“Cinema is a matter of what's in the frame and what's out.” - Martin Scorsese.
There is art and beauty and power in the primal images of fantasy. Guillermo del Toro
Dear friends,
I would like to extend another warm welcome to all of you who have signed up for my emails. Your continued interest and support mean the world to me. Thank you and welcome!
Recently, I re-read The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland in English, and it had a greater impact on me than when I read it in Portuguese as a teenager. As a young adult, I missed the subtle nuances and themes, such as questioning the value of royalty, which went over my head. Rereading it now, I enjoyed the camaraderie of reading the same chapter at the same pace as others, allowing me to savour the trippy and psychedelic hues of many chapters, with the use of mushroom nibbling as an effective plot device.
It was interesting to see how trippy the chapters felt, which I did not notice before. When I first read it, I had seen no film adaptations of the story, so it was just me and the book. I loved it then, but the sinister representation of the cat was disturbing to me. However, even though I know cats are natural killing machines, I love them without reservation, and their purring is music to my ears. The challenge is to love any other creature to the same level.
I am considering what to do next in these emails. I have requested to read some Basho, and I will update you on the response I receive from the author I contacted last week.
During Christmas, I shared my favourite Christmas songs and now I would like to tell you about the moving pictures that have captured my heart. Two of my favourite works are a long animated series, which is not just for children, and a series of films about a Samurai who resolves to stop killing once Japan enters the new Era in the late 1800s. I have spent a lot of time researching this period, as I wrote a novel set in Korea and Japan.
The Samurai series is called Rurounin Kenshin, comprises six movies. I discovered them late during the first lockdown, and they are distinct pieces of work, yet they all portray human emotions beautifully. The cinematography is beautiful, in fact all departments have done exceptionally well. The camera department and the superb framing, the art department with complicated sets, and the logistics on some scenes, especially fighting sequences, are done with a lot of care, and the props are outstanding, even if some of it is CGI. Script is minimalist in really important scenes, the cast is impressive in skill and physical prowess, interesting characters, costume department is imaginative. You name it, I can’t see, hear or imagine any improvements for this entire body of work. The friendships, admiration, camaraderie, love, growth, everything is so well adapted for the screen. To get a little taste, watch this trailer for the first instalment. There are various ways of watching it:
- Origins ➜ Kyoto Inferno ➜ The Legend Ends ➜ The Beginning ➜ The Final Thematic sequence or you can choose the
Origins ➜ Kyoto Inferno ➜ The Legend Ends ➜ The Final ➜ The Beginning - Release sequence which is how I watched it. Here are some considerations from writer Richard Eisenbeis to ponder before you decide yours.
Guillermo del Toro is a director I can say I am in love with and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next. His latest work, Pinocchio, is available on Netflix, and I loved his take on the story. Death is a taboo subject in our society, but he tackled it bravely in the movie. However, what made my summer weeks was Trollhunters, a series comprising 52 episodes. It has a lot of heart, superb storytelling, great animators, writers, cast, and crew. The second instalment is 3Below, followed by Tales of Arcadia (26 episodes) followed by Wizards (10 episodes).. If you can’t find it on Netflix, it is worth buying, and I hope that there may be more to come. Everything you care about in stories is there… you know… The hero’s journey, the unlikely reluctant hero, his indispensable helpful friend, and love stories are exquisite. If you have children, this is fantastic quality material to expose them to superb story telling.
If you love Japanese cinema, you are probably familiar with the cinematic works of Akira Kurosawa, which were all the rage when I was in college studying film. Rashomon, Ikiru, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, Kagemusha, and Ran, are part of a balanced approach to cinema that will never grow old and wrote essays about them for my Film Appreciation and Film Theory classes in college. Years later, I gathered all of his films for the local library’s film collection, which was almost non-existent. Now the library’s film collection is impressive.
My last recommendation is The Three-Body problem. I just finished watching the 30 episodes. If you like sci-fi, explorations of human nature, then you should check it out. It is based on three novels by the Chinese author Liu Cixin who is a computer engineer and novelist. There will be two more series. He also won a lot of prizes and Netflix is doing it too, but I would suggest watching the original Chinese first. You can watch it on Viki.com. Membership is about 5 Euro a month to be free from ads.
I would like my Substack focus to be on discussions on spiritual growth and practices then subjects that are already tackled by so many people, but in the past month I have attended some Sudowrite classes and listened to a few podcasts which made me feel it is everyone’s responsibility to learn to use these tools and to take part in its ethical direction as it learns from us. I also viewed the interesting discussion hosted by Daniel Pinchbeck, where there were many topics discussed as well as concerns expressed, which I found very valid and pertinent. Next week, my post will be an overview of what I have encountered in educating myself to use AI as an aid to produce more work, faster, a necessity for any author starting out.
Let me know in the comments if you have watched them too or if they are new to you. And what grabs your attention instantly.