A great ending is more than a conclusion of the stories. It elevates the entire experience, distinguishes good movies from great, and leaves us with an impression that last. Here are a few endings that really resonate with me. (SPOILER ALERT) While I am not going into very specific details, these are great movies and I recommend you to watch them first.

Another Woman (1988) Gena Rowlands plays the successful and well respected professor. Her self-esteem was crumbling as she accidentally learned of the lifetime of flaws she has committed and was disturbed by people's judgment on her. It would have been a depressing movie. But the ending has redeemed everything. Reading the book written by her best friend Larry, she realized that despite her imperfections, he was the one true believer of her. Recalling the scene in the book of their walk in the Central Park, it left her in a state of pensiveness.

The Descendants (2011) Its ending is the most uneventful. There were the three of them sitting on the couch watching TV. Then it ended. Certainly what matters is the story that preceded this, the trauma of crumbling marriage, dying wife, and alienated kids.

How is this ending moving? If only you have gone through storms as turbulent as theirs in your life, then you will understand the feeling of respite that it portrays. It was great to huddle in front of TV.

Some Like It Hot (1959) "Nobody's perfect", the tagline is so memorable that it was engraved on writer director Billy Wilder's tombstone. The duo Joe and Jerry were so desperate to hide from a gang, they disguised as women and joined an all women band to run away. When in Florida, the woman that was Jerry has attracted an old millionaire suitor Osgood. He tried to pick her up with ceaseless persistence.

Failed in every mean to fend off Osgood's advance, in the final scene, Jerry took off his wig to reveal he was actually a man. For this Osgood easily dismissed with the line, "Well, nobody's perfect".

Billy Wilder's scripts were so great because they often have double meaning. While we laugh our butt off for the absurdity of Osgood's radical acceptance, there is an aftertaste that left us thinking how judgmental we are toward other people. Is Osgood a fool? Or perhaps he is a model we can learn from?

2016.01.30 comments

25 years after I graduated from New Asia college, the biggest gift the school has bestowed to me is perhaps the school anthem. Written by our late founder Ch'ien Mu, the two phrases still stay with me anytime I face difficulty.

艱險我奮進
困乏我多情

Here is my attempt to translate them into English.

In trying time I strive
In destitution my passion blooms

2016.01.18 comments

I've finally watched Babette's Feast nearly 30 years after it was first released. It was surprising satisfying. For the most part, it looks like another Scandinavian period movie. Then it comes the final part. In this isolated rural coastal community in Denmark, a congregation of aging followers led a life of austerity. One day Babette has won a lottery by surprise. On the occasion of the founding pastor's hundredth birthday, Babette proposed to cook the congregation a French dinner, paid for by her own fund of course.

I am not really a foodie. I was not exactly salivating upon seeing the sumptuous dinner. What moved me so much is the overwhelming generosity of Babette. She put all her heart and soul into the feast, creating such perfection that is truly a work of art. It was an altruistic gift. The folks were so satisfied that they have even became more amenable to each other. It was the drama of generosity that makes this movie special.

2016.01.17 comments

We have finished building Hang Hang's Titanic model. I did most of the assembly and detail works. Hang Hang helped on painting. Good thing he has learned to color within lines. Now this becomes his favorite toy. He loves to manipulate it and sink it at various angles. You may wonder whether it is a good idea to gives a five year old a model as detailed and as delicate as this? I think I know the answer. Let's enjoy it while it last.

This is the first model I built since I was a teenager. I think I am a much better craftsman now. It reminds me how clueless I was applying glue back then. Now I can control the right amount of glue much better so that it bonds but do not squeeze out badly. My presbyopia is terrible though. I have to take off my glass and hold the object in front of my face for any detail work.

2016.01.09 comments