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two Chinese-American cab drivers in san francisco’s chinatown go on a quest to find their mysterious friend Chan, who has disappeared with $4000 of their money.
I watched this last night not knowing much about it and I really enjoyed it. the plot is pretty loose, it’s kind of a hangout movie. like Clerks if it were about China. I thought it was very funny at some points and very profound at others.
the main theme I picked up on is duality. the political strife between the communists and the nationalists. the cultural divide between the north of China and the south of China. the ancient and the modern. the synthesis of being both Chinese and American. even the two protagonists; one is old, the other young. one is idealistic, the other pragmatic. in their search for Chan, they interview many people and every single person gives them information that directly contradicts one another. some say Chan is prideful, others say he is full of shame. some say he is bumbling and clueless, others say he is wise and pensive. some say he is sly and untrustworthy, others say he is upright and honest.
all of this is brought to a point in the central motif of the film: gazing into a puddle. that all duality is a reflection of the One.
I’m not going to spoil the ending but I thought this was a very fun and very interesting movie :))
Feb 5, 2025
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Been waiting for this one to drop for forever! Thought it wouldn’t meet my expectations like the last few movies i really wanted to like but this definitely surpassed it. My favorite part is that the main character *spoiler alert* got a happy ending! *spoiler alert end*
Charming movie about a struggling artist trying to not get deported while putting up with stereotypical, rich, white artists in order to achieve their dream. Has small moments of absurdity but nothing too crazy plus the performances are all cool. short and sweet and funny!
Mar 1, 2024
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I’m no longer 23 – and I haven’t been for a few years now – but this was a genuinely formative experience for me. It changed how I saw my own place in the world and it made me feel less stagnant and less pathetic – the second part of the movie, specifically.
I hope every 23-(and 24, 25, 26 …)-year-old finds their own Chungking Express whenever they most need it. (That probably sounds corny, but I'm 100% sincere!)
Feb 8, 2024
A movie that perfectly defines my multi hyphenate nature. I love it for its faults as much as its strengths. the movie mixes noir, horror, a paranoid conspiracy thriller and lighthearted slacker flick together in ways that don’t exactly mesh well, transitions in tone that can be jarring, all in a package that almost works but never quite does. Like me. I have been such a Mess for a while and still am, and I love this movie for it.
In many ways, it’s the perfect LA movie, following the city and its history, a great 4th film on the unofficial LA history movies of Chinatown, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and LA Confidential. Give this unique movie a shot, they rarely make them like this and you can learn a lot more from mistakes than success.
3d ago
Top Recs from @bisonspider
oh golly oh gee... I’m honored that anyone here on PI.FYI even recognizes me!! how sweet to be thought of. uhhhh as for who I am and what I’m about: my name is Ethyn, I’m 22, I’m American (flyover state), cultural Catholic, my favorite color is purple, of a forgiving disposition
I’ve been using this app basically since launch (?) bc a tiktok mutual was clued in on the ground floor and I got the invite lol. I consider myself a very curious and open-minded person and something I love about this place is how committed it is to sincerity, such that I can no longer stand the casual cruelty and close-mindedness of almost all other social media. so PI.FYI is the only social media I’m active on anymore. I suppose the reason I’m more of a lurker is because I love getting to read recs from others (and I’m pretty liberal with the like button) but I feel strange reccing something if I’m not like 100% behind it lol. like there’s gonna be a test. I’ll also go two days or so without logging on and then I’ll catch up on all the recs I missed so it results in a spam for my mutuals <3
As far as interests, I generally consider myself to be an ooky and kooky type of person. I love art in all mediums, but especially films, books, paintings, and poetry. I’ve rec’d PLENTY of all four if you care to take a look :) I’ll make the occasional lifestyle rec but most of the stuff I talk about on here is art. Lol since the earliest days of this site I’ve kinda harped on the function of story as the thing that makes us human, and myth as manifestations of the collective unconscious. This is one of my most foundational beliefs and lenses for the world.
Another common theme you’ll see in my recs is my love for the classics. Classic movies, classic books, all of it!! I think if something is classic there’s almost always a reason, and I think it’s important to understand foundations of influence for art that comes after. Everything is in context!!!! Everything is interdependent!!!!
some of my favorite films: The Wicker Man (1973), Goodfellas (1990), Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010), Viy (1967), Nosferatu (1922), The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
some of my favorite literature: All of Edgar Allan Poe, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, the work of William S. Burroughs, the work of Yasunari Kawabata, and all world myth categorically.
I want to affirm becoming!!!! I want to exist in service of the liberation of the full breadth of human potential!!! I want to be ripped screaming and bloody from the womb!!!! I will incarnate just to touch the wound ten thousand more times!!!!
Mar 13, 2025
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study the folklore and myth of your actual local region. live your daily life under the logic of fairytales. communicate as heavily as possible in proverbs and riddles. humans are a storytelling creature and there is a reason these archetypes and motifs appear to humans across times/cultures/places
Feb 13, 2024
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Substack that emails you the entirety of Bram Stoker’s Dracula in real time. since the novel is composed of diary entries, it sends you the diary entries day by day so you can read it on the same timeline in which it takes place. it started earlier this month but it’s not too late to catch up!! or you could wait until next may. classics can be intimidating but this gives you the opportunity to read it in daily segments in your email and follow along in an immersive way :)
May 20, 2024