Honestly, sometimes there’s this tension between reading, watching, and listening to something as a challenge and actually enjoying the experience. Sometimes, it’s worth the struggle, such as Park Chan Wook’s two hour long mystery Decision to Leave that I reviewed below. Other times, like The Idiot by Elif Batuman, it isn’t.
Thank you for deciding to stick around and sort through what’s worth your time and what isn’t. I’m excited to share with this group a new project I’m working on with Boston Compass Newspaper below and more to come in the next few months!
BOOK: The Idiot by Elif Batuman -⭐⭐⭐
Elif Batuman knows how to keep a reader invested. Often, the protagonist Selin gives eloquent and articulate thoughts on her experiences as a freshman at Harvard University in the 90s. With dry and witty insight, she describes her firsts in love, friendship, and aspiration.
Batuman has crafted such a convincing and nuanced character that strangely makes some of the prose and much of the plot difficult to enjoy as a whole. While she has her moments, Selin can be a pretentious and unreliable narrator. Much of Selin’s thoughts hinge on her feelings toward her classmate Ivan, an older Hungarian math student. Skeptical to call this a romance, Selin and Ivan awkwardly navigate through constant miscommunication with a lack of affection for each other.
Reading The Idiot meant watching Selin fumble with her naivete and carelessness, creating a plot that feels aimless. While she justifies her decisions with her passion to be a writer, her actions say otherwise. But, again, the authenticity in this novel is palpable. My journal entries at 18 years old were likely as pretentious. Along with my friends, I was far from knowledgeable about romance. The Idiot can be an endearing recollection of what it was like to have dreams and not know how to start chasing them.
MOVIE: Decision to Leave (2022) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Decision to Leave is one of Park Chan Wook’s subtler films. Neither is it a romance heist like The Handmaiden nor a vengeful rampage like Oldboy. It is more like a fluid dance for power and love between a respected detective and his sly suspect. Hae-Joon meets Seo-rae while he investigates her husband’s potential murder. The two become entangled in their mutual attraction for each other while still bound to their duties, marriages, and pasts.
Park utilizes his signature nonlinear storytelling to craft this murder mystery. I felt keen on playing his game, sorting through the dizzyingly beautiful cinematography for clues. The visual editing hides the truth behind the murder by toeing the lines of Hae-Joon’s imagination, dreams, and reality. The dialogue between Hae-Joon and Seo-rae is not only written well but also delivered so carefully that I listened for every intonation to see who is lying and who isn’t. The attention to detail and exemplary acting performances make Decision to Leave one of the standout films released this year.
MUSIC: Untitled (Rise) by SAULT (2020) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I wish I knew more about the elusive British collective SAULT. The faceless group has released 11 albums and EPs since they became active in 2019, with 5 albums this year alone. With this incredible music production feat, SAULT brings depth, intention, and creativity on Black empowerment and resistance.
Untitled (Rise) was one of their projects that caught my attention. It is an eclectic mix of spoken word, chanting, and melodies. The album consists of heavy 80s R&B and funk influences, orchestral strings, and even Afrobeat drums. Some songs like opening tracks “Strong” and “Fearless” are seamless combinations of all three. It’s like listening to a high production jam band with casual access to multiple percussionists, a string section, and a gospel chorus.
While the first half is reminiscent of 80s dance music, especially with deep rhythmic bass lines, much of SAULT’s lyrics are bittersweet acknowledgments of pain in the Black experience. The musical momentum slows down towards the end, closing with “Little Boy”, a poignant letter to Black youth. This album unabashedly recognizes hurt yet also contains many words of love, delivered by warm and comforting vocals.
ESSAY: Anxieties and Comforts in American Small Talk
Great news! I have started a column at Boston Compass Newspaper to share my experiences in transitioning from the Philippines to the States, specifically Boston. An older essay of mine was featured in their December issue. Click below to read more and stay tuned!