GUA's video of THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA press screening

from GUA.COM.MY

Woo Ming Jin Interview at Cinema Online

"I don’t really deliver messages in my movies. Even if people do see messages, I’ve never really paid much attention in delivering messages because my main intentions are to entertain or to tell a story. In this case, it’s more of a story to tell than to entertain. So wherever the story takes me, I’ll write it. I’m also very interested in the nature and irony of life. The movie has irony plot."

Ezekiel Lee Zhiang Yang interviews Ming Jin for Cinema Online.

Check out the interview, Woo-ing the audience.

以下是CINEMA ONLINE电影杂志对胡导演的专访。


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Twitch's THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA Review

You can practically feel the tropical air of Malaysia’s western coast. The dire consequences of unexpected death are punctuated by moments of such tender humor that—rather than becoming mired in tragedy—promise is revealed through whimsical perseverance.

- Michael Guillen, TWITCH

THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA had been showing at Cathay Cineleisure since last Thursday, anyone seen it? Hope you've been able to catch it!

Here's a film review from TWITCH.

Sin Chew Daily's THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA Write-up 星洲日報： 《大象與海》國際影展收穫豐‧鍾國強含蓄演漁夫

飾演壯年男子的資深演員鍾國強說：“我拍了十多年的電視劇，這是我第一次接拍獨立電影。拍電視劇時都需要比較誇張的動作及反應，但在這部電影裡卻完全相反，導演不讓我有很大的反應。”他還搞笑的說了一句“真難找飯吃啊！”

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Sin Chew Daily had a write-up about THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA's press conference last week. Click the link above!

I'll do a quick translation about the interview part for those who don't know Chinese:

(During the shoot, Berg Lee had to do a lot of research to understand the eccentricity of his character. It was also challenging for him because, despite the numerous motorbike scenes in the film, he didn't actually know how to ride a bike, and had to learn while he was there.

Berg also said that he got to improve his English while working with Ming Jin.

Ming Jin said that he had improved his own Chinese skills as well.

Actress Ng Meng Hui played a village girl, but due to the fact that she grew up in the city, she had to observe and study the mannerisms and daily lives of females living in rural areas so that she could do what Ming Jin wanted her to do.

Veteran actor Chung Kok Keong played the fisherman. After many years of acting on television, where they emphasize more on exaggerated mannerisms from actors, his first involvement in an independent film was a completely opposite experience. He wasn't allowed to react much at all!")

Berg Lee's experience with THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA 《大象与海》与李承运的故事

这部电影拍摄期间，正好是细菌感染的最严重阶段，身体的皮肤场严重的出现状况，尤其是鼻子，拍摄完毕以后，决定停下一切工作，完全休息，时间长达一年。。。

Our main actor, Berg Lee, posted his experience with THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA shoot on his personal blog. Painful to read.

Read it here (in Chinese).

(To those who don't know Chinese:

Berg had some skin problems during the shoot, there was a boil on his nose (that was integrated into the script). During that period of time, he consulted numerous doctors, and finally found out that it was viral infection that left numerous scars and boils on his skin, most notably his nose.

He took a break after the shoot, and the break lasted for nearly a year. Good thing he's back again!

Even my friend Vanes (of the band Dian Bang) who attended the press screening last week definitely thinks that Berg's cute.)

《大象与海》男主角李承运在他的个人部落上描述了本片与他的故事。 那时候的他皮肤出现状况， 尤其是鼻子。 但现在已经完全痊愈了！ 我的朋友VANES （大马独立乐队‘电棒’的主音！）上个星期去了首映礼后， 跟我说她简直是被承运迷倒了！

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Woo Ming Jin Interview at Twitch

"What inspired The Elephant and the Sea was the JE (Japanese Enciphlitis) outbreak in Ipoh (my hometown) during the 1999 period, where all the pigs died, and also many farmers. People stopped eating pork for like a year. That was the starting point. I was living in Ipoh then, so it was something I took away."

The Visitor interviewed Ming Jin for the awesome Twitch site.

Check out the interview, 'Woo Ming Jin, Director Of THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA, Talks About El Mariachi, Dead Pigs And Pachyderm'.

哈罗。 又是我， 毅恒！ 这里快要变成我的个人部落了。 -_-'

胡明进导演现在正在纽约探亲， 但是你可以去阅读TWITCH电影网站对胡导演的专访。 请多支持！


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Cinema Online's ELEPHANT AND THE SEA Review

"With a strong undercurrent of how unfulfilling life truly is, ebbing away from watery themes of entrapment, burden and convalescence - Woo Ming Jin, a Malaysian without fake accents, has shot a world class art film that is at once outstanding among his peers."

- Cinema Online

Hi folks, Edmund here. Cinema Online had just put up a 4-star review (THANKS!) for THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA. Check it out!

LINK

嗨! 大家好! 以下的是电影杂志CINEMA ONLINE 的《大象与海》影评。 多谢指教！

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THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA PRESS PREMIERE!!

It finally happened! "The Elephant And The Sea" finally had its Malaysian Premiere at the Curve Cathay Cineplex this morning to a crowd of press, friends and family.
And I just got back in time for it! Many thanks to Edmund and the three-muskateers-interns for their hard work, and also to the people of Da Huang pictures for helping out!


After traveling to some 30 festivals or more, it's finally coming home. It's a great joy for me on a personal level to see the film finally hitting the theaters. Even if we don't do the business of films like Transformers or Dark Knight, I won't be disappointed... hehe. As I said, having it screened in Malaysia was one of the goals I had while making this film, so I was really happy today. And this is genuine happiness, which is rare. This is like having that realization that you're in love with someone, and there's that possibility that that someone loves you back. You're not totally sure, but it doesn't matter, because you're in love with her. or him. And it is this knowledge that makes you happy, as I am happy now. In this cynical world, I'm glad that I'm constantly falling in love. It's a great feeling.


And it was great seeing the old gang again. Berg, Meng Hui, Chung Kok Keong, Liang the cinematographer, Gan Hui Yee our PM/all purpose person. Having everyone together again and catching up is one of those things that just makes me feel that everything we've done, all the obstacles we've been through, they've all been worth it.


I felt like we had some sort of big family reunion. I mean, even if we haven't really been complete strangers all this while, an event like this, it makes your heart kinda fuzzy and I'm just glad that we're all friends and we're still together. Sometimes when you make difficult films, friendships are lost, and the bitterness lingers. I'm glad that did not happen. We were tight throughout the film, and we're tight now.


When I look back, it's been almost 2 years, this journey of The Elephant and The Sea. The journey's almost over, but hell, we've had a great ride. I'm up for the next one, for sure!


The film comes out on August 21! Only at Cathay Cineplex! I saw the malaysian edit with Edmund's additional music and I must say I was happy with the new cut. It's quicker paced, and generally very audience friendly. I am pretty confident the public will enjoy it, whether they are used to art films or not.


For the rest of you, I hope you'll take the time to find out!

Love and Kisses,

Ming Jin

THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA Synopsis 《大象与海》剧情介绍

Hi. It's Edmund (or Swifty) again. Seems that Ming Jin had gone off to Australia. Our recent telemovie, KURUS (DAYS OF THE TURQUOISE SKY) was chosen for screening by The Brisbane International Film Festival. So it's up to me to fill in while he's gone.

But back to THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA. Anyway, we'll be holding a press screening of the film at Cathay Cineleisure on the 12th of August, 11am (That's next Tuesday).

Based on some recent Facebook messages, I have a disturbing feeling that many people have mistaken that date to be THE ONE AND ONLY DAY we're screening the film in Malaysia. Look guys, THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA begins its theatrical run at Cathay from the 21st of August. And like most indie films, it will have a 2-week run (more if box-office is good), so you can catch the film on weekends.

I made a mistake of not posting the synopsis of the film earlier, especially when I uploaded THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA trailer, so I'm doing it now for those who're interested to know what is this film about.

Synopsis:
The inhabitants of a Malaysian coastal fishing village struggle in a hostile environment. Has there been a disaster? A deadly epidemic? What happened to the elephant? Was there an elephant? An intriguing tragiccomedy about the isolation of the human condition.

This critically-acclaimed film had won the BEST DIRECTOR and CRITICS Awards at last year's Cine Digital Seoul Film Festival. It also won a SPECIAL JURY AWARD at the Torino Film Festival, and another BEST DIRECTOR Award at the recently concluded DIBA Digital Barcelona Film Festival in Spain.

I'm still in Tokyo, so I won't get to attend the press screening. I'm a little disappointed, since I'm eager to see what others have to say about my first attempt at composing for a film soundtrack.

Check out the trailer of THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA if you haven't already.

大家好, 又是我， 杨毅恒。 我们绿灯电影制作公司的作品《不是师生恋》参与了布里斯本国际影展， 所以胡导演已经飞了去澳洲。 我又要在这部落里‘客串’了。

还是说回《大象与海》吧。 本片将在8月12日早上11点在CATHAY CINELEISURE为《大象与海》召开一个传媒试映会。 希望可以和传媒的朋友以及一些博客们分享此电影。 现在就与大家稍微介绍一下本片的剧情。

剧情：
《大象与海》大胆地以大象和海洋为意象，以充满地区色彩和诗意的语言探索了马来西亚在经济巨变中的的社会百态。片中生涩的小镇少年，在底层生活中绽放青春的少女以及孤独沉默的壮年男子，被编织到带有淡淡哀愁和惆怅的现实气息之中，凝结成大时代来临之前波澜不惊的寂静。

二十年前是台湾，今日是马来西亚，亚洲电影新潮下一站及可能重回到乡村路上打拼，然而 时移世易，编导胡明进不用乡土文学撑场，大胆单刀直入以大象为心像，以大海为意志浴场，作诗性超现实的现代探索。他与《太阳雨》的何宇恒等人的出现，令人开始憧憬马来西亚初生的华语电影。

我还在日本， 所以无法参与此试映会， 感得有点遗憾。 本身也想听一听大家对我所创作的电影配乐*有何评论。

我的中文还是很差， 请多多包涵。

* （本人是电影的其中一位制片人， 也有份参与片子的剪辑及配乐创作）

再次与大家分享一下小弟所剪辑出来的《大象与海》预告片， 请多多指教：

Happy birthday, Ming Jin! 胡导演， 生日快乐！

Heya folks, Edmund here, THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA will be opening in two weeks and I'm getting excited even though I'm thousands of kilometers away in Tokyo!

It's Ming Jin's birthday today. He's off to do a shoot, so I'm just wishing him happy birthday here!

From now on, my posts will be in dual languages. So I shall post this in Chinese as well!

嗨， 大家好！ 我是杨毅恒， 大马独立电影《大象与海》的其中一位制片人， 也有份参与本片的剪辑还有配乐制作。 《大象与海》即将在八月二十一日上映。 还有两个星期的时间！ 虽然小弟现在还在东京， 但真的是觉得很兴奋！

其实今天是导演胡明进*的生日。 他仍然忙着拍摄， 所以我只好在此祝他生日快乐。

从现在开始，我将利用英语及中文在这部落留言。 可是小弟的中文真的很烂， 所以请多多包涵。

* （在一些影展及网页上， 胡导演的名字总是被译成‘吴明金’， 其实那不是正确的写法， 只因为胡导演本身是受英文教育的， 所以没把自己的中文名字写好， 可是现在的他已经很勤力地在学习中文， 希望不久后， 他可以说一口流利的中文！）