budhathoki’s ๐ด๐๐ ๐ผ ๐ต๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐โ by Subash Singh Parajuli](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/arun-budhathoki-and-i-blamed-canadian-winter-again-poems-east-west-nirala-publications-2025.-98pgs.-.jpg?w=923)
Cha 