Ecstacy

I watched an pretty obscure French film called 13 Tzameti. At least I think so, as the dialogue is in French. But then, some of the dialogue sounded like German, and my friend claims that the cityscape of some scenes reminds him of Italy. This friend is a certain 19 years old guy who just spent 1 month travelling in Europe. And he is going to spend a fortnight in Dubai, at the famed 7-stars hotel.

I'm so jealous that I want to kill him. Which brings us back to the movie, which is a really about a perverse game of murder. The protagonist is a kpo young renovation contractor who unwittingly becomes involved in this recreational gamble as one of the 13 contestants. The participants stand in the circle facing the back of the person in front. Each holds a revolver containing 1 bullet. When the ligh bulb at the centre lights up, they shoot the guy in front of them. For the benefit of some, a revolver has 6 bullet slots, meaning u have a 1-in-6 chance to die and a 1-in-6 chance to kill the one in front of you. And finally, some die in the first round. The tension and fear escalates as each revolver is loaded with 2, then 3, then 4, bullets in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, and the final fuel. Not to mention the high stakes of millions involed.

I'm not going to tell you the ending. It's quite haphazard and ridiculous and you will go "What the hell?" And while the movie is 1 1/2 hrs long, the first 25 min is trash and the last 15 is the warped ending. But the middle 50 min alone is well worth your ticket price. The characters emote with so much force and life, and the atmosphere is so intense and gripping, that it's mind-blowing, heart-stopping, breath-taking, nerve-shredding and nail-biting.

And there's a reason while I wrote such a meandered post for this film. While people flock to watch cheap flicks like Epic Movie, the theatre that i watched this movie at today is barely 5% filled. And it's at most a 200-seater. I don't get it. While do good films like 13 Tzameti, Thank You for Smoking and Mrs Henderson presents get banished to the small and ulu cinemas even on their first week of screening? Even Mr. Bean gets the Grand Cathay. While I agree that these films are likely to garner only a small audience, the lack of trying by the cinema distributors is simply exasperating.

As is my conversation with the auntie selling popiah yesterday.

Me: Auntie, I want a popiah, takeaway.
Auntie: Chilli?
Me: No. I don't want beansprouts as well.
(She spreads the sweet sauce on the popiah skin and prepares to use the 2 utensils to scoop the main ingredient thingy.)
Me: Auntie, wait. I don't want the parsleys as well.
(She slams the 2 utensils on the board.)
Auntie: Like that how I wrap the popiah?
Me: But last time I came, another auntie also can do it wat? I go other stores, they also can do it wat?
Auntie: Hey, if you want like that, I very hard to wrap, the skin will break easily.

I was about to go on that I can not buy if she cannot do it when another auntie from the stall came and pacified the situation. I was so pissed off that I was on the verge of unleashing my barrage of verbal assaults on her. Maybe my order is a bit demanding, but her attitude is appalling. I'm sure this is the kind of service that will make us the island of 4 million smiles.