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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Jose Lorenzo “Pepe” Diokno, Isang Himala, 2024. 145 min. Isang Himala (A Miracle), directed by Jose Lorenzo “Pepe” Diokno, is an adaptation on three levels—of the screenplay by National…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “The Miracle of Adaptation in Pepe Diokno’s 𝐼𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝐻𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑎” by Richell Isaiah Flores](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/jose-lorenzo-pepe-diokno-isang-himala-2024_2-2.jpg?w=1024)
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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Sawako Nakayasu, Pink Waves, Omnidawn, 2022. 90 pgs. When I received Sawako Nakayasu’s Pink Waves, I was drawn to its cover. Green, black, and blue arranged in shapes suggest…
![[REVIEW] “She Was Elegylight: Sawako Nakayasu’s 𝑃𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑊𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑠” by Tim Tim Cheng](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pink-waves.png?w=1024)
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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Stuart Heisler (director), Tokyo Joe, 1949. 89 min. Of all the gin joints in all the world, Humphrey Bogart had to walk into yet another one. Swap North Africa…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Play it again… Ito?: Stuart Heisler’s 𝑇𝑜𝑘𝑦𝑜 𝐽𝑜𝑒” by Jeremiah Dutch](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/tokyo-joe-old-japan-hollywood-movie-humphrey-bogart-film-shibuya-tokyo-japanese-history-9.webp?w=1024)
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There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
![Protected: [ESSAY] “A History of Peel Street Poetry” by Akin Jeje](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/images.png?w=225)
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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Izumi Kyōka (author), Charles Shirō Inouye (translator and author of introduction and afterword), Japanese Gothic Tales, University of Hawai’i Press, 1996. 202 pgs. Japan Gothic Tales comprises four short…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS]“The Haunting World of Random Encounters in Izumi Kyōka’s 𝐽𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝐺𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑐 𝑇𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑠” by Vanessa Winghei Yeung](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/japanese-gothic-tales-1.png?w=1024)
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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kogonada (director), Columbus, 2017. 100 min. There’s a profound sense of openness in Kogonada’s Columbus (2017). The film invites us to step into its scenes, transforming them into spaces…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Beyond the Physicality of Places: Kogonada’s 𝐶𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑢𝑠” by V Clark](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/columbus-1.jpg?w=736)
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Artwork by Raimonda I suppose you’ve seen obituaries shared on WeChat. People post them thoughtlessly, almost as if it’s routine. It feels strange, doesn’t it, that a life concludes in such a trivial manner? I used to find it unsettling,…
![[EXCLUSIVE—FICTION] “A Social Post” by Edward Allen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/a-social-post-by-edward-allen_illustration-by-raimonda-1.jpg?w=1024)
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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN 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] “Here’s To Family Drama, In All Its Universality—𝐴𝑢𝑔𝑢𝑠𝑡: 𝑂𝑠𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑦” by Hai-Mo Hu](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/1.august-osagecountyensemblecastpic.jpg?w=1024)
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TIFF 2024 ▞ Introduction▞ 8. Band of Outsiders: On Neo Sora’s Happyend▞ 7. The Soul of an Artist: On Hong Sang-soo’s By The Stream▞ 6. The Two Maidens: On Trương Minh Quý’s Viet and Nam▞ 5. The Master and Her…
![[TIFF 2024] “Band of Outsiders: On Neo Sora’s 𝐻𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑦𝑒𝑛𝑑” by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/happyend_cha.png?w=1024)
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TIFF 2024 ▞ Introduction▞ 8. Band of Outsiders: On Neo Sora’s Happyend▞ 7. The Soul of an Artist: On Hong Sang-soo’s By The Stream▞ 6. The Two Maidens: On Trương Minh Quý’s Viet and Nam▞ 5. The Master and Her…
![[TIFF 2024] “The Soul of an Artist: On Hong Sang-soo’s 𝐵𝑦 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚” by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/by-the-stream.png?w=1024)
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Header artwork by Annysa Ng 茶 First Impressionsclick for information 茶 Essays click for information 茶 En Routeclick for information 茶 XI XI—Can We Sayclick for information 茶 Write to Powerclick for information 茶 Auditory Cortexclick for information
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