Floating Sun (幻日, 2013)

Floating Sun (幻日, 2013) is a bit of a departure for Tokyo-based Malaysian director Edmund Yeo into the horror genre.  This short film is his contribution to Hungry Ghost Festival: 3 Doors of Horrors (鬼節:三重門, 2013), a 45-minute horror omnibus film produced by prolific Malaysian filmmaker James Lee for his indie production company Doghouse 73 Pictures.  The film premiered on Youtube on the 17^th of August.  The omnibus, which was designed to showcase young Malaysian directors, also includes Leroy Low’s I Miss You Two and Ng Ken Kin’s Horror Mission.  This review is of the 20 minute director’s cut of Floating Sun considered independently of the omnibus as a standalone short film.

The plot of Floating Sun comes from a short story by author and poet Kanai Mieko (金井美恵子, b. 1947).  According to Yeo’s blog Swifty, Writing, he happened upon Mieko’s collection of short stories The Word Book at the Aoyama Book Center in Roppongi.  Her story “The Moon” was the inspiration behind his beautiful short Last Fragments of Winter (2011), while Floating Sun is based on the story “The Boundary Line”, about the corpse of a woman who drowned.  

As with many Edmund Yeo films, Floating Sun blurs the lines between past and present, real and imagined.  A young novelist, Fiona Yang (Emily Lim), is writing a story based upon the unusual circumstances surrounding the death of her teenaged classmate Chen Xiao Hui (Candy Lee) many years ago. Chen Xiao Hui was found floating on her back in the river by a security officer (Azman Hassan), and the events continue to affect all those involved.  Since beginning to write the story, Fiona has been haunted by images of Chen Xiao Hui’s corpse floating in the river.  A series of strange events also begin to disturb her and her young daughter Teng (Regina Wong) in the apartment that they share.  The disquieting events seem to be connected not only to the haunting presence of the spirit of Chen Xiao Hui but also to possible guilt surrounding Fiona’s affair with married man Wai Loon (Steve Yap) – but this interpretation is my own as the circumstances are deliberately left vague.

 

It turns out that Fiona was the last person to see Chen Xiao Hui alive, a fact that she downplays as being unimportant because they were merely classmates not close friends.  A flashback reveals that Fiona recalls sitting with Chen Xiao Hui at the river and saying: “Do you know, if you look at the sun from underneath the water, it is as if the sun is floating.  It’s a lovely sight, but sad at the same time.”  These comments suggest that Chen Xiao Hui’s death may have been an accident. 

The location for the river scenes really makes the film.  Chen Xiao Hui lies in the water as if being embraced by the root of a giant tree.  This tree was truly a great find for the film for its numerous roots are not only poetically beautiful, but add symbolic weight to the film: the roots behind the events in this vignette are many, but Edmund Yeo leaves us only a few tantalizing clues and leaves it to our imaginations to fill in the blanks.   It’s an atmospheric and suspenseful tale that leaves us wanting to know more about these characters.    

You can watch Floating Sun as part of the Hungry Ghost Festival: 3 Doors of Horrors (鬼節:三重門, 2013) on Youtube.

Written, directed, and edited by:

Edmund Yeo

Executive producer: 

James Lee

Director of photography:

Lesly Leon Lee

Music:

Wong Woan Foon

Cast: 

Emily Lim as Fiona Yang

Candy Lee as Chen Xiao Hui

Daphne Lee as Fiona (teenager)

Steve Yap as Wai Loon

Candy Ice as Wai Loon’s wife

Azman Hassan as the security guard

Regina Wong as Teng

 Catherine Munroe Hotes 2013

The Little Drummer Boy (リトル・ドラマー・ボーイ, 1968)

The Little Drummer Boy (リトル・ドラマー・ボーイ, 1968)

Debut: 19 December 1968 on NBC
Available to purchase as an Instant Video on Amazon:  The Little Drummer Boy

Rankin Bass’s 1968 Christmas Special, The Little Drummer Boy, was inspired by the popular mid-20^th century Christmas carol “The Little Drummer Boy” by Katherine Kennicott Davis, Henry Onorati, and Harry Simeone.  Davis claimed to have based her 1941 song on a Czech carol.  It was initially recorded by the Trapp Family Singers under the title “Carol of the Drum”, and Harry Simeone’s 1958 arrangement of the song for The Harry Simeone Chorale album Sing We Now of Christmas became a big hit in the US.   

Song Lyrics:

Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum

A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum

Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum

To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum,

rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum,

When we come.

Little Baby, pa rum pum pum pum

I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum

I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum

That's fit to give the King, pa rum pum pum pum,

rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

Shall I play for you, pa rum pum pum pum,

On my drum?

Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum

The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum

I played my drum for Him, pa rum pum pum pum

I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum,

rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum

Me and my drum.

The purported Czech origins of the song have never been verified, but the drummer boy story shares many similarities with Anatole France’s adaptation of the medieval legend “Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame” (1892), a religious miracle story of a juggler turned monk who has no gift to offer a statue of the Virgin Mary but his ability to juggle.  The other monks accuse him of blasphemy, but the statue comes to life and blesses the juggling monk.

The perennial nature of the song has led many to believe that the story has its origins in the bible, but it is actually a fictional narrative that imagines what that first Christmas might actually have looked like through the eyes of a young boy.  It seems likely that the spirit of the story was inspired by the biblical story of “The Widow’s Offering” about a poor woman who gives all her meagre wealth in charity:

1. As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury.
2. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.
3. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others.
4. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” Luke 21:1-4 

Romeo Earl Muller, Jr. – credited as Romeo Muller – adapted the song into the teleplay.  Muller had been with Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass of Rankin Bass from the very beginning writing their first network specials Return to Oz (1964) and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964).  Having started off his career writing material for Jack Benny, Muller was adept at injecting comedy into his scripts, and The Little Drummer Boy is no different – Ben Haramed (José Ferrer) and his motley gang of performers bring some screwball levity to an otherwise serious tale. 

The little drummer boy is a misanthrope orphan called Aaron (Ted Eccles), who comes from a family of shepherds.  It seems quite remarkable that a boy so young could have developed such bitterness towards the human race, but he has been scarred by the slaughter of his family by thieves who burned down their home.  He now wanders the desert with his drum – a gift from his parents – with his animal friends Samson, a donkey, Baa Baa, a lamb, and Joshua, a camel.   The animals love Aaron’s playing and dance whenever he performs.

Ben Haramed and his accomplice Ali capture Aaron and force him to travel with them to Jerusalem to perform for the public with their ragtag troupe of acrobats.  Aaron’s act is the only one to please the crowds, but the cheers only enrage Aaron who is reminded of what people like them had done to his family and he shouts his hatred at them, calling them thieves and bandits.  The people chase them out of Jerusalem. 

In the desert, they encounter the three “wise men from the east”, Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar, on their way to Bethlehem.   Although the narrator – the incomparable Oscar-winning screen legend Greer Garson (Mrs. Miniver, Pride and Prejudice) – tells us these three are from the “Orient”, they actually represent three very different racial types.  In Western church tradition, Melchior is depicted as a king of Persia, Gaspar as a king of India, and Balthazar as a king of Arabia.  In The Little Drummer Boy, Melchior looks like Henry the 8^th, Gaspar is a tall slender African wearing a turban, and Balthazar looks like a Chinese stereotype.  Paul Frees – a regular Rankin/Bass collaborator – voices all three.  Gaspar does most of the talking and Frees gives him a deep, “Ol’ Man River” kind of voice.  At least he doesn’t go for an “Oriental” accent for Balthazar.  I found the depictions of the wise men odd (Africans and Europeans from the east?), but not offensive – it’s certainly mild compared to other ethnic stereotypes in animation of this era (Mr. Magoo’s houseboy Cholly springs to mind).  The most offensive stereotype in The Little Drummer Boy is the depiction of an Arab (Ben Haramed) as a crook – a stereotype still abundant in US pop culture – but at least he’s being voiced by the suave José Ferrer (Cyrano de Bergerac, Moulin Rouge) who makes Ben Haramed charming.

The magi need a new camel, and Ben Haramed sells Aaron’s camel friend, Joshua, to them.  Aaron refuses his “share” of the gold Ben Haramed gets in his deal and goes off in search of Joshua.  They follow the star to the town of Bethlehem and see the shepherds doing the same.  Aaron finds Joshua among the crowds gathered at the stable, but before he can rescue him Baa Baa, the lamb, gets run over by a speeding Roman chariot.  Distraught, Aaron approaches the stable and is filled with wonder at the sight at the manger.  After King Gaspar presents his gift to the baby Jesus, Aaron asks him to save Baa Baa, but Gaspar tells him he is a mere “mortal king” and suggests that the “king among kings” could help him.  Aaron does not understand how this is possible, and Gaspar explains that he does not need to understand he should only go to him.  “But I have no gift to bring,” explains Aaron, which of course cues the Vienna Boys Choir to begin singing “The Little Drummer Boy.”  Aaron plays his drum for the infant Jesus, and all around nod their heads in encouragement.  This heartfelt gift, “given out of the simple desperation of pure love” is rewarded with his lamb being healed.  The story ends with the voice of Greer Garson proclaiming, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”

The Little Drummer Boy was restored in 2005 for DVD release, but they did not go overboard with digitally remastering it to look pristine.  The flecks and scratches of the film are still present, but the colours are good and the soundtrack is very clean.   While I do think that animation classics should be preserved and restored, I do not like it when they go too far so I was glad to see that the Rankin Bass films have kept their unique 1960s charm.  There is an odd little moment where Paul Frees reads one line of narration instead of Greer Garson – but only keen listeners would really notice this.  Perhaps she was unavailable to record additional dialogue?  There is no explanation for this in Rick Goldschmidt’s The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass.

The Japanese staff do not receive any onscreen credit.  While the script and design were all done State-side, the task of making the puppets and doing the Animagic stop motion animation went to Tad Mochinaga’s MOM Productions in Tokyo.  Arthur Rankin normally supervised the Rankin Bass animation projects in Japan, but grunt animation work was done by Takeo Nakamura (中村武雄) and Hiroshi Tabata (田畑博司).  The sets are truly spectacular and the puppets have been beautifully crafted.  The stop motion has been expertly done, with a wide variety of camera distances and angles.  There are nice little touches such as the credits superimposed over the drum and the use of light to denote holiness.  My favourite moment is Baa Baa dancing to Aaron’s drum.  Although I prefer “The Insane Paganism of Rankin and Bass”, the final manger sequence of Aaron playing his drum to the sound of the Vienna Boys Choir is undeniably lovely. 

Songs:

“When the Goose is Hanging High” (José Ferrer)

“Why Can’t the Animals Smile?” (Ted Eccles)

“One Star in the Night” (The Vienna Boys Choir)

“The Little Drummer Boy” (The Vienna Boys Choir)

Produced and Directed by:

Jules Bass

Arthur Rankin Jr.

Animation (uncredited):

Takeo Nakamura (中村武雄)

Hiroshi Tabata (田畑博司)

Teleplay:

Romeo Muller

Production Design:

Charles Frazier

Sound:

Jim Harris

Phil Kaye

Music:

Colin Romoff

Continuity:

Don Duga

Cast:

José Ferrer as Ben Haramed

Paul Frees as Aaron’s Father / the Magi

June Foray as Aaron’s Mother

Ted Eccles as Aaron

Greer Garson as Our Story Teller

The Vienna Boys Choir (Wiener Sängerknaben)

Production Companies:

Rankin/Bass Productions

MOM Productions (uncredited)

Catherine Munroe Hotes 2013

The Insects (虫, 1964)

Jimmy T. Murakami, whom Giannalberto Bendazzi has called one of the “Globe Trotters of Animation”, began The Insects (aka Insects / 虫, 1964) while living in London, England in 1961.  By this point in his career, Murakami had already worked for Stephen Bosustow at UPA, Ernest Pintoff in New York, and even Toei Dōga, before heading to the UK to work for George Dunning (initially for UPA’s London Office, but then for Dunning’s newly formed company TVC London).

TVC specialized in commercial animation, but The Insects was a pet project that Murakami did independently.  As he explained in a 2001 interview with Andrew Osmond: “I made Insects at home, writing, animating, tracing, painting, I did the whole thing. I made it with a lamp under the table as a bottom-light. I couldn't afford to shoot it, so I went to Dunning and told him about this film, all painted and ready, and asked him if he could shoot it for a co-producer credit. He said yeah, he loved the story. So the film went through TVC and they added a great soundtrack, and it ended up winning the British Academy Award.” (Source: AWN) 

First we hear the sound of a pen furiously writing on paper, and section by section a writer in a tall red hat appears.  The writer is sitting at a desk, working away, in a space bare except for a fly swatter hanging on the wall beside him.  He stops to briefly stretch and check over his work, and is so wrapped up in his writing that he does not notice a moth land on his hat.  The moth devours his hat, revealing the writer’s bald head, and the moth flutters away laughing hysterically at his deed.  The writer appears unmoved, but he is actually waiting for his chance at revenge and as the moth flutters close to his foot, the writer boots him off-screen and gets back to work.

Unfortunately for the writer, this is only the first onslaught.   He gets attacked by a series of insects, with each episode more hilarious than the last.  He slaps himself in a fury to get rid of a fly.  Another fly drives him crazy by keeping just out of reach, going in his ear and just being generally annoying until he gets sprayed.  His dog vies for his attention and leaves him covered in itchy fleas.  His frustration impairs his writing and he balls up a page and throws it on the floor, only to have a group of ants pick up the ball of paper and play with it in front of his face.  He pounds the table to get rid of the ants and they land on his head – forming first a wig, then a funny moustache, then other amusing shapes as he tries in vain to spray them dead.  He fights them is a cloud of dust until he keels over and they carry him off.  The film ends with him calling meekly for help – his dog bounds into frame but seems more interested in his fleas.

I found myself doubled over with laughter while watching this film and wondered if it was inspired by Murakami's move to the UK.  My first encounter with insects indoors also occurred in the UK - in North America and Japan there are screens to keep insects out of homes/businesses so I was shocked to discover that windows in the UK had no screens.  Ditto the rest of Europe.  Here in Germany, the fight against insects indoors gets comically extreme in the late summer.  I am always bemused by the strange anti-insect machines the local bakery purchases to fight wasps on their desserts instead of just installing screens. . . especially as there is a small local business just down the street who advertises screens as part of their window business.  Murakami certainly captures the aggravation caused by insects perfectly.  

The Insects won the BAFTA for animation in 1965.  In recent years, big studio animated features have been winning the BAFTA for best animation.  In the 1960s, the awards were much more focused on innovation in animation.  Mel Brooks’ The Critic, directed by Murakami’s former boss Pintoff had won the previous year, and in 1963 George Dunning had won with The Apple.  Like The Apple, The Insects uses a simple line-drawing style and a clever concept to generate big laughs.  A classic of 1960s animated shorts.

The Insects can be found on the DVD Reflections of Jimmy T. Murakami.  Please support this independent artist by buying the DVD via his official website.

Catherine Munroe Hotes 2013