Advice to the student nurse with me as her mentor the other day...her first day in a mental health clinic....imagine that! Poor kid. John: "The trouble with identifying patients by their photos is that, well, with women, mostly, after 60, it all crinkles down into wrinkles, naturally, and they all look kind of like sister prunes...and with men, they all mostly look bald and round, and they look, generically, just like little babies again...except a hundred kilos larger...hard to pick 'em out by a photo from each other...but still, neither are likely to run off anyway...or run off very fast. By 60 most folk have evolved beyond their shallow individual ego appearances and they have no where else to be, or go, anyway, or they wouldn't be here."

WOLF WARRIORS 2/ MOVIE REVIEW

FILM CHINA: On the Adventure/Action side of the movies, WOLF WARRIORS 2 is pretty damn good. Massive pyrotechnics and special effects as the Chinese Military Special Ops Hero fights to save Chinese innocents working in Africa from death and torture, after the US has gone home...Brilliant cinematography, not a lot of plot...but then, that's what action films are all about, and Wolf warrior 2 is one of the best of all time, anywhere.The equal of any high potency Arnold Shwarzenegger film, except much better actors, & much higher quality directing, and much better english subtitled dialogue, and a lot more expensive to make. The quality, the direction, the filmatic delivery is intoxicating...so this is very much a modern day saga.
At the end of the film is the visual notation...if you are Chinese, if you keep your Chinese passport, and never give it up, you will be okay in this world. You will be safe and protected. The audience here in Melbourne applauded wildly. So did I. It was a very good action film. 7/10. (I still rate Predator 10/10 in that milieu...but Wolf Warrior 2 does actually surprise you... which is different, and doesn't happen in Western films). These young bright bastards know exactly what they are doing. Compared to most films you go to the Cinema to see, anywhere on earth, this one is well worth watching...and even worth paying to see.

FILMS/ CHINESE/RECENT: COMING HOME /GONG LI/ so much grace and wonder....and MR SIX... Brilliant...These are great world films

2 great recent Chinese movies well worth seeing, and well worth the subtitles....

1. COMING HOME....in mandarin....a beautiful film about a man coming back from political prison after 20 years, during the Cultural Revolution, and finding his wife with brain injury/ dementia related to his incarceration, and due to his daughter informing on him...a brilliant and charming study of love and reason in the face of adversity...and in the massive power of understanding in one small family. Fantastic film by the director of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and starring the remarkably talented Gong Li. A film of of pure grace and mastery of the

​cinematic art form.

​ It also provides an insight into the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution in one family/​

10/

​ (Wanyi notes...well, yes, that's what it was like to grow up and through the Cultural Revolution. It was just like that).​

2. MR SIX..in mandarin... A great film about the individual and the collective in modern China...the changes in the morals/ethics between generations of Beijing men. VERY much set in the present day of New China. Brilliant.. A FILM MEN WILL REALLY APPRECIATE. POWERFUL ACTING AND DIRECTION. Universally, the enduring meaning and great depth of the relationship between father and son.

It compares the relative and powerful interpersonal loyalties between Beijing men of different generations. 9/ (Wanyi notes...yes, this is exactly how traditional Beijing men are, and what drives them, and what makes sense to them, and what gives meaning to them)

Both are remarkably elegant and gentle films, highly fascinating and made with directorial brilliance, perfect timely reconstructions,  and acting gems....whilst at the same time being very profound. I love Gong Li...she is in the 4th photo, with the head injury. She's an amazing artist/actor, and the part was made, by the director, only for her.

COMING HOME

MR SIX

MR SIX

COMING HOME

"Thucydides Trap" is the term used when an empire is falling (in our case, the USA) and a new empire is rising (in our case, China) and it notes that what happens in this natural rise of some and fall of others, is that there must be some great war...but this is not necessarily true at all in our time. China is, obviously, going to be the only Super-power or World Empire, for at least the next 300 years on earth, but the rise of China is very different to the rise of other empires. No one has ever seen an 'empire' like modern china....ever...and this is because China is quite different to other nations, traditionally, historically, and naturally. What is the difference? It is simply that China trades, China does not make war. With China at the helm of the world economy...and it is..., the most benefits will, of course, flow to China, as is natural, but because of China's inherent non-interventionist dogma, the dogma and tradition of having walls and having gates, the rest of us will not ever be invaded or conscripted into that empire...but rather just have to trade with it as fellow human folk. We will certainly have to see to our own defences, rather than rely on alliances etc...but the best defence is always to trade with someone and be a friend rather than to bomb them or trick them into being our slave. The rise of China, for the first time on earth, can, and I think will, create a world without much in the way of major conflicts at all...because trade is best when there are few conflicts, because people prefer to send their sons and daughters to the shops to buy some milk and a kit kat bar, rather than to send them to war.

Un & Trump & Diagnostics/The fascinating thing about the naughty young late 30s President Of North Korea, Mr Un, noting that the President of the USA, Mr Trump, has Dementia is that, well... he may well be quite correct. The signs are there, when you think about it. Dementia actually does answer a lot of the questions about Mr Trump's actions and reactions, and his need to have family close, as his protectors, and as his only confidants. Interesting. It certainly wouldn't be the first time in the last 40 years that a US President has had dementia whilst in office. Mr Un is quite bright....naughty, yes, awful fellow, yes, and also sane, yes; and quite the brighter one of the two. Interesting diagnosis, Mr Un. Nicely done.

I can imagine how proud Mr Kim Jong Un's father and grandfather are of him, kicking back there on the Holy Mountain of Korea...he has achieved what they sought all their lifetimes. Real Time Recognition as a Real Power on Earth, at the most important time on earth, in the most important place on Earth. As a parent, and grand parent, I'd be damn proud too. Not going the American way, not going the Chinese way, not going the Russian way, and certainly not going the piss-weak yet murderous hate filled Japanese way...but going your own way, as a Korean...and winning every day. Well done, enjoy the sushi.

On Trump & Un

What can you say about the self-importance publicity war between Mr Donald Trump and Mr Kim Jong Un? Well done, Mr Un, you are much more popular in your country than he is in his.
Actually, Mr Un, still in his 30s, has done incredibly well in building up his regime and country into being totally un-invadable, simply by pursuing nuclear weapons, and being able to actually build them. This is quite an achievement...not only being born into a regime as the most unlikely son, most unpopular young one, from that low position, into his very safe total presidency, simply by being bright and for the last few years doing the opposite of what the Americans demand. He is The Man of our time. This is what a private Swiss education can do.
You don't get to survive the harshest most murderous system on earth and come out on top without being very bright and resourceful...whereas anyone with a bit of money on earth, obviously, can be President of the USA.
Mr Un...he has the runs on the board...he will outlive them all. Mind you, he is a bastard, but then, that is The Way of this world. He has learnt well The Way and knows exactly what he is doing.