末代皇帝

 

意大利電影大師貝托魯奇（Bernardo Bertolucci）的代表作-末代皇帝溥儀-將在香港重映，以紀念坂本龍一先生。這部勇奪九項金像獎的佳作，能夠在敍述宏大的歷史氛圍和細膩的人物情感之間作出微妙的平衡，以致建構出一部偉大的現代史詩。想感受一下歐洲藝術電影的風采，就一定要去看看這經典電影了!!

by Ed Law

Film Analysis

喋血雙雄

槍林彈雨下的惺惺相惜, 善惡共存世界裡動人的情感, 炎涼世態中一絲對人的關懷。 在吳宇森導演和周潤發先生的忘我演繹下, 造就了香港電影中一章叫人難忘的篇章- '喋血雙雄'!

真.男人的浪漫

'喋血雙雄'可算是吳宇森和周潤發最為著名的作品之一。或許此片不像'英雄本色'般具開創性;不像'喋血街頭'般史詩感強; 沒有'辣手神探'的動感和'縱横四海'的戲謔; 不過'喋血雙雄'不但令全世界的電影愛好者認識到吳宇森的獨特風格, 此片也是他藝術成就的巔峰。 白鵨亂飛的教堂配以混亂的槍戰, 一句句令人振奮的對白, 以至周潤發和李修賢富感染力的演繹: 縱使我已經看過此片不下數十次, 但每一次都仍然被動人的故事情節所感動。  我對吳宇森和周潤發的崇拜, 就像黑澤明和寇比力克一樣, 不只是單純因為他們的電影好看,而是因為他們的作品反映了他們高尚的人格和敬業樂業精神!

by Ed Law

以戲服人 Film Analysis

'未來戰士續集'三十週年紀念

三十年前的今天(1991年7月3日), 占士金馬倫(James Cameron)執導的’未來戰士續集’(Terminator 2: Judgment Day)在美國開畫。此部阿諾舒華辛力加電影在1991年勇奪全球最高的票房, 亦贏得四個奧斯卡獎項。’未來戰士’第一,二集並沒有隨時間的流逝而被人所遺忘。即使占士金馬倫在後期拍過看似更成功的電影，’未來戰士’一定是他的代表作。沒有’未來戰士’,他可能只會是一位寂寂無名的B級片導演。當金馬倫可以在影壇運用’未來戰士導演’這個稱號時,他才可以運用這個亮麗的track record去爭取拍攝如’鐵達尼號’和’阿凡達’等大製作!

今次我會在此分享之前寫過關於’未來戰士’的幾篇文章:

The Terminator

https://emockedlaw.blogspot.com/2015/07/terminator.html

Terminator and Me

https://emockedlaw.blogspot.com/2015/07/blog-post.html

Terminator 2 : Judgment Day

https://emockedlaw.blogspot.com/2015/07/terminator_13.html

Terminator and Postmodernism

https://emockedlaw.blogspot.com/2015/07/blog-post_18.html

沒有看過’未來戰士’, 又怎會領略此經典電影的強烈魅力? 

by Ed Law

以戲服人 Film Analysis

 

Under Capricorn

 

‘Under Capricorn’ is an interesting film from Alfred Hitchcock. The fascination with this film originates from its technical innovation and the issue of audience expectation often associated with genre films. A film from 1949, it is an early Technicolor film, just like Hitchcock's previous film 'Rope'. The film is also a period drama, a rare choice from the Master of Suspense. ‘Under Capricorn’ also shows some similarities in terms of content and style to ‘Notorious’, another Hitchcock film from the 1940s. Both films were brilliantly performed by Ingrid Bergman.

The most interesting aspect about ‘Under Capricorn’ regards the audience reception of the film when it first came out in the end of 1940s. ‘Under Capricorn’ appeared to adopt a European sensibility and it was more popular in the art film circles of Europe rather than mainstream Hollywood. The audience back in the 1940s expected the period drama to be a typical Hitchcockian thriller. Yet while the film was suspenseful and also had a mystery plot element, the story was more melodramatic than thrilling. The film seemed to resemble the melodramas by Kenji Mizoguchi in the same era rather than a typical thriller in the golden age of Film Noir.  

The Sydney of the 19^th century, where the story took place, was a new frontier where many foreigners flocked to. Prospectors travelled there to look for a new start in their lives. What they could not have left behind, as implied by Hitchcock's stylistic motifs, were the crime of passion and the darkest secrets of the past. Indeed, the film was quite similar to the Hitchcock’s  ‘Notorious’, another melodrama disguised as a Film Noir. Other than the similar ‘poisoning Ingrid Bergman’ motif, both film concerned complex love triangles. The dramatic tensions were further complicated by the ethical gray areas, which served as an essential theme for the Noirish landscapes portrayed in both films.

Characters searched for their selves and made sense of their existences through Hitchcock's long takes, as an ongoing experiment that originated from his previous film ‘Rope’. When long takes were employed in the late films of Kenji Mizoguchi, they were formalized and represented the processes of ritualistic gestures in the past. In contrast, Hitchcock's long takes demanded the viewers to look for clues and emotional cues as they travelled alongside with the characters in the film. As we were led through the ballrooms, dining halls, and bedrooms inside the gothic manor, the power relations due to the differing social status of the various characters shifted, and everyone gained their upper hands at certain points when the power dynamics were changed. In fact, ‘Under Capricorn’ can be considered as an erotic film - it is just the clinical and subtle style of Hitchcock that renders it less like the sexually-charged ‘erotic films’ we understand today.

All the characters had their own secrets in ‘Under Capricorn’. Their actions were often amoral and they were motivated by material considerations and self-interest. For Ingrid Bergman, she has given an edgy performance in the film, as an eccentric and alcoholic lady. I bet Ms. Bergman has probably tried to make her photogenic appearance more unflattering, like wearing baggy clothes and having nervous gestures and intonations to fit her character in the film.  Her character had to sort out her turmoil for her passions and feelings for the two male protagonists, not knowing she was slowly poisoned by alcohol with another jealous character. Through the film, further criminal acts were carried out and unfair insinuations were made, cluttering the moral compass of the cinematic world. Being a moralist, Hitchcock offered hope by giving Bergman’s character a sense of justice, even if she was physically compromised at the climax of the film. She was willing to stand up and speak about the truth, and sorted out the moral clutter. In the age of the dark and fatalistic Noir, ‘Under Capricorn’ gave the viewers an ending where the innocent ones received justice as the truth came to light at the end.

 

This Hitchcock film is a great representative of classic Hollywood cinema. And, if you have seen enough black-and-white images and films of the legendary Ingrid Bergman, you may want to see how she looks in Technicolor, too! 

by Ed Law 

Film Analysis

Sophrosyne : Art of Moderation

 

‘Looking forward’ often sounds like a positive outlook, yet there is a caveat to it. When one examines an idea, he should not jump to the conclusion that the idea is not useful as it is ‘dated’ or ‘old-school’. Such a contextual reading of things can lead one to overlook some of the most endearing wisdom of the human legacy, and often this attitude merely represents one’s obliviousness to the origin of our thoughts. The contributions from thinkers of Ancient Greece have been tremendous. They have ignited the fire of Western thoughts through the work in literature, philosophy, and science. The thinkers have also proposed to us some of the first models of an ethical life. One of the most important ethical outlooks from this era is Sophrosyne, widely considered as the golden rule of Ancient Greek wisdom.

 

Sophrosyne (σωφροσύνη) is the noun of Sophronein (σωφρονεῖν), the verb that corresponds to the same idea. Often translated as ‘soundness of mind’ (noun) or ‘thinking well’, the concept has been interpreted by many thinkers through the Archaic Greece and Classical Greece, and continued to later eras. Sophrosyne has been transformed, and encompassed wider attributes throughout history. Despite diverse opinions added to the concept, the central theme of the word has not been altered. As an opposite to hubris, sophrosyne demands a clear and rational mind, which judges and makes decisions wisely, with regards to one’s limit. It is a form of moderation for an individual to exist in the world.

 

It is quite interesting to note that, while the concept of sophrosyne has first appeared in the epic poems of Homer, later thinkers have often ‘cherry-picked’ on various parts of the concept and made their assessment by focusing on their particular interests of the concept. Thus for the Pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus, sophrosyne was related to physis and logos; for Socrates and his successors, the focus was on the rational examination and analysis of the concept with regards to ethics; and for the Stoics, the concept was used to establish one’s place in the universe. The later thinkers stressed about the concept of sophrosyne as akin to ‘knowing your place’ in the universe, and one’s ethical deliberations should be based on a sound mind and rational considerations. Also the concept of measure was associated with sophrosyne, as that provided a metric for one to weigh different options and choose the most well-informed actions. For Socrates, he has attempted to find an objective standard of knowledge and ethics, through his questioning and examination of general and particular beliefs. The Sophist Protagoras has gone even further to abandon any objective metric, and proclaimed ‘Man is the measure of all things.’

 

Of all the interpretations of sophrosyne, I find Heraclitus’s elaboration most inspiring. The Pre-Socratic thinker was one of the most charismatic thinkers of Archaic Greece, and his thoughts were so original that they can still be considered fascinating and contentious by today’s standard, just like when one reads Nietzsche and Zhuang Zi. Asserting that the universe was governed by the cosmic order known as ‘Logos’, Heraclitus stressed the importance of sophrosyne in the famous fragment B112, a memorable advice that deserves to be quoted below.

“Sound thinking (σωφρονεῖν) is the greatest virtue and wisdom: to speak the truth and to act on the basis of an understanding of the nature of things”

-Fragment B112

 

Thus for Heraclitus, the attribute of sophronein meant getting closer to the nature of things. Only which one embraced physis, which originated and was governed by Logos, could the individual acquire true wisdom and lived well.  This statement reflected the philosopher’s opinion that the human world, which was part of the universe, was modelled after the cosmic (divine) world. For Heraclitus, true wisdom meant the realization of the fact meant that the human world, being part of nature, was in no way distinct or separate from the cosmos. The appreciation of this limit has implications of one’s ethical outlook, as one will deliberate with considerations regarding one’s nature and limitations and avoid the influence of hubris and other folly. Thinking well is the virtue of sophrosyne. 

by Ed Law 

Conatus Classics

Conatus Classics - The First Year

 

On 31^st May 2020, I have published the first article of Conatus Classics, which is a section with the intention to discuss the History of Thought. The articles in this section have spanned the broadest of scope I have ever written about the other topics from cinema and science. For the past year, I have many opportunities to explore diverse themes from philosophy, history, science, poetry, drama, politics and social science in Conatus Classics. When I write articles for Film Analysis, I often take a more liberal approach and express many personal opinions, as cinema is something that has fascinated me for many years and it is also a topic I am well-acquainted with. For Conatus Classics, I take a more objective and impartial approach, and have carried out more background research, which includes reading the original text. An improvement is probably more careful close-reading of the original sources, so that the readers can more easily appreciate the different interpretations that arise from the ideas of these curious thinkers.

 

The first year of Conatus Classics has placed an intense focus on Natural Philosophy of Ancient Greece. Almost all the Pre-Socratic philosophers have expressed opinions, or have gone as far as developing coherent philosophical systems, to account for the world in a rational way. The information acquired from the myth of the epic poets would no longer be useful for the understanding of humanity, that has given way to the use of rational speculations. These thinkers attempted to understand, amidst the ‘many’ in the universe, what was the ‘one’ that everything was originated from? In short, what is the ‘physis’ (Greek for ‘nature’) of things? The philosophical ideas from these ancient thinkers may be dated by today’s standard, yet one cannot deny the imaginative aspect of the many ideas that have survived the passage of time. Some of the ideas have even provided the foundation of different schools of thought that are still relevant today: materialism, rationalism, ontology, theology, behaviourism, you name it.  The wise men from the Pre-Socratic era – from Homer, Solon, Thales, to Pythagoras, Parmenides and Democritus – have all left lasting impressions for future people, and their impacts were no less significant than the Holy Trinity of philosophers from Classical Greece.

 

Creative juxtapositions have also been committed in a series of articles. The tragedians from the Classical Greece -  Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides – have been compared with three brilliant filmmakers of the 20^th century – Griffith, Kurosawa and Peckinpah. The more we attempt comparisons on the 2 distinct art forms, the more surprises we can discover. What have struck me are the similarities in the emphasis on the universal human issues, stressed by the artists from two millennia apart. That represent the legacy of artistic innovation offered by the members of our species.

Looking forward to the 2nd year of Conatus Classics, the concentration will be on the thinkers from Classical Greece onwards. The focus will be shifted from the heavenly bodies back to our Earth. The humanism of Classical Athens and the associated ideas would shape the Hellenistic philosophy. The diverse schools of this later era had the common theme on proposing systems for the individual to interact with the world which he was situated in. The philosophical deliberations led to implications in diverse ethical outlooks and possible ways towards ‘eudaimonia’ (commonly translated as ‘happiness’).

 

The other face of Classical Studies is focused on the Latin world. The ancient Roman Empire is renowned for its contribution to legal studies. The Roman Law serves as the locus classicus for the development of jurisprudence in the Western world. The ancient empire was also famed for its contribution in literature, rhetoric and philosophy. The studies of ancient Rome are just as interesting and inspiring as ancient Greek studies. These are the topics I will explore in the 2^nd year of Conatus Classics! 

by Ed Law 

Conatus Classics

A Few Words on Oscar

The Academy Award for 2021 has come late, yet it was still present for the sake of historical records. Many of the winners and key contenders, following the trend of the past few years, are films about outsiders and the unnoticeable. Gone were the days of the larger than life epic heroes in past films that have garnered many Oscars. The underdogs found their voices in the many films for the Award this year. Be it a nomadic existence due to economic circumstances, the whistle blower who was silenced due to a heterosexual power structure, idealistic characters who became fall guys to ideology and political power struggle. Even people forgotten in history re-emerge:  people may know Orson Welles and his masterpiece Citizen Kane, but how about Herman J. Mankiewicz, the writer who collaborated on the script and received an Oscar along with Welles? Even in a larger than life film, Tenet, the hero and the villain have to resort to alternatives - by reversing the time to place an edge against each other in the struggle. The truth is, these stories are closer to our experience, and the characters are no less heroic than the idealized heroes often found in the uplifting films. 

 

Universal theme of family values is upheld by a few winning films, emphasizing to the audience that no matter how the world has changed, there are some fundamental values that can be truly considered as humanity’s legacy. ‘Minari’ stressed the need for family relationships in a foreign land; ‘The Father’ stressed the compassion required for surviving old age; and ‘Nomadland’ reminded the audience of the humanism common in all the drifters and loners. The importance of family values and emotional support, after all, is independent of geography and context, and this note is in particular relevant for the divided world of today.

 

While there are many young and talented contenders in the acting category, it is just as happy to see the veteran performers, like Anthony Hopkins and Frances McDormand, getting the recognitions they deserve. It has been about 30 years since Mr. Hopkins first received an Academy Award, with the Chianti-loving Dr. Hannibal in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’. Mr. Hopkins has proved to be a versatile actor throughout the years, from portraying President Richard Nixon to the Pope. In ‘The Father’, the Jonathan Demme-style stare from the intense Dr. Lecter is no longer required: Mr. Hopkins offered us an intimate portrayal of an aging father, alongside with Oliver Colman’s brilliant supporting performance. 

Frances McDormand, the frequent leading lady of Coen Brother’s edgy masterpieces, is known for heightened characters like those in ‘Fargo’ and ‘Three Billboards’. In her Oscar-winning performance of ‘Nomadland’, we can see the more subtle side of Ms. McDormand’s performance, which can be easily overlooked when one associated her with the darker films she has often appeared in. It is also gratifying to see that she has taken a more active role in the film by acting as a producer. While actors and actresses have often involved in the backstage work of film production through the history of cinema, this has become more commonplace in recent years. This is indeed a great testament for the enrichment of cinematic experience for practitioners in the film industry! 

by Ed Law 

Film Analysis

Being Nameless with the Dao

When the Ancient Greek thinkers were experiencing a paradigm shift in the understanding of the world from the 6th century BC onwards, another intellectual force was rising at the same time in the East. The dawn of Chinese Philosophy appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period, and continued with an intense and diverse development throughout the Warring States Period. The Pre-Qin Philosophy (先秦哲學), which encompassed a number of competing schools of philosophy, laid the intellectual foundations of the most important values of Chinese culture, be it in Literature, Theater, Calligraphy and Painting. Having a strong fascination in Chinese Literature and Philosophy, I would like to share about some ideas of a fascinating school of thought of Chinese Philosophy – the Daoist school (道家), as advocated by the philosopher Lao Zi (老子) and his famous successor, Zhuang Zi (莊子).

 

The Daoist philosophy is idiosyncratic when compared to the other schools of Chinese philosophy, not only because of its apparently passive outlook of life, but also because of its more metaphysical worldview. The pre-Qin philosophy was all pragmatic and humanistic – each school wished to advocate for beliefs that would impact the human life and society in general. The Daoist outlook, by contrast, was more inclined towards nature, and that was quite similar to the natural philosophers of the Pre-Socratic period. Indeed, in the later Classical Greek era, natural philosophy has been perceived as a pointless inquiry for human existence and the thinkers placed their focus on more humanistic issues such as ethics, politics and rhetoric. That is why Daoist philosophy was considered unique and has attracted its fair share of detractors, who pointed out that the philosophy itself was not useful for any reforms on social and political issues. As we will see, Daoist philosophy is often capable of surprise and it may turn out to be useful for the human world.

‘Dao’ (道), which is translated as ‘way’ or ‘path’ in English, is the ontological entity of the universe, and it is the central component of the cosmology proposed by the Daoists. Dao leads to the genesis of all things in the world. Reminiscent of the ontological reality proposed by certain Presocratic philosophers, Dao is everlasting and it neither has a beginning or an end. There is no notion of life and death in this reality, so the whole system is harmonized and does not have any dialectical or opposite relations at all.

While I do not think that the nature perceived by the Daoist necessarily means ‘natural science’ in the modern sense of the term, it is quite evident that Dao encompasses everything from nature – including humans. Thus in Daoist doctrines, the meaning of ‘Zi Ran’ (自然, translated as ‘nature’ in English) can be compared to ‘physis’ from Greek philosophy, which excludes anything that originates from humans. The whole enterprise of Daoist philosophy is to inspire the followers to appreciate the genuine nature of things, and to retreat from the human influences – that have led to a lot of unnecessary conflicts and arguments – and live one’s life by getting closer to the way of ‘Dao’.

An important attribute of ‘Dao’, which is relevant as that serves as a contrast to other competing Pre-Qin philosophy, is the namelessness of Dao. ‘Dao’, immanent in the natural world, is abstract and it cannot be represented by language or ‘names’. In a sense, one cannot easily comprehend the nature of Dao and describe it in words how that looks like and what it is about. This is in stark contrast to the other schools of philosophy, as they often attempt to give opinions on human nature and hence how one should behave to fit in. A key example is the Confucian school (儒家).

Confucius (孔子), the founder of the school, maintained that ‘Ren’ (仁, kindness) was important because, when a person has disciplined himself through the observation of this moral requirement, that would facilitate a positive interpersonal relationship with others, leading to a stable social order at large. Confucius observed that language, one of the most important vehicles of human interactions, would impact human relationships and also the social hierarchy. Thus he proposed the need for ‘rectification of names’ (正名, Zheng Ming), the requirement that a person’s behaviour should be in accord to his title, the ‘name’.  By expressing a meaning and correspondence unambiguously, the correct ideas can be conveyed through the verbal or written means and that would lead to less conflicts and a more harmonious social order. The notion was not very different from Greek philosophy, like when Socrates pushed for clear definitions of terms when someone gave an ambiguous statement; or the sophist Prodicus who stressed on precise distinctions between similar terms.

The Confucian moral order is therefore rational and hierarchal, working through a rational stage-by-stage approach. Mencius (孟子), the successor of the school of thought, advocated that one should start a moral outlook from an individual perspective, and then influenced his family and finally the society at large (推己及人).

The Daoist philosophers, however, disagreed with this perspective of looking at life. Lao Zi, the founder of the school, has made the famous statement that:

‘The Dao that can be told of is not the eternal Dao.’ (道可道非常道)

and

‘The Nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth.’ (無名萬物之始)

The philosopher has stated the two most unique doctrines regarding Dao: it cannot be spoken of or stated in words. To put it in another word, if that is an alleged ‘Dao’ which can be stated in words – it is not the real thing, it is a hoax. That is why ‘wu ming’ (無名, namelessness) is Dao’s most important attribute, and it is the origin of all things in nature. If the Confucian thinkers attempted to place names on everything they experienced in life, their actions were against nature, as nature has already organized everything in unity, and the Confucians were trying to disrupt the order of nature. Lao Zi has provided a lot of metaphysical background for Daoist philosophy, but that was Zhuang Zi, his successor, who has engaged with the detractors of his era and expressed a more systematic exposition of Daoist ideas in the book that bore his name. 

(End of Part 1) 

by Ed Law 

Conatus Classics

Nights of Cabiria

 

To celebrate the 100th birthday of Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini, a number of Fellini classics will be shown again in cinemas around Hong Kong. ‘Nights of Cabiria’ is an interesting candidate of Fellini’s wonderful oeuvre.

While cinema lovers around the world are familiar with Fellini’s imaginative style, often characterized by its dream-like tendency, it is easy to overlook that Fellini started from an origin of Italian Neorealism. This film style from the 1940s strove for the most hard-core realism known to film – from the ‘un-cinematic’ casual gestures from de Sica films to the uncompromising scenes common in Rossellini’s films, the artistic movement built up on the influence of von Stroheim and Renoir, and aimed for a kind of documentary realism unprecedented for cinema. The young Fellini has worked with Roberto Rossellini, as a writer for the Neorealist film ‘Paisan’. Hence ‘The Night of Cabiria’ is seen by many as an interesting work in Fellini’s cinema, as it combines two apparently irreconcilable style – his later signature style and the realist style where he originated from. Yet the result is not an inconsistent film: the Fellini masterpiece is a sincere outlook of how one may have survived in a harsh and uncompromising environment.

One can easily feel that Fellini has expressed a sense of pessimism in ‘Nights of Cabiria’, yet it is likely a commitment to the style of Italian Neorealism rather than his personal outlook on life. It is as if the filmmaker is placing the protagonist, Cabiria (starring Giulietta Masina) in a social experiment. Cabiria was a sympathetic character for many, she was a happy-go-lucky kind of person and she was willing to fight for a better future, quite like a Sirkian woman. That reminds me of a later film by Godard, ‘Vivre Sa Vie’, and Nana (played by Anna Karina) was actually quite similar to Cabiria, though not as comedic. By placing Cabiria in a genuinely rough and unsympathetic world, one can see that she was as street-smart as she could be, as it was the only way for her to survive ‘on the streets’. Many viewers have expressed that Cabiria resembles a Chaplin character, and indeed her gestures were not very different from the Little Tramp. While the iconic character is very likeable, one should also note the subtlety offered by Chaplin. The comedic character possessed a kind of passive-aggressiveness in all his adventures, and he was willing to play dirty and rough when the situation called for it (albeit in a funny way).  

Cabiria was as intelligent, yet she had to face a lot of misfortunes, some caused by the economical situations reflected in the film, other caused by the various characters in the film. She has been taken advantage of all the time, even when she was making attempts to connect with other people and to cultivate genuine relationships (the fact that Cabiria was working as a prostitute also signified her instrumental value as perceived by others in the film).  Fellini placed the ultimate irony at the point when Cabiria finally felt serene and thought of a more fulfilling life, she was in a state of trance caused by a magician, under the watchful eyes of some curious audience looking for entertainment. She could not find happiness or fulfilment in reality, and even when she could at least imagine that in her mind, she was still being taken advantage of. 

The rather dark tone of the film took an existential turn, when Cabiria discovered that, after the events of the whole film, she was again facing a man who would give a false promise of loving her, only having an intention to take away her money and possessions. The rather absurd scenario alluded to Nietzsche’s idea of eternal recurrence, or maybe the ‘Kenny dies at every episode’ scenario in South Park. Literally, Cabiria’s life was going nowhere, and she was living her life one day at a time. Fellini was wise in the sense that he did not offer the audience a deus ex machina or an optimistic ending here. Whether the ending is good or bad is not the most important issue, what matters is the reflection that can be offered to the audience. Cabiria finally came to the realization of the absurdity of life, and that would simply not be a miracle and then everything become okay. In the memorable final scene, she gave the answer for enduring the impermanence of human existence: a smile through the tears. The journey of life is long, and only by staying in the struggle will one have the last laugh. 

by Ed Law 

Film Analysis

Pozzolana : The Wonder of Roman Concrete

 

Classical antiquity has not only offered us a rich cultural heritage, that has also seen a lot of scientific achievement. When one has an opportunity to admire the architecture that originated from the Roman Empire, one should not overlook the fact that the science of building materials from the ancient times have provided the starting point for further development that is still highly relevant to this day. With previous experience in the research of Construction Materials, I find the science of Roman concrete (Latin: opus caementicium), responsible for the wonder of Roman architecture, really fascinating. For this time, it is all about science.

 

While most of us can easily appreciate the importance of cement and concrete for our daily lives, we may not necessarily know the scientific and historical background of these useful materials. To start with, concrete is a mixture of a few chemical components: a binder material, some form of aggregate, water, and some cases, further chemical additives. The binder is often called a cement, and it is like the ‘backbone’ of the concrete. The aggregate is often some form of sand of various diameters, acting as a filler material. Concrete is prepared by mixing cement, sand, and water in a well-defined proportion, when chemical reactions lead to the setting, and eventually hardening of the resulting concrete. Though it may sound trivial, this has always been the the basis for the building industry throughout human history.

 

Let’s look a bit further about the historical and scientific aspects of cement. While forms of cement have been known since ancient Egypt, Greek, and the Roman empire, the key composition of cement almost always contains some calcium compounds, like lime or calcium carbonate. The cement we know nowadays, the most classic form being the Portland Cement, was a creation from England back in the 19^th century. While there are many variations since the first development of this classic form of cement (Ordinary Portland Cement, abbreviated as OPC), the key chemical components of the cement itself are often very similar, albeit varying in proportions – inorganic compounds of calcium (Ca), silicon (Si), aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe). The Roman cement, as we will see, also contained many of these chemical components, yet its specific composition led to some interesting properties of its own.

 

Before we move on to the ancient science let me address two further issues regarding some properties of cement. The first issue is the production of cement itself. The ingredients of cement, containing inorganic salts of calcium, silicon, aluminum and iron, is heated at very high temperature (>1500 degree Celsius), and as a result a number of chemical reactions take place during the burning process, forming new chemical products. The resulting mixture is ground into a fine powder and leads to the greenish grey appearance very typical of modern cement. While we do not have to go into the chemical details, often 4 types of complex inorganic salts result: two of them are calcium-silicon salts, designated as C₃S and C₂S; one is a calcium-aluminum salt, C₃A; and a calcium-aluminum-iron salt, C₄AF. The reason why this is mentioned is because the proportion and the specific properties of the 4 salts will determine the resulting properties of the cement, and hence impacts the setting time, mechanical and durability of the concrete itself. As an example, ‘high-alumina cement’ is a version that increases the concentration of aluminum salt in the precursor mixture and leads to a richer aluminum content (more C₃A) in the resulting cement. Indeed, the various types of special cement that have emerged from the past 200 years of so originated from tuning of these properties.

The second issue is the paradoxical observation of water’s action towards concrete. Water is needed in the setting and hardening of the concrete. Yet, the strength of the resulting concrete is developed and enhanced by immersion of the concrete in water, which may sound counter-intuitive to many. That is because the calcium-based cement is a hydraulic-setting cement, meaning that the resulting concrete develops its mechanical strength in water. That would certainly sound strange to many people not in the field of construction engineering.

 

Yet, there is a caveat in the water immersion issue. While calcium-based concrete can develop strength in a water medium, we mean water only. If the aqueous environment contains other inorganic salts, just like in the marine environment, it will lead to a deterioration of the structure in terms of mechanical strength and issues in durability. Thus, underwater construction has always posed a problem for the field of building materials, and throughout history many has worked towards solving the problem. That is where Roman Concrete enters the story.

 

Roman Concrete, which has been used in the construction of many architectures since Ancient Rome, was reputed to be a very durable building material. Also, the ancient building material was in particular famous for application in underwater building work, including bridges and areas near water. The Roman concrete was also based on a calcium hydraulic-setting cement, like the Ordinary Portland Cement. The wonder behind this ancient cement can be summarized by one word: Pozzolana.

 

Pozzolana (Latin: pulvis puteolanus) is the volcanic ash found from Pozzuoli, Italy. While it is known that other civilizations, like Egypt and Greek, has adopted similar approaches in their building work, that was the Romans who have really popularized the idea and committed to large scale construction. Volcanic ash is a product of a relatively explosive volcanic eruption, often due to the rhyolite-natured magma (more felsic / acidic magma due to a higher SiO₂ content), and that contains more gas products and hence a more violent eruption. When the liquid magma is released into the air through a pyroclastic eruption, the resulting tiny fragments of glass formed from that are the volcanic ashes. The pozzolanic volcanic ash is rich in silica and alumina, and by reacting with lime, Ca(OH)₂, further products are obtained, giving rise to its specific properties. The resulting cement has a higher silica content than the standard version of modern cement, and they are not indeed very different certain specific types of cement nowadays, where additives like fly ash and fumed silica are added into the precursor mix.

 

The resulting concrete, prepared from the cement (Lime and Pozzolana), various aggregate and water, has offered a number of advantages. First, the concrete is very durable. That can be attributed to the high silica and alumina content of the cement. Also, it is very resistant to the action of salt water. Thus, in the marine environment, even if the concrete structure was submerged under water, the mechanical strength of the structure was not compromised. This can be explained as high-alumina cement is often resistant to sulfate attack and the action of other inorganic salts. One will always feel with a sense of awe how a volcano-related material can contribute so much to a long-standing construction problem.

 

The ancient cement from the Roman Empire may be from a long, long time ago, yet the concept behind such an achievement is in no way antiquated. The type of ancient cement has inspired a modern type of cement known as 'Pozzolanic Cement', which is still used in a number of regions around the world. The approach is immortalized by a named chemical reaction, and a number of international standards regarding the use of these materials in building industry. You will never view the volcanos in the same way again! 

by Ed Law 

Conatus Classics

Le Mepris

Recently, Jean-Luc Godard’s ‘Le Mepris’ (a.k.a. ‘Contempt’) was shown again in cinemas in Hong Kong. The cast featured a genuinely cosmopolitan selection of actors and actresses, and the film explored diverse themes like love, professional relationships, authorship, and cinema as an art. ‘Le Mepris’ chronicled the deteriorating relationships of a screenwriter and his wife (played by Michel Piccoli and Brigitte Bardot), when he was asked by an American producer (played by Jack Palance) to rewrite a script of ‘Odyssey’ by a director from Europe (Fritz Lang in an iconic acting role). Done in color and Cinemascope, Godard delivered his promise to offer the audience a Panavision/Technicolor film!

The Cinemascope was a widescreen cinematographic process that was popular in the 1950s. It would soon fall out of favour and gave way to other types of improved widescreen process. The key motivation for the innovation was to provide a more epic spectacle for the audience, thus boosting the entertainment value of watching films. Certain genres have indeed been benefited from this photographic style, which somewhat guaranteed an epic feel in terms of the visual aspects. Yet the process itself was not easily executed and many filmmakers, including the great masters, have expressed their dislikes of the novel system. As Fritz Lang’s character mocked in the film, Cinemascope was only good for shooting long things like a coffin or a boa constrictor. That should not be surprising when we consider Lang’s origin from the Expressionist cinema of the 1920s, when films were often shot in the Academy Ratio (1.33:1). Furthermore, wide-angle lenses were often employed to give a stronger depth of field.

It was not certain if Godard himself liked Cinemascope or not, yet the talent filmmaker from the French New Wave made brilliant use of this tricky format through a careful consideration of mise-en-scene, adopting the technique to his own advantage. Godard used the horizontal width of the film format to show his intention, to illustrate the distance between the couple. In some cases, the wide format exaggerated the compartmental aspect of the couple's apartment. The irony was that while the household was supposed to be the places for intimate relationships, the husband and wife were alienated by the modernized arrangement and were isolated, while desperately regaining a sense of intimacy from each other. Godard has made a judicious choice of using Homer’s ‘Odyssey’ as the film-in-the-film: while the epic poem has an adventure theme throughout, it is easy to overlook the subtle theme of familial relationships: Odysseus was desperately to return home tor restore the order of the oikos (household), and Penelope’s faith towards Odysseus not only reflected her moral outlook but also her commitment to the family. In the middle of ‘Le Mepris’, the producer and the director came into a severe dispute regarding the interpretation of Homer’s epic, where the American producer made an interesting proposal that Odysseus left because of Penelope’s possible infidelity. Which exactly reflected the writer and the wife’s ongoing situation, when the wife was attracted to the playboy-type producer. Like Odysseus, the writer would eventually return home, yet with a sense of loss. Without giving spoilers, the readers should watch that for themselves! 

by Ed Law 

Film Analysis

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

 

It is often challenging to assert a sense of individualism in life. Despite our biological makeup what emphasizes a notion of physiological and psychological individuality, culture has dictated that humans, like many other species of the animal world, have to survive in a communal setting. While one feels the demand of meeting up to one’s potential, is that often consistent with the expectations from the group one finds himself in? In 1970, Richard Bach has written a novella which would eventually become the classic of self-help literature in the 20th century. ‘Jonathan Livingston Seagull’ is an allegory of one’s striving towards self-actualization. Though the protagonist of the novella is merely a seagull, many readers can easily identify with this ‘outsider’ of the flock. The bird’s unique experience has proved to be inspiring for many and the novella has become a bestseller. In 1973, the film version of ‘Jonathan Livingston Seagull’ was released. The film’s style is very representative of its era – with the daring spirit, and much of the film focused only on the protagonist – remember that is a seagull - and the natural world it has travelled through. Maybe due to the lack of human characters and the austere style, the film received mixed review, unlike the overwhelming positive response to the novella. Nevertheless, the film has received 2 Oscar nominations in the technical categories and it was also memorable for the song ‘Be’, performed by Neil Diamond.

Jonathan is no ordinary seagull. While most seagulls’ purpose of life is to be well-fed and be an early bird for the next meal deal, Jonathan wished to go further with his own ambitions. Having such an idiosyncratic worldview certainly made him a bit of a loner and a pain-in-the-ass in his group. Jonathan really enjoyed flying – and in particular he felt a ‘need for the speed’, and always tried hard to improve his flying speed. When he has finally reached a speed of 100 km / hour, he was elated by his achievement. His peers were not that impressed, though – and found his actions rather heretical. The leader of the clan advised Jonathan to conform to being a normal seagull, as his antics suggested that he did not belong. Jonathan stood firm on his beliefs, and was soon expelled from the group. Now an outsider, Jonathan was free to pursue his interest and explore the world. It turned out that being an outcast might not be the worst thing in life – throughout his journey he would find other seagulls who also enjoyed the pleasure of flight, and would learn from them to improve himself. The seagull would eventually inspire the other similar-minded birds, who needed a reason to motivate themselves to achieve their own aims…

Does my life end here?

I can't believe that.

I wasn't born to drown in this ocean.

I can die here or I can force myself to fly.

It's in me.

I've got to try.

I've got to get back home.

At last I can stop thinking, for once in my life.

Just stop thinking and fly towards the lights in the dark.

-Jonathan, 'Dear Father'

We can often find someone with a character like Jonathan the seagull around us. They often take a non-conformist attitude to the things around them (which is why the film addresses the spirit of the New Hollywood Cinema of the 1970s), and they love to challenge the status quo of the day. They are born to be misfits, and the peer pressure will often be exerted to force them back in the line. Yet it is often the maverick that can lead the other members to new frontiers they have never been able to conceive of. These are the very individuals who reveal new possibilities of existence. Throughout the story, Jonathan strived very hard to realize his dream of being a speedy flyer. He would rather end up in a state of solitude to perfect his craft. He has encountered numerous obstacles, and even was stranded and wounded at some point. When he was about to be swept away into oblivion in a broken raft, his insatiable drive towards his dream got the better of him, and motivated him to get through the hardship to a higher state. While Jonathan was a unique and intelligent member of his species, he has not let his hubris to divert his focus. He was willing to be humble and learnt from the other seagulls who could fly higher and faster than him, in order to develop his skills. That was the instance when Jonathan found true company, and no longer be alone.

Be

As a page that aches for a word

Which speaks on a theme that is timeless

While the one God will make for your day

Sing

As a song in search of a voice that is silent

And the one God will make for your way

-Neil Diamond, 'Be'

The allegorical narrative of Jonathan’s experience is very humanistic and that reminds us of Maslow’s psychological theories. The American psychologist has proposed a hierarchy of needs of human existence, from the lowest, elemental needs such as food and warmth; to the higher ultimate purpose of self-actualization. When Jonathan was with the members of his clans, it was quite certain that the basic survival needs have already been fulfilled – that was why Jonathan was bored with the mundane life in the first place. His peers, satisfied by the sensual and physical pleasure of abundant food, were willing to conform to that comfort zone. That serve as a metaphor for the laymen who are willing to stick to a regular pattern in their lives and are not willing to look for alternatives to define themselves. Jonathan, by contrast, has discovered an aim for self-actualization through his love of flying. By having a strong commitment to his interest, he has found a purpose of his existence. Indeed, this perspective also finds resonance with Neil Diamond’s theme song, ‘Be’. The poetic lyrics of this great song explore the theme of being in the world. As Jonathan has been able to counteract against herd behavior and crowd psychology, he found himself closer to the nature of things, finally achieving a sense of transcendence.

by Ed Law 

Film Analysis

Seeding the Universe with Anaxagoras

Anaxagoras was a Pre-Socratic thinker who was literally related to Socrates. Elder than Socrates by about 30 years, it was probable that one of Anaxagoras’ student, Archelaus, might have been a teacher for the young Socrates. Socrates has certainly been influenced by the teachings of Anaxagoras’ school of thought, yet he has since departed from his teacher’s approach for more original directions. Like Democritus of the Atomist school, Anaxagoras was a natural philosopher with a strong scientific mind, contributing not only to ontology but also empirical fields like astronomy and meteorology. The natural philosopher was also a close associate of Pericles, and the Athenian politician has learnt a lot from the wise philosopher. Presumably due to his mind-blowing philosophy (we will see how later) and the fact that he was acquainted with Pericles, Anaxagoras was soon charged with impiety – an offence that could apparently forced onto anyone who diverted from a traditional outlook of Greek religion, and he was exiled as a result. The philosopher’s reputation might be conflicted in his lifetime, yet his subsequent influence to later thinkers is profound, from theoretical science to Hegelian studies.

Anaxagoras has developed a complete system for this philosophy, and some of his key ideas are still insightful by today’s standard. Yet the interpretation of his philosophy has proved to be challenging because certain of his doctrines were expressed in rather obscure or ambiguous ways, and that resulted in drastically different interpretations from later academics, which often depended on how they defined some of the more ambiguous terms in the Pre-Socratic thinker’s work. Some of his more abstract ideas may also sound strange if we view them from the standard of modern empirical science. My aim here is to spell out the consensus of Anaxagoras’ key doctrines and hopefully provide some starting points for philosophizing his interesting ideas.

Like many of his fellow Pre-Socratic thinkers, Anaxagoras wished to find out the origin of the universe and where it was heading to. Thus he placed a lot of concerns on the issues of both cosmogony and cosmology. For the Greek thinker, every thing in the world had a tendency to be developed into its final form. Yet the attributes (or properties, a more straight-forward term to address Anaxagoras’ complex wordings) present in the final form of that thing was already latent in the original form of the thing in question. So we can say that at the start, a thing has already possessed the properties that would allow it to map out its trajectory to develop into the final form. 

The reason why this could happen was because of a property asserted by Anaxagoras. While he has used a number of different ways to describe that particular idea, including the word ‘seeds’ (which the meaning was supposed to be metaphorical rather than literal), that has been known as ‘homoeomeries’ since Aristotle. ‘Homoeomeries’ are defined as things that remain in the same form after they are divided. Intuitively the notion sounds impossible, and this concept has been the most controversial of Anaxagoras’s system. While the idea may be theoretically possible in an abstract manner, say, if one has a bar of pure gold and it is cut into half, we can argue the resulting halves are the same as the original because the gold atoms are homogeneous and there are no ways to distinguish between the before and after. Yet in this case we are assuming the particulate notion of matter, and that was probably not Anaxagoras’s intention because he was never attracted to any particulate theories of matter to start with.

Anaxagoras proposed that at the beginning of the universe, its state was an original mixture with infinite substances in it. All the substances would eventually be developed to all things in the world. Thus, these substances could be seen as the ‘seeds’ for the eventual world formation. Through the mixing of specific proportions of mixing the various substances, things are transformed into their respective final forms throughout the evolution of the universe. Before we move on we can notice an implication of Anaxagoras’s doctrine: even if the components of the ‘seeds’ are the same, if the proportions have changed, the outcome will also be very different. From this reasoning many researchers of the field have suggested that the Greek thinker has proposed the possibility of innumerable worlds, though they did not reach a consensus on whether these worlds were co-existent or successive.

So, what is the string-puller behind the whole system? Anticipating theological or even psychological perspectives in the modern sense of the term, Anaxagoras proposed ‘Mind’ (Greek: nous) as the organizing principle of the universe. Many commentators have since questioned the scope of the word, whether the philosopher intended to mean as a divine substance or merely the psychological capacities of animate things (like humans and animals) in the world. Vague as it may seem, Anaxagoras’s notion of ‘Mind’ did suggest it as a universal force of nature that facilitated the development of the universe. Thus for the Pre-Socratic thinker, Mind was infinite, pure and independent from the original mixture. The Mind initiated the transformation of the universe through a first rotatory movement, and the ‘seeds’ in the original mixture would divide and separate to start their transformations. It was also omniscient and possessed the ‘know how’ (a buzz word for our era?!) to transform the world towards its very end.  I would argue that the notion of Nous is possibly the philosopher’s most important influence to the later generations, as many will easily equate ‘Mind’ with ‘God’ through a similar line of reasoning.

Anaxagoras’s philosophy is therefore a teleological one, of which many later philosophical systems have shared similarities. An example is in Socrates’s discussion of Homeric epic, where he placed a focus on the role of military leader, having the obligation to ensure his soldiers’ survival. Socrates was teleological in the sense that he concentrated on the purpose of the leader’s action – to ensure his men were safe. In a later era, Aristotle would similarly designate the individual action of the ruler to a teleological purpose of offering advantage to the group he was governing. Aristotle pursued the concept of teleology even further. In his work on zoology, he went as far to propose his generally teleological view of nature.  The philosopher offered teleological explanations as the understanding of goals and final causes present in life. 

by Ed Law 

Conatus Classics

Fitzcarraldo

 

‘Fitzcarraldo’, the 1982 epic-adventure film by the German filmmaker Werner Herzog, is the kind of film that can claim few peers. Focusing on a favorite theme of the filmmaker – egomaniac characters doing unbelievable feats and pushing the very limits of humanity – the film certainly reflects Herzog’s rigorous approach to his art. Filming the masterpiece in an unfamiliar part of nature and without resort to any CGI, Herzog has managed to move through so many obstacles that could simply put the project to a definite full-stop. Notwithstanding the daunting special effect the team had to devise, the leading man, originally starred by Jason Robards, had to be changed abruptly when the actor succumbed to illness. Calling in Herzog's many-time partner – and in a sense nemesis – Klaus Kinski to the set, the legendary actor replaced Robards and delivered another brilliant performance of a lifetime, comparable to the memorable Aguirre. The outcome may be unintentional, yet we can all anticipate that when we put Kinski into the equation: who in this universe can be as convincing as an egotistical mad genius other than the great actor from ‘Aguirre, Wrath of God’?

The film, which is based on a true story, is just as extreme as ‘Aguirre’. Brian ‘Fitzcarraldo’ Fitzgerald (who was influenced by the real Peruvian Carlos Fitzgerald) was a rubber baron who wished to explore development in the natural landscapes of Peru. With a great taste in opera, he pitched the idea of building an opera house in the middle of the forest. His ideas certainly raised eyebrows from the locals and his employees. Undaunted by any doubts out of a sound and rational mind, Fitzcarraldo pushed forward with his visions, at one point hauling a steam boat – intact – over a steep hill. Would our protagonist realize his dream, or was he just going too far?

Herzog often adopts unique approaches to his filmmaking, and he can often employ the various filmic elements to his advantage. Not relying on any ‘cheats’ from the possibility of special visual effects, he decided to drag a real boat in the iconic scene. The feat appeared to be insurmountable, and unfortunately led to a few injuries for the cast, yet the final result has demonstrated such a realism that no audience would doubt if that could happen in real life. The pitfalls of Fitzcarraldo’s mission were brilliantly played out, not through a hyped way of portraying action in many modern films, but through a slow-burn approach, banging slowly through a solemn cinematic rhythm. Even when the action did not appear to be fast paced or ‘exciting’ in any modern sense of these terms, the audience could appreciate that something would inevitably go wrong in the plan. 

Klaus Kinski, whose combative and mercurial personality has been legendary on film sets, was again cleverly channeled by Herzog for the effects of the film. Certainly not being very friendly towards others in the project, Kinski’s temperament has been transposed onto the relationships between Fitzcarraldo and his workers, and that is often the case when one has to work for a charismatic, yet egoistical leader. The archetype of charismatic leader, with the mega can-do attitude and insatiable drive, strives hard to achieve the dreams and visions no matter the cost. It is indeed quite chilling to see that these characters are often manipulative and convincing in a sense that their followers are willing to submit to their power and commit sacrifice for them. Thinking of historical figures like Napoleon Bonaparte, one can see that if the leader does not have charisma, or possesses an eloquent rhetoric that can convince the mass that their bigger-than-life dreams are possible to come true, there may never have any of these significant feats in history. Herzog, like what he has done in many of his other films, was not trying to judge if Fitzcarraldo’s obsession was right or not. He shared with us such an impossible achievement just to allow us to make up our own minds. Be it reality or fiction, the ambivalence demonstrated by the troubled geniuses was what has pushed humanity forward.

by Ed Law

Film Analysis