Category: First Impressions
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πRETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS John Wells (director), August: Osage County, 2013. 116 min. As Christmas draws near in the West, the East prepares for the arrival of Lunar New Year. To those unfamiliar…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Hereβs To Family Drama, In All Its Universalityβπ΄π’ππ’π π‘: ππ πππ πΆππ’ππ‘𦔠by Hai-Mo Hu](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/1.august-osagecountyensemblecastpic.jpg?w=1024)
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πRETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Yan Lianke (author), Carlos Rojas (translator), Sound and Silence: My Experience with China and Literature, Duke University Press, 2024. 192 pgs. In late April 2024, Literary Hub released an…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Yan Lianke: The Reader Comes First” by A. B. Freeman](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/feb5978a-5dfd-11ea-be3e-43af5536d789_image_hires_104029.jpeg?w=1024)
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πRETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entriesΒ in Cha on The Life of Tu Fu. Eliot Weinberger, The Life of Tu Fu, New Directions, 2024. 64 pgs. A flying goose dropping out of…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “A Fictional Autobiography: Eliot Weinberger’s πβπ πΏπππ ππ ππ’ πΉπ’” by Juan JosΓ© Morales](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/screenshot-2024-11-29-at-17.39.54.png?w=1024)
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πRETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπRETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Sanaka Hiiragi (author), Jesse Kirkwood (translator), The Lantern of Lost Memories, Picador, 2024. 224 pgs. What if, when you die, someone greets you with drinks and snacks, briefing you…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βBetween the Living and the Dead: Sanaka Hiiragiβs πβπ πΏπππ‘πππ ππ πΏππ π‘ ππππππππ β by Aditi Yadav](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/sanaka-hiiragi.png?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 All We Imagine as Light. Payal Kapadia (director), All We Imagine as Light, 2024. 118 min. Payal Kapadiaβs debut feature All We Imagine as Light is…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “A Poetic, Nocturnal Film: Payal Kapadia’s π΄ππ ππ πΌππππππ ππ πΏππβπ‘” by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/all-we-imagine-as-light.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Han Kang (author), Deborah Smith (translator), The White Book, Portobello Books, 2016. 128 pgs. As Han Kong wrote out her list of white things at the beginning of the…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “A Meditation on Whiteness: Han Kang’s πβπ πβππ‘π π΅πππ” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/the-white-book-first-published-may-25-2016.jpg?w=977)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Ryu Murakami (author), Ralph McCarthy (translator), In the Miso Soup, Kodansha International, 2003. 180 pgs. Picture a dismembered corpse of a sixteen-year-old girl dumped at a trash collection site…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Floating Around in Ryu Murakami’s πΌπ π‘βπ πππ π πππ’π” by Anna Moon](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/in-the-miso-soup.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Jenny Xie, Holding Pattern, Riverhead Books, 2023. 288 pgs. Jenny Xieβs novel Holding Pattern follows 28-year-old Kathleen Cheng as she returns home to Oakland, California, where she is roped…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βThe Science of Intimacy: Jenny Xieβs π»ππππππ πππ‘π‘πππβ by Anna Chung](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/holding-pattern-riverhead-books-1.jpg?w=993)
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πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Zhang Yimou (director), Raise the Red Lantern, 1991. 125 min. Raise the Red Lantern, directed by Zhang Yimou and based on Su Tongβs novella Wives and Concubines (1987), begins…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βThe Absence of Female Desire and Patriarchal Oppression: Zhang Yimouβs π
πππ π π‘βπ π
ππ πΏπππ‘πππβ by Fathima M](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/raise-the-red-lantern_cha_banner.jpeg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kamila Shamsie, Home Fire, Riverhead Books, 2017. 288 pgs. In almost every literary discussion I have had with fellow readers, whenever South Asian literature has been mentioned, Kamila Shamsieβs…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βThe Politics of Love: Kamila Shamsieβs π»πππ πΉπππβ by Fathima M](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/home-fire-a-novel-by-kamila-shamsie.jpg?w=993)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kangyu Garam (director), Lucky, Apartment, 2024. 96 min. This review may contain spoilers. What would hate look and feel like if it took on a sensory form? South Korean…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βA Queer Shape of Smell: Kangyu Garam’s πΏπ’πππ¦, π΄ππππ‘ππππ‘” by Soo Ryon Yoon](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/lucky-apartment.jpg?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 Tapestry of the Mind. Aneeta Sundararaj, Tapestry of the Mind and Other Stories, Penguin Random House SEA, 2024. 272 pgs. Aneeta Sundararajβs Tapestry of the…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βPerhaps Misguided: Aneeta Sundararajβs πππππ π‘ππ¦ ππ π‘βπ ππππβ by Grace NajmulskiΒ](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/tapestry-of-the-mind-and-other-stories-aneeta-sundararaj.jpg?w=977)
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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 Hong Sang-soo. Hong Sang-soo (director), In Water, 2023. 61 min. Of the 31 features Hong Sang-soo has directed, youβd be hard pressed to find a…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βJust that Little Bit Different: Hong Sang-sooβs πΌπ πππ‘ππβ by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/in-water_hong-sang-soo.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Yasunari Kawabata (author), Haydn Trowell (translator), The Rainbow, Penguin, 2023. 400 pgs. Yasunari Kawabataβs The Rainbow, recently translated into English for the first time, evokes in me a strong…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βCarrying On: Yasunari Kawabataβs πβπ π
ππππππ€β by Gabrielle Tse](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/the-rainbow-kawabata-yasunari.jpg?w=933)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Lee Sol-hui (director), Greenhouse, 2022. 100 min. Lee Sol-huiβs film Greenhouse is a domain of sickness. There is illness everywhere, physical, mental, social, degenerative. The only character…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “A Domain of Sickness: Lee Sol-hui’s πΊππππβππ’π π” by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/greenhouse-2022-film-still.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Jopy Arnaldo (director), Gitling, 2023. 105 min. The world’s noise fades into the background when youβre with the right person. Gitling (or Hyphen in English) (2023) is…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βLove In Translation: Decoding Jopy Arnaldoβs πΊππ‘ππππβ by Richard MuΓ±iz](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/gitling_film-still-3-1.jpg?w=1000)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Ryo Takebayashi (director), Mondays: See You “This” Week!, 2022. 102 min. Ryo Takebayashiβs time-loop film Mondays: See You “This” Week!βs most obvious film of comparison is Groundhog…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Over and OverβRyo Takebayashi’s ππππππ¦π : πππ πππ’ ‘πβππ ’ ππππ” by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-pigeon.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir (director), City of Wind, 2023. 103 min. Films about Mongolia donβt make their way to Europe too often and in the past when they have,…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “The Beginning (or Continuation) of a Mongolian New Wave?βLkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir’s πΆππ‘π¦ ππ ππππ” by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/city-of-wind.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS RyΓ»suke Hamaguchi (director), Evil Does Not Exist, 2023. 106 min. RyΓ»suke Hamaguchiβs follow-up to his Oscar-nominated hit Drive My Car starts off as a seemingly much more…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βEnigmatic Pronouncement: RyΓ»suke Hamaguchiβs πΈπ£ππ π·πππ πππ‘ πΈπ₯ππ π‘β by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/evil-does-not-exist-new.jpg?w=1000)
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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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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “A Historic Thriller Steeped in the Mythical Mists of Time: Yangsze Choo’s The Fox Wife” by Kevin McGeary Yangsze Choo, The Fox Wife, Henry Holt and Company, 2024. 400…
![[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 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 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 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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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “An Outrageously Ambitious Not-Quite Masterpiece: Yan Lianke’s Heart Sutra” by Kevin McGeary Yan Lianke (author), Carlos Rojas (translator), Heart Sutra, Glove Atlantic, 2023. 426 pgs. Just as the late…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “An Outrageously Ambitious Not-Quite Masterpiece: Yan Lianke’s π»ππππ‘ ππ’π‘ππ” by Kevin McGeary](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/heart-sutra.jpg?w=995)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Apichatpong Weerasethakul (director), Mysterious Object at Noon, 2000. 83 min. “Enlisting locals to contribute improvised narration to a simple tale, Apichatpong charts the collective construction of the…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βSimultaneities and Narratives in Apichatpong Weerasethakulβs ππ¦π π‘πππππ’π ππππππ‘ ππ‘ ππππ” by Richell Isaiah Flores](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/mysterious-objects-at-noon.jpg?w=1000)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Lawrence Kwan Chun Kan (director), In Broad Daylight η½ζ₯δΉδΈ, 2023. 106 min. In Broad Daylight combines two major news stories that expose abuses against the vulnerable: the…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βNothing Under the Sun Is Truly New: Lawrence Kwan Chun KanβsΒ πΌπ π΅ππππ π·ππ¦πππβπ‘β by Tin Yuet Tam](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/in-broad-daylight_poster.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Nick Bradley, The Cat and the City, Atlantic Books, 2020. 304 pgs. Nick Bradleyβs The Cat and the City is a patchwork of short stories and vignettes…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βTroubling Facets of Life in Tokyo: Nick Bradley’s πβπ πΆππ‘ πππ π‘βπ πΆππ‘π¦β by Vicky Wong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/nick-bradley_the-cat-and-the-city.jpg?w=977)
Cha 