Shanghai. The decadence of 1930 Shanghai has been fabulously recreated by the Peninsula Manila in Salon de Ning. The Salon launched last Friday, and it must have been the launch party of the year. The Pen had me with blue velvet-gloved waiters hidden behind the curtain, welcoming guests with glasses and glasses of Moët. What now, Shangri-la Manila?
Hmmm, the Shanghai movie I liked best? Nothing figures in my all-time list. Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun (1987)? Over-evocative. I like the theme, Suo Gan, though, and Christian Bales’ debut (before the muscles he grew in American Psycho kept him from having an extensive range in facial expressions). Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution (2007)? It’s pretty to look at. But did I really care about that woman who slept with and spied on her lover? Naah.
I haven’t seen Madonna and Sean Penn’s Shanghai Surprise (1986). I doubt if it had any or Ang Lee’s artisty or Spielberg’s sweeping photography and aggressive editing. But it could be more fun.
Next cue: Weddings (Congratulations to my niece, Sigrid, and Allan. That was one beautiful wedding in Tagaytay). Rachel Getting Married (2008) is the last important movie in recent memory that's wedding-themed. Loved Anne Hathaway there. The film is raw, real, un-sentimental and has loads of charm. But dizzyingly hand-held. It’s like watching a long wedding video done by an amateur photographer. I want my movies shot on tripods or some sort of stable mechanism. That’s why I prefer My Best Friend’s Wedding. No great shakes, really. Weekends ought to be relaxing.
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