Category: First Impressions
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Ocean Vuong, Time Is a Mother, Penguin Random House, 2022. 112 pgs. Building a foundation on the aftershocks of his motherβs death, this collection of Ocean Vuong further explores,…
![[REVIEW] βIβve Plagiarised My Life to Give You the Best of Me: Ocean Vuongβs ππππ πΌπ π πππ‘βππ” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/time-is-a-mother-1.jpg?w=932)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Jun Ichikawa (director), Tony Takitani, 2004. 75 min. Tony Takitani is a film about loneliness and its unwavering cloudinessβthe way it makes you want to lie down in a…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Human Loneliness: Jun Ichikawa’s ππππ¦ πππππ‘πππ” by Yimin Huang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/takitani.jpg?w=345)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kim Jee-woon (director), Cobweb, 2023. 135 min. Song Kang-ho (best known for Parasite and A Taxi Driver) in Cobweb Kim Ki-yeol (Song Kang-ho, best known for Parasite and A Taxi…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “In the Tradition of Film-set Comedy Dramas: Kim Jee-woon’s πΆπππ€ππ” by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/first-poster-for-cobweb-starring-song-kang-ho-centers-v0-nlwknv9ea1za1.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Satyajit Ray (director), Branches of the Tree, 1990. 130 min. Made and released in 1990, Satyajit Rayβs Branches of the Tree arrives as an artefact of a bygone sensibility,…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βAn Artifact of a Bygone Sensibility: Satyajit Rayβs π΅ππππβππ ππ π‘βπ ππππβ by Toshi Tomori](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/mv5bndfmztg0mdetytrhzc00mjvilthlywytmdm2mta1ownkzjuxxkeyxkfqcgdeqxvynjm3mdiwnjc40._v1_.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Paul Lynch, Prophet Song, Oneworld Books, 2023. 320 pgs. Although I was reading about a fictitious Ireland, as I began Prophet Song, Paul Lynchβs Booker Prize-winning novel, I felt…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “To Flee or Not to Flee: Paul Lynch’s ππππβππ‘ ππππ” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/prophet-song.jpg?w=978)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Celine Song (director), Past Lives, 2023. 106 min. Life is a sea, a kaleidoscopic cornucopia of experiences with a myriad of people. We start in shallow waters of first…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βThe Beauty of the Unsaid: Celine Songβs πππ π‘ πΏππ£ππ ” by Elliot Ng](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/https-__cdn.sanity.io_images_xq1bjtf4_production_e1bdf7c917e4a436ec391336e8a05dcba478d275-3840x2063_custom-8d06a6607db24746e6e697791cd638654a1f0dda-s1100-c50.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Nick Cheuk (director), Time Still Turns the Pages εΉ΄ε°ζ₯θ¨, 2023. 95 min. This review contains major spoilers. With five nominations in the 60th Golden Horse Awards, Nick Cheukβs tightly…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βA Poignant Appeal: Nick Cheukβs ππππ ππ‘πππ ππ’πππ π‘βπ πππππ ” by Flora Mak](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/time-still-turns-the-pages.jpg?w=980)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Satyajit Ray (director), Kanchenjungha, 1962. 102 min. Satyajit Ray hardly needs an introductionβeither in the field of arts and culture or cinema itself. He singlehandedly spearheaded the New Wave of…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “The Mighty Peak: Satyajit Ray’s πΎπππβππππ’ππβπ” by Haimanti Dutta Ray](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/image-w1280.webp?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “The Liminality of Being: Anthony Chen’s The Breaking Ice” by Jonathan Chan Anthony Chen (director),Β The Breaking Ice, 2023. 97 min. Arresting visuals, an immersive soundtrack, and interesting ideas do…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “The Liminality of Being: Anthony Chen’s πβπ π΅πππππππ πΌππ” by Jonathan Chan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/breaking-the-ice_cha-banner.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 Hiroko Oyamada. I have had this feeling of being quiet and alone recently, since graduating from university, with the pressure…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Reading on Slow Quiet Days” by Joefel Bolo](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/joefel-bolo_cha.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Hou Hsiao-hsien (director), A City of Sadness, 1989. 157 min. Since its release in 1989, the epic proportions of A City of Sadness have transcended its story by becoming a…
![[FIRST IMPRESSION] “Pain and Persisting: Hou Hsiao-hsien’s π΄ πΆππ‘π¦ ππ ππππππ π ” by Natalie Wong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/a-city-of-sadness.png?w=1024)
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πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Wong Kar-wai (director),Β Happy Together, 1997. 97 min. βI had no regrets till I met you. Now my regrets could kill me.β And then Lai Yiu-Fai (Tony Leung) runs away…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “They Cannot Be Happy Together, They Cannot Be Happy Apart: Wong Kar-wai’s π»ππππ¦ πππππ‘βππ” by e rathke](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/happy-together_cha-an-asian-literary-journal.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Dina Nayeri, Refuge, Riverhead Books, 2017. 336 pgs. Home does not always represent comfort or safety. Often, it becomes a place from where you need to flee. I am…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βIn Perpetual Transit: Dina Nayeriβs π
πππ’ππ” by Fathima M](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/refuge-cha-an-asian-literary-journal.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Davy Chou (director), Return to Seoul, 2022. 119 min. Thereβs an ambiguity inherent in the title of Davy Chouβs film Return to Seoul. At first sight, it seems to…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Cultural Orphanage: Davy Chou’s π
ππ‘π’ππ π‘π ππππ’π” by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/return-to-seoul3.webp?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS R.F. Kuang, Yellowface, William Morrow, 2023. 336 pgs. The title of the novel and its bright yellow cover suggests that the subject matter might having something to do with…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Can An Author Write About Anything? Reading R.F. Kuang’s ππππππ€ππππ” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/yellowface_wide-a73252995366ad95b7c30c94329e78559d919765-s1400-c100.jpg?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 The Seven Moons. Shehan Karunatilaka, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, Penguin India, 2022. Nearly the first impression you get in The Seven Moon of Maali…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Wait Till You See it With Ghosts: Shehan Karunatilaka’s πβπ πππ£ππ πππππ ππ πππππ π΄ππππππ” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/the-seven-moons-of-maali-almeida_shehan-karunatilaka.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Mu Xin (author), Toming Jun Liu (translator), An Empty Room: Stories, New Directions, 2011. 192 pgs. Translated into English by Toming Jun Liu, An Empty Room by Mu Xin…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βLike the Meanderings of a River: Mu Xinβs π΄π πΈπππ‘π¦ π
πππβ by Yimin Huang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/an-empty-room-mu-xin-1.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Mamoru Hosada (director), Wolf Children, 2012. 117 min. A story about a single mother trying to bring up two half-Japanese children on her own might naturally be of interest…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βππππ πΆβππππππ as a Statement on Parenthood and Modern Japanβ by Jeremiah Dutch](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/wolf-children.jpg?w=1020)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS β Michihito Fujii (director), The Journalist, 2019. 113 min.β Michihito Fujii (director), A Family, 2021. 136 min.β Michihito Fujii (director), Village, 2023. 120 min. In these days of ever fewer choices…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Michihito Fujii on Netflix” by Paul French](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/michihito-fujii-1.png?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Richard Gordon and Carma Hinton (directors), The Gate of Heavenly Peace, 1995. 180 min. i. There was one rule in our house when I was a child back when…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βOn a Yellow Sticker: πβπ πΊππ‘π ππ π»πππ£ππππ¦ πππππβ by J. Chen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/gate-of-heavenly-peace.jpeg?w=366)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Azar Nafisi, Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books, Penguin Random House, 2003. 356 pgs. There was a time when I was desperate for a reaffirmation of literatureβs…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βWhere Are the Other Voices We Want to Hear? Reading π
ππππππ πΏππππ‘π ππ ππβπππβ by Garfield Chow](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/reading-lolita-in-tehran-1.jpeg?w=675)
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πΒ RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπΒ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ onΒ Chungking Express. Wong Kar-wai (director), Chungking Express, 1994. 92 min. Whenever I think of Wong Kar-waiβs Chungking Express I hear California Dreaminβ by The Mamas…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βTwo Stories in One: Wong Kar-waiβs πΆβπ’ππππππ πΈπ₯ππππ π β by e rathke](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/chungking-express.jpg?w=1000)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Chan Tze-Woon (director), Blue Island, 2022. 97 min. A history student, I linger in the Hong Kong Museum of Historyβs condensed Hong Kong Story exhibition: one room per millennium,…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βA Hong Kong History in Chan Tze-Woonβs π΅ππ’π πΌπ ππππβ by Michelle Suen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/blue-island.png?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βBeijing Bubbles: Andrew Fieldβs Rocking Chinaβ by Matt Turner Andrew Field, Rocking China: Rock Music Scenes in Beijing, Shanghai & Beyond, Earnshaw Books, 2023. 212 pgs. You can listen…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βBeijing Bubbles: Andrew Fieldβs π
ππππππ πΆβπππβ by Matt Turner](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/rocking-china-copy.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Yudho Aditya (director), Pria, 2017. 22 min. In a world where heterosexuality is still considered the norm, there remain many deterrents for LGBT people from embracing their queerness. And,…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βTraditionalist Material Symbols in Yudho Adityaβs ππππβ by Upasana Dandona](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/pria-fi.jpg?w=600)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Soetsu Yanagi, The Beauty of Everyday Things, Penguin, 2018. 352 pgs. The best book purchases are those of volumes discovered serendipitously on a shop shelf, just as the best…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βCraft Work: Soetsu Yanagiβs πβπ π΅πππ’π‘π¦ ππ πΈπ£πππ¦πππ¦ πβππππ β by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/onta-ware-collected-by-yanagi-soetsu.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1989. 288 pgs. The day I began writing this piece, a family of Chinese descent were killed in a shooting…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Amy Tanβs πβπ π½ππ¦ πΏπ’ππ πΆππ’π and the Will to Live” by Fathima M](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/le_joy_luck_club__c1.jpg?w=1024)
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π RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONSπ RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Akira Kurosawa (director), Stray Dog, 1949. 122 min. Tokyo is a city that is always changing. Old buildings are constantly being torn down and new ones put up. As I…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βAkira Kurosawa’s ππ‘πππ¦ π·ππ as a View into Post-war Tokyo” by Jeremiah Dutch](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/stray-dog-3.jpg?w=836)
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π Return to First Impressionsπ Return to Cha Review of Books and Films Isabel Sandoval (director), Lingua Franca, 2019. 90 min. In the gloaming hour, light leaves remnants of ambiguity everywhere. Nothing of consequence has asserted itself, at least not yet.…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βIntimating Emergency in Isabel Sandovalβs πΏππππ’π πΉπππππβ by Sean Carballo](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/mv5bymewnmuymdqtnwrjny00nwm4lwixymmtzdm0zjexmdkzogzmxkeyxkfqcgdeqxvymtq3njg3mq4040._v1_-1.jpg?w=797)
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π Click HERE for all First Impressions entries. We are very pleased to announce the launch of π π’π«π¬π ππ¦π©π«ππ¬π¬π’π¨π§π¬, a section of Cha: An Asian Literary Journal devoted to compact reviews of books and films (300-800 words; negotiable) that may…
![[CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS] First Impressions](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/first-impressions_cha-an-asian-literary-journal.jpg?w=1024)
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