Ingmar Bergman Centennial Retrospective in Taichung

     I wanted to see the Ingmar Bergman films at Taroko Mall in Taichung City; they started the week after they left Taipei. My wife does not care for "deep movies" so I would go on my own. I thought I had to buy tickets in advance, but there was no hurry. I could have made the reservations by myself but I asked my wife to assist me in Chinese; I wanted her to know when I was going. Perhaps she would choose to join me. 

      These were the film I wanted to see at the Ingmar Bergman Centennial Retrospective sponsored by Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and the Taichung Film Development Foundation:

1.     “Smiles of a Summer Night” – Thurs. Aug. 16 1:50 pm

2.     “The Seventh Seal” - Friday, Aug. 17 2:20 pm

3.     “Cries and Whispers” – Mon. Aug. 20 2:40 pm

4.     “The Virgin Spring” – Tues. Aug. 21 2:40 pm

5.     “Autumn Sonata” Wed. Aug. 22 4:30 pm

6.     “Persona” – Thurs. Aug. 23 1:00 pm

7.     “Scenes From a Marriage” – Sum. Aug. 26 6:10 pm

8.     “Fanny and Alexander” – Mon. Aug. 27 1:00 pm

9.     “Wild Strawberries” Mon. Aug. 27 4:40 pm

    I tried not to pick showings on the weekend unless absolutely necessary. I might not be able to see them all, for different reasons, but of the 38 titles, these seemed to be the most interesting. The price per showing was 200 Taiwan Dollars- about $6.00. I could never pay so little in a Greenwich Village art theater.  My wife said  I would not need to buy tickets in advance because no one in Taichung was interested in these movies; they were "too deep." It turns out she was right; only one film was sold out. I    

thought my wife would like the first film I planned to see, “Smiles of a Summer Night.” It is an erotic comedy. I was looking forward to seeing “The Seventh Seal” too. 

I posted a selfie  before that first show, "The Seventh Seal", and posed a rhetorical question: "How many Ingmar Bergman films can I watch before becoming suicidal?" to chuckles and comments. It was becoming an event. I told my Facebook friends to look out for the blog piece I would be writing about it. 

     “Cries and Whispers” was going to be screened at 2:40 on August 20th, but I felt its plot, the final days of a cancer-stricken Agnes, too depressing;  I struck it off my list.  The next film on my list was the following day at 2:40; “The Virgin Spring”, about “...an innocent girl raped…and killers seek refuge in her father’s farmhouse suffering terrible revenge." Sounded good.  In the same vengeful vein, I added “Shame” to the bottom of the list but it was playing the evening of two films I planned to see, one of them my wife had agreed to see with me; “Wild Strawberries,” showing at 4:40, that last Monday of the retrospective, August 27th. 

    At my Mandarin language exchange, I lent Vincent the Ingmar Bergman Centennial program guide suggesting he might want to see a film; I told him I was going alone Saturday evening to see one. He returned the booklet to me the next day without a comment.
    Meanwhile, my daughter in Portland  commented on-line about the Bergman photo I had shared on Facebook saying she liked his work, too, mentioning two films she saw, “The Magician” which played Aug. 19 and “The Silence” which played Aug. 20.If she would have told me sooner, I would have gone to see them, too.

     On Friday, August 24th, by Taichung government decree, all schools and public events, like Bergman film retrospectives were cancelled  that evening and Saturday as a tropical depression (how apropos)  formed south of Taiwan and was heading north inundating  the island in rain, some of it torrential; there was  flooding south of Taichung. That evening’s showing of “All These Women” and “Hour of the Wolf” were cancelled. It was raining lightly on Saturday; no big deal in Taichung, but those with tickets for these precious showings would be disappointed. 

       That Friday evening I had two glasses of whiskey starting at six o'clock, and wasted by eight. I went to sleep and did not wake up until the middle of the night, spent an hour or two in our tea room and study before going back to bed before dawn, finally waking up at eight o'clock. I did not have Friday evening wine and cheese with my wife as planned. 

        Saturday was a long rainy day; I didn't go out once. I was going to see a film there that evening. Instead, I watched "The Secret Life of Walter Middy" a Chinese bootleg DVD. Like my day, it got stuck towards the end. It was questionable whether the Saturday evening showings would be cancelled, too. As it turned out, my wife had not bought the ticket I wanted for that evening's showing, but to please me, she struggled to get on-line  to buy one, then called the theater to no avail.

      “You know what?" I said. "Forget it; I’d rather spend the evening with you than go see the movie anyhow.” She didn’t argue with me. The wine was still in the refrigerator from Friday evening because I had two glasses of whiskey instead. The  only “Smiles of a Summer Night” that evening would be on our faces as we sat in the living room with wine,  cheese, and the next episode of “Lucifer” on cable TV. 

       Monday morning, she  rode me on her scooter to the hospital for my check-up. It was done with such precision that we were  home by ten o'clock; enough time to get in twenty-five laps at the pool without rushing. I then rode the bicycle home, got in the car, and drove to park in the Taroko Mall basement with enough time to get a glutinous rice wrap in the food court; that with soda, popcorn and Malteser would be munched on during "Fanny & Alexander".

    "Fanny & Alexander" was marvelous. I didn't remember seeing it in 1982. Indeed, I hadn't because I was surprised at the plot.  In the four films I viewed, this one in particular, the Christian church  was farcically presented, down to the prayers before meals; only towards G-d, directed in one's hour of need, were the characters earnest.          Folklore and potions were vital ingredients in the climax of plots in three of the four films, with dreams being the other undercurrent. I was glad that the Jew in "F&A" was the confidant of the matriarch of the Ekdahl family but was surprised when the stereotyped money-lending Jew rescued the children from the ‘stern prelate’; Jewish mysticism and the theater make things right neutralizing the bible blackness of children's tormentors, the church that officiates at the funeral of the Fanny and Alexander’s theater manager.

     It is hard to believe Bergman was a Nazi sympathizer or a Christian; I had to look him up in Google to make sure.

      Bergman must have repented from his Nazi-supporting youth before he made films in the '50's; the church is the antagonist in his films; his characters misled by their faith in a false prophet; truly, the cross was a symbol of death to Bergman. Though death comes to us all, as we are reminded in “The Seventh Seal”, no matter how long you  play chess with the reaper. I like the final speech by the Ekdahl philander in "F&A" saying the little things, not the grandeur of the church, carries us through life; the celebrations, the theater, family, and children.

My wife had taken a taxi in the rain and was in the lobby when the "F&A" ended. I suggested we go down to the food court for a cup of ice cream before "Wild Strawberries" began. It was there, when going to validate a discount on parking, I realized I'd lost the parking token. I could have felt like an old man losing it when my wife panicked but I pointed out the worst they could do was charge for the full day parked there. They later charged us 100 NT-$3.00 u.s.-for losing the token. We went up to see the film.

Losing the parking token, I was worried that I would find myself in sympathy with Isak Borg, the distinguished professor in “Wild Strawberries…taking stock of his life, confronting his shortcomings, and accepting his mortality,” but I am not distinguished or lonely. The film was not as meaningful as I had hoped. It tasted like a Twilight Zone episode the way it was staged, especially with the professor’s daydreams and nightmares. So long as I do not become more anti-social and become a boring old fart, my seventy-ninth year will be as exciting and full of love as my sixty-forth, with or without the accolades; probably without.  
  That Monday evening, on the last day of the retrospective, with my wife after the last film, "Wild Strawberries", the London broil, bruschetta, French fries, and bock beer,  was delicious. It topped off a day of many bright facets with only the loss of a parking token. 

"Wild Strawberries" was not the best of the four Bergman film I saw during the Taiwan Centennial Retrospective. It was not the film I thought my dubious wife would like, but I missed the show in lieu of a smile at home with my wife on a late summer night.

      I could not leave her alone to be with Bergman that rainy Saturday evening. It was no shame that I did not see "Shame" and forego dinner with her. Bergman would certainly agree, the reality of a happy life is better than the entertainment of depression, but it is good to have your eyes opened when life throws you a curve. 

       After watching four Bergman films in two weeks, I am not suicidal. In fact, I hope to see more Bergman films; one day, maybe see an Alfred Hitchcock and Frank Capra film festival in Taiwan, too. 
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 Copyright © 2018 by David Barry Temple. All rights reserved.

Hsinchu Titans Cricket Wins in Taiwan

          Vinay M. Shivanna saw my poetry posted on Facebook in 2017 and liked it;  I reached out to him when I was looking for a beta reader for one of my novels in December 2017. “It's 90,000 words, 240 pages. I can send you a standard beta checklist.” He said it would be okay and I sent him the PDF. Months passed. I thought I would never hear from him again, though I noticed he liked new poems I shared. At that time, I had no idea he lived in Hsinchu, Taiwan, and a mere fifty miles north of my home in Taichung; I thought, like many of my poetry readers he was writing from India.

On June 25, 2018, I posted a meme on Facebook to test the water about possibly throwing a party for my birthday in July. “Do I know enough people in Taiwan to make a birthday party for myself?” To my surprise, Vinay was one that responded. By then I realized he lived in Hsinchu, Taiwan, but I knew nothing about him.  I did a quick search of his Facebook home page and located his hometown in south-west India.

“Bengaluru is to the south of Mumbai, considered as Silicon Valley of India,” he texted when I suggested a 19 hour drive from Tiptur to Mumbai was a long ride; Mumbai is one of the only cities I knew of in India. “India is quite big. Bengaluru is the nearest metro city from my hometown, Bengaluru to Mumbai is a 1.5 hr. flight.”

I noticed a photo of the Bhagavad Gita on his page and assumed he was a Hindu. Some branches of Hinduism give the Bhagavad Gita the status of an Upanishad, and consider it to be a Śruti or "revealed text.” I asked if he was a vegetarian. “Yes sir, am a vegetarian but milk and its products, onion, garlic are all okay... No meat and pork oils.” I assured him there would be vegetarian food at my birthday party.

I told Vinay I would love to visit India one day but I wouldn’t know where to start. “You can consider travelling across India, selecting few prominent places from North to South.” I texted I wouldn’t dare go alone.  

“It isn't worst as hyped in the media and SM.” I admitted I was a victim of that negative hype, but the fact was, without a guide, I wouldn't know where to go.                                        “It's possible to find an Indian guide but will be restricted to a single state in India rather.”

There are around three thousand Indian nationals living in Taiwan under work permits and resident visas; the majority live in Taipei, with Hsinchu second with six hundred and Taichung the third main area of residence. It is a small percentage compared to the 500,000 foreign migrant workers, mainly from the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. Most Indians love the weather and opportunity; Indians have been coming to Taiwan since the 1980's — mainly businessmen, jewelers, and scientists.

Through India’s "Look East" foreign policy, it has created ties with Taiwan in trade and investment as well as developing cooperation in science and technology. Indian culture shows itself through yoga, fashion and music. Ayurvedic spas and beauty salons are appearing as well as Indian restaurants. Diwali and Holi are celebrated by the Indian communities.

          At my birthday party, Vinay invited me to the cricket finals in Hsinchu to see his team play; he is on the Titans. While teaching in FDR High School in Brooklyn for twenty-five years, the increasing number of Pakistani and Bengali students formed cricket teams that played in Prospect Park but I didn’t avail myself of the opportunities to watch them play. I was looking forward to watching my first cricket match and told Vinay I would be delighted to go.

     On August 1^st, Vinay contacted me with details for the cricket final in Hsinchu that Sunday. I would take a Taiwan Railroad train from Taichung getting there in time for the four o’clock match, returning at ten o’clock after the Titan’s hopeful victory celebration at Chillies’ Indian restaurant, the club's sponsor.

On August 5^th, I got off the train in Hsinchu and walked to National Tsing Hua University baseball field where the final playoff match that day was being held. I met Vinay as I entered the campus. The match had not yet begun so we hung out on the bench during the first inning; there are two innings in cricket; all but two of the eleven players, the batters, were on the bench. The Formosa Cricket Club and the Titans went head to head in the final after six preliminary matches involving the Taipei Cricket Association (TCA) and the Badshaws.

     The game lasted over three hours. This cricket virgin sat in the dugout with the score keeper and Vinay and tried to figure things out. The Titans won 162 to 108 in 18 overs; Captain Vivek Nandkumar’s had 46 runs and Rachit Aggarwal 31 from 16 deliveries. Rachit took three wickets. Titan’s teammates Karuna Nidhi and Manikandan each made great catches.

“What you played that day was 20-20?” I later texted Vinay, proud that I had boned up on some cricket history and rule changes.

“18-18,” he said. “Time limitations and too humid weather resulted in breaks between games. We wanted to do 20-20.But customized to 18-18.”

‘”That kind of cricket has only been around since 2003,” I texted smartly.

“Exactly. The first world cup of 20-20 was only in 2007. It's the newest form in cricket.” I could understand 75% of how runs were scored or why they weren't. As a baseball fan, I chuckled at the chance in baseball of having all foul balls good for runs as they are in cricket, and having a bat with flat surface area which seemed easier to hit the larger ball with. The softer ball seems easier to catch without a glove, but what do I know? Only the speed and catching skills of the “outfielders” and catching the ball before a four-run ground ball out-of-bounds or six run “home runs” seemed similar to baseball rules. I still don’t understand why the bowler has to make such a big deal of running up and throwing the ball when he can get as much velocity and curve by standing and going into a wind-up. From wicket to wicket, the batters didn’t have to slide; only touch their bats to the line; no wonder their uniforms were so clean and neat at the end of the match!

After the victory, I was honored to make a little speech and present the trophy to the Formosa Cricket Club with the Titans HT's trophy Captain Vivek Chakankar presented by Duane Christie and Jayesh Sharma. FCC Captain Arun Parappagoudar received the Runners Trophy. But after the ceremony there was no talk of going to sponsor Chillies’ Indian Restaurant; everyone was too excited so, with more than an hour before the last train south, I was directed by Vinay to a taxi shared with the primary sponsor. Through the campus gate to Guang Fu Road Section 2 where, across the busy thoroughfare, I took the #1 bus back to the train station, a bus that seemed to take longer to the front of the station than it had taken me to walk from the back to the University.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that Titan player Joyal Francis asked to friend me on Facebook; Joyal had taken three wickets apiece as Formosa were bowled out. “You must be happy you won.”

“Yes! Of course! We've beaten number one of this island.”

“How long have you played cricket?

“When I was in my childhood, I started to play. Professionally it was a perfect cricket,” Joyal texted, “and perfect ground  under the rules... but not for money, for pride. In Taiwan we try to implement the natural game... it's always learning.... learning..."

“Where did you practice when you were a kid back home?” I asked.

“High school and universities and some different private cricket clubs in India. To become a cricketer, one should learn game from proper coach and some good clubs.”

Vinay and I texted again. “Here is the page for our cricket club patrons

https://www.facebook.com/Titans-Cricket-201805863936750/. This is the group for patrons." Vinay expressed his gratitude to Mr. Thomas Xavier, Chairman, Hsinchu Titans Cricket Club and Mr. Ramakrishna Krishnan ("they call him 'Ramki'")-Vice Chairman and Finance Secretary, Hsinchu Titans Cricket Club "...for leading the club despite all the odds with the great and consistent support from Mr. Nitesh Gupta and Mr. Manikandan Arumugam."

Vinay continued, “They are the ones keeping the club alive and make cricket tournaments happen. Funds, cricket gears, practice sessions, practice matches with other teams, organizing tournaments they do all of it. For the game of cricket, they are doing everything they can. . He also remembered the founding members of the Hsinchu Titans- Mr. Sham Chabukswar and Mr. Tathagath Bhowmick.

     "Hsinchu Titans Cricket Club whole-heartedly express their appreciation to Mr. Minesh Valand, Chillies Indian Restaurant for his great support to Chillies Titans Cup-2018, Hsinchu Titans Cricket Club and thank him for his passion for the game of cricket," Vinay concluded, then he changed the subject.  "You are taking out time for a write up, am indebted for that.”

“Thanks for the great experience,” I replied.

“It was indeed our pleasure. The team was really happy to meet you."

“You opened up a new browser for me in cricket and for that I am grateful.” I have been watching all the cricket YouTube videos I can since that match. “Glad you won, but I'm sure you would have been happy if you hadn't.”

“No no; we wanted to win for sure, particularly if you are the host team, you must win considering its your home ground; you're familiar with the conditions here, and you know how the ball behaves after pitching better than the guest team,” Vinay responded.

“Okay, so you're real,” I chided. “I think of Krishna heading into battle. He stopped to wonder why he was fighting and was reassured he was put in the world for that purpose.”

“Ha-ha...What amazes me is, your knowledge about Krishna and Mahabharata. I am sure many Indians aren't familiar with it as much as you are.”

“Don't flatter me. That's all I recall; perhaps the rest will come back to me soon.”  That reminds me of the only rock ‘n’ roll song I know of, by The Kinks, about Cricket:  Watch "Cricket" performed by the Spivs here.

Some people say that life is a game, well if this is so

I'd like to know the rules on which this game of life is based

I know of no game more fitting than the age old game of cricket

It has honour, it has character and it's British

Now God laid down the rules of life when he wrote those Ten Commandments

And to cricket those ten same rules shall apply

Show compassion and self-righteousness and be honest above all

And come to God's call with bat and ball

Now the Devil has a player and he's called the Demon Bowler

He's shrewd, he's rude and he's wicked

He is sent by Sinful Satan and he's out to take your wicket

And you know that that's not cricket

He'll baffle you with googlies with leg breaks and offspin

But keep a level head and don't let that demon in

So keep a straight bat at all times, let the Bible be your guide

And you'll get by, yes you'll get by

All through your life he'll try to bowl you out

Beware the Demon bowler

He's crafty and deceitful and he'll try to L.B.W.

And bowl a maiden over

The Devil takes the weak in spirit and so we must always be courageous

And remember that God is on your side

So keep old Satan in your sights and play the straight and narrow line

And you'll get by, yes you'll get by

板球基本規則

The basics of the game of cricket explained in Chinese, filmed during the match between Hsinchu Titans Cricket Club and Taiwan Daredevils Cricket Club held in Chiayi City, Taiwan on Sunday October 4th, 2015. With hardcoded Chinese and English Subtitles.

Watch "Cricket explained in Mandarin" here,

www.readingsandridings.jimdo.com

Buy "Unnatural Beauty; Poems from the Han Riverside" Here
 Copyright © 2018 by David Barry Temple. All rights reserved.

Celine Dion in Taipei Neon

    On July 9, 2018, a typhoon was headed to Taipei. It was expected to make landfall late Tuesday  afternoon. The HSR from Taichung might be affected, the Celine Dion concert on Wednesday evening might be affected, and since we had tickets to see her at The Little Dome, we might have been affected, too. But on that Monday, the air was dry with a slightly cooler breeze. The clouds were  drifting from the northwest; no longer southeast from the tail of the typhoon that missed Taiwan and devastated the west coast of Japan heading through the East Sea between Korea and Japan, killing 120 people displacing more than a million. The HSR was running. The concert was on!

     We had bough tickets to the concert in March, four months in advance, as soon as it was posted. Celine Dion was supposed to play in Taiwan four years ago until her late husband took ill and she cancelled. Everyone who loved her was anxious to see her this time, then, in April, she announced that she was having surgery done on her ear. Again, her fans sat on the edge of their seats; would she have to cancel again? This time she made it! She would do two more shows, one added, before she left Taiwan to complete her Asian Tour

     We spent our day in Taipei around the main station, having lunch in Q Plaza and walking through the underground City Mall  to our hotel just outside exit 13. We rested up and munched on the barrel-roasted meat buns we had reserved from a vendor outside. The weather was fine; cool and dry, unusual for Taipei in mid-July. We walked to the MRT through the underground and headed to the Little Dome which was built on old badminton courts across from where another dome had caught fire and was demolished years ago. My old neighborhood had changed a lot since 1984; the biggest change being the MRT. It would have taken us almost an hour back then on bus route 23; instead it took fifteen minutes. When we got outside we were shocked. 

     The lines outside the Celine Dion concert were chaotic; no one knew which line was which; there were no banisters and only a few ushers with megaphones; it felt like a Midway Fairground. Despite the absence of ropes, most Taiwanese didn't cut into lines; they just cut through them to get to the other side. It was wild for fifteen minutes but, finally, we found the right place, not that the other places were wrong, mind you, but we felt confident this line would get us inside.

     We took our seats just as the warm-up act, a Canadian singer impersonator, Veronic DeCaire,  came on stage. She did great versions of popular artists like Whitney Houston and Lady Gaga, but we were raring to see the real thing; an icon: Celine Dion in the flesh.

     When Celine came out to sing, 12,000 fans erupted. Celine went right into the show, and then commented on the typhoon that had passed to Taiwan’s north; how it didn’t seem to affect us because we were all present, but she didn’t comment on the chaos outside the arena; she didn’t know and no one told her. There would be chaos at Friday and Saturday's concerts, too.  

       I think Celine paid too much attention to crediting others’ material and did not do enough of her own. I’m glad she did the acoustic medley with the background singers and guitarist, “At Seventeen” (which, it seems, only I  knew) “Touched by an Angel”, and “We are Family” paying credence to the Taiwanese born acoustic bass playing chick and kissing the African American tenor; it was all very “inclusive” and the audience loved it, but she didn’t have to pay a tribute to Prince or name drop Pink to thank her for writing a song for her when her husband passed away. Eric Carmen's "All By Myself" was also a tribute but without giving him  equal credit; she had covered it on an album. Also, she spent too much time plugging the new "Deadpool II"action hero movie that she was asked to sing the theme song for. She stopped the show five minutes to tell the story that accompanied the MTV video, as opposed to being a show-stopper. 
     At least she spoke slowly so the mostly non-English speaking crowd could understand. Other songs she sang "meant so much to [her]" that it was more overkill than Deadpool. Though most of her songs are covers, she could have given a shout out to all the writers she's had instead of the select few. 

     The neon light show and orchestral background  were the best parts of the Celine Dion experience. Musically, the best part was a violin center stage with her “To Love You More.” The disco medley, including"Sex Machine" by James Brown, got us on our feet during one of her four or five wardrobe changes, but it would have been  better as part of the warm-up; we wanted to hear more of her hits, not other's. The disco song was out of character and awkward to returned to our seats when she came back finishing the song down-tempo. I guess we couldn't jump around too much in the fragile Little Dome so neighbors wouldn't be complaining.

     The most outrageous aspect of the show was the price. We could have bought the nose-bleed seats in the upper deck for 800 NT-$26 but they sold out fast, way before the third show was added in Taipei. Instead we bought the 10,800 NT-$350 seats. Even in Las Vegas her seats go for $200 tops; they were way over-priced. Granted she had a orchestra of twelve behind her and three background singers, even a male dancer who came out to accompany her as she sang.  The problem is, Taiwan is not Japan and most pop stars from the west pass us by. It is either Brittney Spears, Air Supply, or a washed up Bob Dylan whose English can't even be understood by childhood friends. And we spent $200, half of it to a scalper, just to see a bloated Axel Rose in November rain; at least Slash will be back on guitar.  

     Celine Dion is an amazing singer. Few divas are worth the price of seeing them live; Celine is the one. Bravo! 

Set List

Part 1

Musical Intro

The Power of Love (Jennifer Rush cover)

That's the Way It Is

I'm Alive

Because You Loved Me

Part 2

Toccata 2.4 (Musical Interlude)

It's All Coming Back to Me Now (Pandora's Box cover)

Beauty and the Beast (Alan Menken cover)

Ashes

Think Twice

Part 3

Rising Outta Me (Musical Interlude)

Falling into You (Marie-Claire D’Ubaldo cover)

The Reason (Carole King cover)

Pour que tu m'aimes encore

Recovering

All by Myself (Eric Carmen cover)

Part 4

Musical Interlude

Acoustic Medley: At Seventeen / A New Day Has Come / Unison

To Love You More

Part 5

Uptown Funk/Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough/We are Family/Groove is in the Heart/Sex Machine

(by backup singers)

Kiss / Purple Rain (Prince cover)

Love Can Move Mountains

River Deep, Mountain High (Ike & Tina Turner cover)

My Heart Will Go On

www.readingsandridings.jimdo.com
Buy "Unnatural Beauty; Poems from the Han Riverside" Here
 Copyright © 2018 by David Barry Temple. All rights reserved.