Hong Kong Sinfonietta with the Grainger Quartet

It was quite a pleasant experience to listen to the Baroque music (apart from the Dvorak's and Grieg's, of course) performed by the Hong Kong Sinfonietta last Sunday evening.

The Baroque music, including famous works by Bach, Vivaldi and Marcello are truly ingenious. They are very well structured but still have their lively mood and entertaining value. In short, highly refreshing and relaxing for the listeners!

Bach's Brandenburg Concerto no.3, for example, never fails to cheer up the crowd. I've known this lovely music for a very long time, but this was the first time I witnessed it performed live. And the effect was mind-blowing......I discovered that it was much more complicated and riveting than I originally expected. In fact, the nine instruments (3 violins, 3 violas and 3 cellos) each have its own chances to play solo phrases alternately but on the whole they harmoniously combine and generate a spectacular and continuous musical flow. Though the final movement was played a bit too rushed and at times a bit chaotic that night.

Vivaldi, though well-known for his "four seasons" concerti, had also written another famous concerto for 4 violins (Op3, No.10), and it's so famous that Bach even made a transcription of it for 4 harpsichords (or pianos are used sometimes nowadays) instead. Try to imagine : to write a concerto featuring 4 violinists, competing and supporting each other simultaneously! That would be quite a challenge, but Vivaldi (not unlike Bach when he wrote the above mentioned concerto) made it such a great fun for the 4 violinists to play together and still have some virtuosic solo moment for each one. The music is very easily assimilated, and it's exciting to see the 4 soloists playing side by side in the front of the stage, with the orchestra accompanying at the back. Marvelous experience for me, except that one of the soloists was too nervous and sounded a bit uptight and flat occasionally.

Marcello is not a familiar name to most music lovers nowadays, especially among all those giants in the Baroque period, but his concerto for oboe alone could leave his mark in the history, with its enchanting slow movement pretty popular even in the Hollywood industry as the movie soundtrack. I was glad to listen to the complete concerto that night, with Peter Cooper playing the oboe wonderfully. I simply couldn't complain......

Finally, the Strings of HKS, led by the Grainger Quartet with each at the front of the respective sections, gave us Grieg's Holberg Suite, an imitation and dedication to the Baroque period music by the romantic Nordic composer. Similar to the other pieces of the evening, it is a very easy-listening music, and the performance was magnificent. I guess the input by Grainger Quartet must have played a part there (Yip Wing Sze is very brilliant to come up with the idea of having this Quartet as their Artist Associate this year!), but I still have to admire HKS's string players for their commitment, effort and progress throughout the years. And for encore, their playing of Mozart could put HKPO to shame, I dare say......



Grainger Quartet (Artist Associate, Hong Kong Sinfonietta 07/08 season)
Natsuko Yoshimoto (Violin)
James Cuddeford (Violin)
Jeremy Williams (Viola)
Patrick Murphy (Cello)
Special Guest: Peter Cooper* (Oboe Principal of Colorado Symphony Orchestra)

Programme
Bach Brandenburg Concerto No 3 in G, BWV1048
Dvorák Wind Serenade in D minor, Op 44
Vivaldi Concerto in B minor for 4 violins from L’Estro Armonico, RV580 (Op 3 No 10)
(Violin solo: Natsuko Yoshimoto, James Cuddeford, Jensen Lung, Eiko Hosaka)
Marcello Oboe Concerto in C minor*
Grieg Holberg Suite, Op 40

FRACTURE

I highly recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys crime/legal thriller, appreciates an original script with fine twist and excellent acting from the ensemble cast! Anthony Hopkins returned to his evil root (Hannibal in Silence of the Lamb) in this latest feature, playing a calm, obsessive and yet very intelligent criminal Ted Crawford who allegedly killed his wife after knowing about her extra-marital affair, but was immediately apprehended at the murder site.

This was exactly how straight forward the movie opened, with the known fact that he shot his wife in the head before our very eyes. And it is this simple setup that attracts the audience. I can't help to wonder what would follow and how it can last for nearly 2 hours. Then entered the winning-oriented and climbing-to-the-top young and ambitious hot-shot attorney Willy Beachum (played by last year's Academy Award Best Actor Nominee Ryan Gosling) becoming the unwilling prosecutor in the Crawford's murder case. The two met in the courtroom and that's where the fun really began, as the prosecution proved to be not as easy and simple as Willy had expected when taking the case......

Director Gregory Hoblit (with fame from acclaimed movies like Primal Fear, Fallen, and Frequency......interestingly all "F" words including this movie) successfully pulled it off again this time, with a pretty comfortable pace, fluid and brilliant story line, appropriate humour at various places; it never fails to keep our brain working and at the same time keep our undivided attention. Hoblit smartly started the movie with the close-up shots of the little self-made miniature roller-coaster toy that Ted enjoys building and playing while rolling the opening credits to let us have the glimpse of how his meticulous mind works, not to mention a bit of his personality, including his accuracy and calculation in planning things. His job as the plane engineer cannot fit him better. I also love the deliberate vision of the director --- the various look at people through reflections, glass or shadows, to give the distant feelings between the characters in the movie, and to set up the dark and mysterious vibe for it.

As I have said and you should have probably known, the acting is genuinely marvelous from the two lead actors, thus giving more weight and credibility to the already good script. This is definitely not a profound movie with great moral lessons, but it is all the way unpredictable and has a decently satisfying ending. All in all, it simply sucks you into the screen and gives you hell of a roller-coaster ride!

ARTHUR AND THE MINIMOYS

With the long Easter holiday coming up, a lot of films suitable for the whole family will be released, and among them a couple of CG animations from different studios.

I have the privilege to see the preview screening of Luc Besson's latest (and rumoured to be his last) directed film "Arthur et les Minimoys". And I whole-heartedly recommend it to those looking for a quality family entertainment at cinema this holiday.

Luc Besson has not been directing since his big flop "The Story of Joan of Arc" in 1999. This partly live-action partly CG 3D animation feature is his come-back after such a long break. And this film, which he wrote and produced, showed his well-rested spirit and high energy level. It combines children's fables, action, comedy, romance, and the fifth element---his vision, into one densely-packed and fully-charged film spans merely 90 minutes.

Yes, the film is fast-paced, without a single minute wasted or bored. Not one frame can be deleted from the finished product. The editing style also gives a similar feeling. So, the audience is guaranteed for a great and exciting roller-coaster ride. Similar to Disney's "James and the Giant Peach" (Big flop from director who brought us "Nightmare before Christmas"), this film opened and closed with live actions while in the middle the adventure of Arthur in the mini-world of the Minimoys was fully done in CG animation. I think such a method is appropriately used here and to full use.

The story is pretty simple and would be easy to follow even for the very small children. Arthur, played brilliantly and suitably by Freddie Highmore (very gifted young actor of only 14 years old now who gave some stunning and emotional performance in films like "Finding Neverland"), not unlike Freddie's title role in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" coincidentally, is a good boy who originally lived happily with Grandparents (the wonderful Mia Farrow as Grandma), suddenly facing poverty and loss of sheltering, somehow entered the magical underground miniature world of the Minimoys, became a hero in that kingdom and got rich in the real world after the eventful "mini" expedition.

The voice talents include some eye-popping megastars, among them Madonna as the Princess Selenia, Robert de Niro as her King Father, and David Bowie as the evil Maltazard! The overall effect is immensely funny, hugely entertaining, and action packed. The lines are generally well written, with some very hilarious one-liners. The style is quite cartoonish and unrealistic, including the performance by the actors and the camera angles or movements.

The good thing about this film is that there would be different things for people at different age to appreciate and laugh at. In the screening I attended, all adults and children were equally having a great time, laughing and cheering. And I can feel otherwise the palpable silence and concentration of the audience throughout. Also, Luc Besson had included some moral lessons and extra touch in this apparently commercial product. Though briefly and lightly, it touches on the family value, the problem of obsessively working parents, the importance of the book knowledge above all others, the importance of environmental protection, the satirical look at the dictatorship, the mocking at the incapable but self-inflated ruler, and some more if the adults are paying enough attention. In fact, it is not simply what Snoop Dogg's character Max said in the film: "That's Entertainment!" More than that honestly.

And don't you leave so soon when the credits roll, remember to stay behind for the inventive "Curtain Call"!!

Luc Besson is already planning to produce two more films for this trilogy: Arthur et la vengeance de Maltazard (Arthur and the revenge of Maltazard) & Arthur et la guerre des deux mondes (Arthur and the war between two worlds)

THE QUEEN

Hey, I've seen the Queen...hmm...I mean the film of course.

My Gosh! Helen Mirren "is" the Queen...her appearance, her gesture, her grace, her pace, her speech, and even her mannerism, like the fiddling with the glasses, all these resemblances are genuinely uncanny.

However, just mere impersonation (I'm still objecting the Best Actor awarded for Capote) should not and would not guarantee her taking home the Best Actress Award(s), it's truly her fine act--the successful portrayal of this well-known public figure with a steel and cold exterior while having the vulnerability concealed inside. Confident, proud and also human, Helen did exactly all that and more. I can't be more glad that she got the unanimous recognitions she so much deserved. However, she did win at the expense of the Queen, and so I guess it is nice for her acceptance speech at the Oscar to end with a sincere mention of her :"Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Queen".

Actually, the whole cast is pretty strong. The other lead in the movie is Tony Blair, played brilliantly by Michael Sheen. He is so good that one can love Blair after seeing it, forgiving a lot of his stupidity and kissing up to Bush in reality. And another wonderful actor James Cromwell played Prince Philip, and got all the great one-liners, which are hilarious. His stern yet humorous portrayal brought along a stir of comic relief to the film, and so is the Queen Mother who had a scene talking about Diana's funeral which is simply laugh-out-loud funny!

Apart from the tremendous acting and witty British humour, the film still has a lot of facets for enjoyment and admiration. The storyline is fluid and engaging, with the tension built up successfully and appropriately. It can even moves you towards the end. The direction is marvelous, and Stephen Frears managed to manipulate you to firstly hate and then later concern about the Royal family. The inclusion of the real news footage, intervened with the re-created film footage, gave the film an extra realistic feel. With such a famous incidence put on the screen, a lot of the memorable scenes need to be shot accurately and masterfully. They definitely pulled it off with these scenes like the one where the Royal family returned to the Palace, reading the cards and examining the flowers. Their relative positions and each one's posture (including Prince Charles holding the hand of young Prince Harry who's bending over to read the cards from the people) matched perfectly with my vivid memory. The only thing that I'm not happy about is the background music, which somehow was used not only too much, but sounded too dramatic to the level that it's sometimes over the edge and even disturbed my viewing. Although the Verdi's Requiem used at the Funeral proceeding just could not be more suitable.

I personally think that the scenes with the Queen and the Stag are somehow a bit redundant. They were included there for too obvious reason and were even undermining the originally great story. It somehow looked down on the audience, or at least a bit awkward to be included there nevertheless. The writing was strong overall though, and especially good in the tug-of-war between Blair and the Queen, and their relationship......Simply brilliant!!!

All in all, after viewing, one can't help but realising that the Royal family is after all just a family, and the Queen is just another old woman. They also face the difficulties and cope with them every single day like us. However, with more power comes with more responsibility, and less freedom of will and less privacy. It was stated clearly at the start of the film even before the title appeared : The Queen admires the ordinary British people having the right to vote for the Prime Minister who would run the country for them. Ironic in a way...and irony is unavoidable in everyone's life, regardless of being rich or poor.