Jon Wiener: From the Nation journal, that is Begin Making Sense. I’m Jon Wiener. Later within the present: 20 minutes with out Trump — a TV collection about how capitalism got here to Communist China, by the nice Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai. John Powers will remark. However first: from Minneapolis to Caracas, Harold Meyerson has our political replace — in a minute.
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JW: Harold Meyerson is editor at giant of the American Prospect. Harold, welcome again.
Harold Meyerson: At all times good to be right here, Jon.
JW: We’ve stated for a very long time that, as Trump’s help collapsed, as his approval rankings crashed, as voters overwhelmingly rejected his candidates, we’ve all the time stated that, as he sinks, he would turn into extra harmful. And that’s what’s occurred within the final week, on two fronts – in Venezuela, and in Minneapolis.
On January fifth, that is 5 years after his tried rebel, he despatched 2,000 federal brokers to Minneapolis, the biggest federal enforcement operation ever launched. And the following morning, an ICE agent named Jonathan Ross shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good as she was making an attempt to drive away from him. The regime then labeled her a “home terrorist.” Her spouse, Becca Good wrote, “we had whistles, they’d weapons.”
However this previous weekend we additionally had marches and vigils and mass actions to name for motion: “Cease ICE — for Good.” Individuals organized almost 1,200 occasions throughout the nation, and the group was just about spontaneous; inside 48 hours.
In order Trump turns into extra harmful, the opposition to him grows in dimension and good points in energy and dedication. It’s horrible to see the injury he’s doing, but it surely’s stirring to see the braveness and solidarity of the resistance.
Tuesday this week, there have been demonstrations in Washington DC. What sort of calls for ought to we be making now of the Democrats in Congress?
HM: To begin with, the Democrats in Congress had higher win the November elections, as a result of then they’ll have some energy. What really pursuits me is a few Democrats in state legislatures’ response to this. In Maryland, as an example, a Democratic legislator has launched a invoice that might ban each in-state police company from hiring anybody who’s been working for ICE or the Border Patrol — that might be considered as a disqualification for doing police work inside the state. I don’t see any motive why the 18 states which have trifecta Democratic management can’t enact such legal guidelines.
What we’re seeing with what Trump is doing with ICE and the Border Patrol, and I cite the Border Patrol as a result of most of its staff have been stationed away from the borders and are actually probably the most violent enforcers, together with Jonathan Ross, of Trump’s conflict on immigrants and anybody he doesn’t like. We actually have to curtail these businesses. On the federal degree that’s going to be achieved solely by the Democrats turning out on the polls and recapturing the federal authorities. And one method to hold that going is certainly the sort of rallies that you simply simply cited, Jon, however on the state degree the place Democrats do have management, they will enact legal guidelines resembling those I cited of forbidding carrying masks and so forth.
JW: The group Indivisible, which coordinated many of those demonstrations the previous weekend, means that the demand ought to give attention to the approaching funds battle. We’re going to have one other funds struggle. There’s one other deadline on the finish of this month, and a few are demanding “Defund ICE” as a requirement of Democrats as they go into the funds struggle. Others, “no funding for the Division of Homeland Safety until they rein in ICE.” And this might lead presumably to a different authorities shutdown, perhaps, that the congressional management of the Democrats could be very reluctant to do. What do you concentrate on specializing in the funds battle?
HM: Effectively, I believe the Democrats must give attention to the funds battle. They don’t have the votes, I believe, to cease the funds from passing the Home. They do, nonetheless, have the votes, as a result of it can take 60 votes, to cease the funds from passing within the Senate. I don’t know if there are 40 Democrats, which is what it could take to fully defund ICE. I might think about there may be 40 Democratic senators who would maintain up the Division of Homeland Safety funds based mostly on the sort of situations you simply stipulated, Jon.
JW: In order that’s the story because it stands at this time from Minneapolis and the response to what’s occurred in Minneapolis. The second entrance the place Trump has been making an attempt to make himself really feel robust as he turns into politically weaker, has been in fact Venezuela.
When Trump returned to the White Home in January, he had two concepts that he’d campaigned on: Tariffs, and “drill child drill.” Tariffs had been a flop. I wish to look extra on the power costs, which he says are going to be helped by invading Venezuela.
Through the 2024 marketing campaign, he promised to chop power costs in half. In his inaugural tackle in 2025, he declared a nationwide power emergency, which required repealing environmental laws. He promised that might “make us a wealthy nation once more, and it’s that liquid gold below our ft that may assist us do it.”
This previous Friday, Trump met with the highest executives of the oil firms to debate his plans for Venezuela. Assembly was mainly a debacle. Not one of the oil executives had been keen to decide to going again to Venezuela and investing there. And should you watch the video of this, Trump spent a considerable a part of his assembly with the power executives speaking about his ballroom undertaking and really getting up and searching the window. And of these executives solely the CEO of ExxonMobil, a gentleman named Darren Woods, spoke out. He known as Venezuela “un-investable” below present situations. Remind us why the oil firms are so reluctant to go together with Trump on this.
HM: Effectively, when an oil firm commits to drilling, it is a large dedication of capital and requires a basic sense that they are going to be permitted to take action by whoever the federal government is and that they’ll be safe from those that may search to disrupt it. None of those situations pertain in Venezuela, to place it mildly. You’ve gotten the navy institution that’s fully towards what Trump did in seizing Maduro. You’ve gotten every kind of factions. You’ve gotten an infrastructure which has decayed through the years, as oil firms have largely pulled out of Venezuela, they search a degree of stability, which is rational for an organization that’s being requested to take a position an excessive amount of capital. And absent that stability, they will’t actually justify to Wall Road amongst others why they might spend capital doing that.
JW: Paul Krugman seen that the day after Trump’s assembly with oil executives, the American Embassy in Caracas issued an alert don’t journey to Venezuela. People in Venezuela ought to depart instantly. The alert stated there are teams of armed militias organising roadblocks and looking autos for proof of US citizenship. The danger to People embody, in line with the embassy in Caracas, “wrongful detention, torture in detention, terrorism, kidnapping,” and “poor well being infrastructure.” Does that sound like an awesome place to spend 100 billion {dollars}?
HM: Most likely not.
JW: And there’s one different issue which grew to become evident the day after Trump met with the oil executives: when the Bureau of Land Administration auctioned off greater than 20,000 acres of public land in Colorado for oil and fuel drilling, the sort of factor that Trump does, that the environmentalists – makes the environmentalists sick, allow us to say, however there have been no bids, zero bids on the oil and fuel land public sale, even though the land was provided at very low costs. What does that inform us?
HM: Effectively, amongst different issues, oil firms like there to not be an overabundance of oil available on the market as a result of that brings down their costs. So their pursuits will not be essentially these of effectively amongst others, American shoppers, of a authorities that may wish to for quite a lot of causes, decrease costs. I must also add although that in his conflict towards wind and solar energy, Trump can be limiting power at a time when electrical payments are hovering in a lot of the nation, he’s kind of guaranteeing that they’ll proceed to soar. “Drill child drill” is just half of Trump’s message. The opposite half is, “and cease all different types of power manufacturing, even when they could decrease, assist decrease costs.” So it is a little bit of a home divided towards itself, which is without doubt one of the kindest issues I assume you possibly can say concerning the Trump presidency.
JW: And the federal court docket this week dominated towards Trump’s order to dam the multi-billion-dollar wind undertaking improvement Off Grid Island, and the choose ordered that to proceed. So Trump is being pissed off, defeated, and weakened on the wind energy entrance as effectively.
HM: Yeah, however that shall be appealed by the Trump administration, inept although its attorneys could also be.
JW: Now, the oil executives who met with Trump didn’t fully refuse to have something to do with the Venezuelan oil. Apparently, they stated they want to be repaid by the cash that Trump says he’s going to make from Venezuelan oil for his or her losses when Venezuela nationalized the oil trade in 2007. Conoco Phillips, for instance, claims it’s owed about $12 billion, and advised they need to get that from the oil earnings that Trump is now claiming to make obtainable. Trump did inform them, “We’re not going to take a look at what individuals misplaced prior to now, as a result of that was their fault” — Trump logic at its greatest; “you’re going to make some huge cash now, however we’re not going to return.”
After which he signed an govt order on final Friday, simply to make it clear, declaring yet one more nationwide emergency. Apparently, it’s his tenth nationwide emergency. This one says, “Any use of the income from sale of Venezuelan oil to repay the billions of {dollars} owed to grease firms will materially hurt the nationwide safety and overseas coverage of america.” What do you concentrate on that?
HM: It simply emphasizes the elevation of his private manias over what, amongst others on this case, what enterprise logic, which presumably he was held himself as a mannequin businessman, what enterprise logic would dictate.
So it is a personalist regime for president. We have to look to the Bourbon Kings of France as a lot as every other, extra publish monarchial authorities as a mannequin for what Trump is doing.
JW: Oil is sort of a particular case for Trump right here, not simply due to the “drill child drill” promise, however don’t I recall that through the 2024 marketing campaign, he invited the oil executives to a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago — and what was it he requested?
HM: Effectively, I believe what he did was he invited the oil executives in, and he requested them only for $1 billion in marketing campaign contributions, in return for which he promised that his administration would deal with them royally. I believe that’s an adverb we will connect safely to Trump.
JW: And do we all know what the quantity of funding for Trump’s election marketing campaign ended up coming from the oil trade?
HM: I believe it was about half a billion {dollars}. Jon. So, in Trump’s thoughts, they most likely nonetheless owe him one other half billion {dollars}, and a technique or one other, he’s decided to get it.
JW: One final thing: at this time’s information quiz. Harold, are you prepared?
HM: I’m prepared.
JW: Who’s the appearing president of Venezuela?
HM: Effectively, in line with one thing that Trump posted on Fact Social, which was a pretend Wikipedia web page, he himself, Donald Trump, Donald J. Trump, is the appearing president of Venezuela.
I might be blissful to swap him for a modest reimbursement from Venezuela if he promised to not come again. However in line with what he wrote, he’s the appearing President.
JW: Harold Meyerson, winner of at this time’s information quiz. You’ll be able to learn him @prospect.org. Harold, thanks for speaking with us at this time.
HM: At all times good to be right here, Jon.
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Jon Wiener: Now, 20 minutes with out Trump.
There’s a beautiful new collection streaming now, concerning the early days of China’s capitalist flip within the ’90s, by the nice Hong Kong director, Wong Kar Wai. It’s known as Blossoms Shanghai, and it’s on the Criterion Channel. For remark, we flip to John Powers. He’s critic at giant on Recent Air with Terry Gross, the place, as I’ve typically stated, he has an viewers of hundreds of thousands. He’s additionally the writer of the definitive guide, WKW:The Cinema of Wong Kar Wai, co-written by Wong Kar Wai himself. John Powers, first we should always remind individuals about Wong Kar Wai. His movie Within the Temper for Love is one in all my all- time favorites, and I believe I’m not the one particular person to say that.
John Powers: No, no, it’s a a lot beloved movie by audiences, but in addition by critics. In numerous rankings of the best movies of all time, it’s ranked twenty fourth, I imagine, which wouldn’t appear so spectacular, besides in some circumstances, that makes it the one movie on this century within the prime 25, as a result of movie critics will be past-loving. In different polls, it’s the second best Asian movie, behind Oz’s Tokyo Story. I imply, it’s a vastly cherished and acclaimed movie.
JW: You say, in your introduction for Criterion, his DNA will be present in all the pieces from award-winning motion pictures like Misplaced in Translation to the TV present Mad Males. Now, I can see his mark within the languorous components of Misplaced in Translation, however what did Mad Males take from him?
JP: Effectively, I used to be as soon as interviewing Matthew Weiner, and he was saying that the primary look of Tony Leung in Within the Temper for Love is copied within the first look of Don Draper within the first episode of Mad Males. That he’s an enormous Wong Kar Wai admirer and admires many issues, as an example, the way in which Wong Kar Wai makes use of clothes as a approach of exhibiting each standing, but in addition aspiration. And he stated he discovered from that to place it in Mad Males. It’s a type of circumstances the place the particular person actually says, as did Sophia Coppola, “Oh, I copied this man.” So I really feel assured in making that attribution.
JW: Wong Kar Wai made this present, it’s necessary to notice, for Chinese language TV, not for us. That explains a number of the, what lets name them obstacles we’ve got to completely greedy what’s occurring in some episodes. It’s concerning the early ’90s. That is after Mao died and Deng Xiaoping turned the nation down the capitalist street, proclaiming “to get wealthy is wonderful.”
The Shanghai inventory market opened in 1990. It’s the beginning of the collection. And the movie could be very a lot sort of within the spirit of Deng Xiaoping. It’s concerning the pleasure of getting wealthy, about going to fancy eating places, being with stunning ladies, carrying stunning garments. However the present can be very particularly about Shanghai, I perceive, together with the language.
JP: Oh, it’s, sure. I imply, Wong Kar Wai was a boy when his dad and mom moved him to Hong Kong from Shanghai. Then he lived within the Shanghainese group of Hong Kong. And the factor it’s worthwhile to know is that Shanghainese is a dialect of Chinese language that’s so, I assume, now so unfamiliar to most individuals that when the present performed in China, it was subtitled. A whole bunch of hundreds of thousands of individuals couldn’t observe the language.
JW: Effectively, the central determine on this story is Mr. Bao who learns to turn into a big-time participant on the Shanghai inventory market. How does Wong Kar Wai’s Mr. Bao evaluate to Oliver Stone’s Gordon Gekko?
JP: Effectively, he’s a nicer man than Gordon Gekko. There’s a sure innocence within the Chinese language starting of the inventory market the place everyone’s excited and it appears enjoyable and contemporary. Because the collection progresses, you notice that there are darker figures rising, that what appears thrilling and enjoyable – “Oh, you possibly can really earn a living. Oh, we will now discover individuals who could make t-shirts which might be pretty much as good because the French ones. We don’t must import issues. We will really promote issues to America” — As all that’s occurring, that’s blissful, at first. However over time, a number of the ruthlessness of capitalism comes into play. And so the Gordon Gekko determine does emerge within the present -but it’s not because the hero.
JW: All of the latest American movies and TV collection about capitalists like, I don’t know, Succession or Wall Road have the identical very robust ethical lesson: Riches don’t deliver happiness. Wealthy individuals are depressing. “I’m so glad I’m not wealthy.” That doesn’t appear to be the Chinese language angle expressed, at the least within the early components of this collection.
JP: No, I might say that there’s not lots of distress on this collection of the type that People have. I imply, our collection actually do appear to counsel that it simply is totally ruinous. Whereas in truth, in China, particularly popping out of a time the place everyone’s carrying the identical clothes, that there are not any vehicles wherever. You’ll be able to go a very long time with individuals having fun with capitalism. There’s a restaurant row the place individuals eat on a regular basis. And the query is, what’s the hottest restaurant and what does it imply to eat at a selected restaurant? And that’s enjoyable till you notice, sure, however should you’re not the new restaurant, perhaps you’re destroyed as a result of in truth, capitalism is a system of winners and losers, and also you really see the losers. It’s simply that it’s not in fairly the identical breast-beating approach that Oliver Stone would give us.
JW: Effectively, the very first thing that strikes me about Wong Kar Wai’s Mr. Bao is how impossibly beautiful he’s in these fits and the way beautiful the entire thing is. So lots of the photographs listed below are simply ravishing. And naturally, no one does this like Wong Kar Wai.
JP: No one does romantic, glamorous visible type higher than he does. And he’s all the time, from the start, all the time had extremely stunning actors and actresses working with him. And the actors are as stunning because the actresses. Within the first episode, you notice the development of Mr. Bao partly entails him studying to put on these fits. So the opening episode is the way you be taught to be this excessive flying capitalist, and that entails realizing the sort of fits to put on, the sort of place to remain, the way in which to appear, as a result of seeming is a lot in inspiring confidence.
JW: Yeah. Mr. Bao has a mentor in all of this. When he begins out, he doesn’t actually know something, particularly concerning the inventory market. No one there does, besides the clever previous man, Uncle Ye. We might all like an Uncle Ye to inform us what to do.
JP: Uncle Ye was in truth a part of the inventory market or the finance world in China earlier than the revolution. He’s so previous that he really knew all these items. After which when the communists got here up, he’d run afoul of them with a few of his wheeling and dealing. So in truth, he’s a superb man, however a barely tainted determine in sure individuals’s eyes as a result of he was doing stuff that instantly went from being most likely acceptable to being fully unacceptable.
JW: Massive a part of the collection is about how Mr. Bao will get wealthy. And there are classes there about find out how to perceive the brand new world of the inventory market. The Chinese language viewers is informed numerous sort of guidelines and maxims that appear clever and needed. Individuals intone issues like “the market is ruthless.” “It’s a case of survival of the fittest.” And my favourite, “the market is all the time proper.” That is stated as a line of dialogue completely straight. I assume you can hear the identical factor at this time on, I don’t know, Fox Enterprise or CNBC.
JP: Oh, you hear it on a regular basis. What’s bizarre is that while you hear it popping out of their mouths, you don’t wish to imagine that. You sort of wish to warn them, ‘No, actually, don’t suppose the market is all the time proper.’ And but we stay in a rustic that believes it way more than they do. And we’ve even had the expertise to understand it isn’t.
JW: However the collection isn’t nearly getting wealthy. There’s romance too. You’ve described Wong Kar Wai as “a swooningly romantic filmmaker.” That’s actually true right here. There are three ladies in Mr. Bao’s life, and that’s lots of the story that we get entangled with. All stunning, very totally different. Every one fascinating. Let’s speak about them beginning with, I assume, the sensible one.
JP: Okay. The sensible one is Ling Zi. And I might simply say in passing, she’s the most effective actress of the three of them. She runs a small restaurant that’s owned by or co-owned with Mr. Bao. And she or he could be very business-like and sensible, however we all know that she loves him. I imply, her approach of exhibiting the love is to scold him. She’s very bossy and she or he, like the opposite two ladies, the second lady is Miss Wang who works for mainly a authorities workplace that controls import, export issues. And she or he’s roughly Mr. Bao’s handler in his overseas transactions. And all the pieces has to undergo her. After which she has a foreboding boss who she has to reply to. She’s extra girlish. She wasn’t when the present performed in China, the one individuals preferred probably the most. And that’s as a result of she’s the sweetest and most harmless. The third is the horny one named Li Li, who’s a girl with the previous who owns the most popular restaurant on Huanghe Highway, the street the place it’s important to go to eat and the place you’re measured by how effectively you’re doing on that street.
And she or he comes with a darkish previous. She has a darker magnificence. She attire extra glamorously. You retain ready for them to get collectively as a result of someway, she simply appears hotter than the opposite two. And since Wong Kar Wai all the time makes romantic tales, it’s straightforward to suppose that it’s nearly that. But what’s fascinating, should you get previous the primary 12 episodes that at the moment are going, over the course of the collection, every of the three ladies have a totally totally different arc than you’ll anticipate even in episode 12. By the tip, every of them are extra absolutely developed characters, not outlined by Mr. Bao, however outlined by their very own motion and every goes in a special route.
JW: And do any of the three have components of conventional Western romantic motion pictures?
JP: I believe that Li Li, the restaurant proprietor, is clearly the noirish heroine.
JW: Ling Zi is kind of the powerful cookie.
JP: She’s the powerful cookie, sure. Usually within the American variations, they might make them much less somewhat – Betty Davis may be the mannequin. I believe perhaps rather less fairly than – the American model was all the time the one which they might all the time say, “Effectively, she’s not the beautiful one.” After which Miss Wang could be Meg Ryan, the one who’s candy and smiley and everybody likes and who all the time treats individuals effectively. And she or he too is in love with Mr. Bao, but it surely’s problematic as a result of there’s a battle of curiosity in any approach appearing that you simply’re in love, should you work for the Chinese language authorities and also you’re overseeing Mr. Bao, there’s sure issues you possibly can and might’t do. And so these are the romantic problems within the present.
JW: And Mr. Bao, in fact, has a rival, a nemesis, an enemy within the inventory market.
JP: Sure. I imply, it’s somebody who’s an enemy for a lot of causes. He doesn’t actually emerge till the final 10 episodes, however in truth, he then turns into the driving determine as a result of there’s a approach wherein Mr. Bao, you’re getting the arc of his large rise. After which the query is, , given the historical past of narrative that should you’ve risen this excessive, you’re going to must fall to some extent. One of many brokers of his fall shall be Mr. Qiang’s makes an attempt to make him fall.
In studying about it, some individuals are saying it’s a lot concerning the inventory market. Yikes. However virtually the entire greatest components of the present must do with friendships, romantic entanglements, individuals making an attempt to make sense of their lives, individuals shedding cash and what occurs to them. The glamour half is partly the hook for the present, however that in truth, there are simply fights between shut mates which might be in contrast to something that’s ever been in a Wong Kar Wai – they’re intimate and sort of brutal and painful. There’s simply an enormous forged of characters. A whole lot of them are actually good.
JW: Yeah, one in all my favourite characters is the man who runs the kiosk on the primary drag. He’s very eloquent and perceptive. I cherished it when he described Miss Wang as “ever scrappy, ever daring.” The man who runs the kiosk.
JP: Sure. No, no. He went to that kiosk straight from Warner Brothers Thirties motion pictures. The clever newsie who’s speaking and who’s sort of a Greek refrain determine. When one thing must be defined, he explains each conceptually, “right here on Huang Hey Highway, your fortune rises and falls, relying on the way you’re doing in these eating places” — but in addition then he sort of feedback of the motion alongside the way in which. He’s an awesome one.
There’s a businessman named Mr. Fan who’s in 26 of the episodes, who’s a provincial businessman who’s come as a result of his firm has discovered find out how to make sure sort of t-shirts which might be pretty much as good because the French ones. And actually, he’s on the lookout for enterprise and also you watch him get barely reworked as a result of when he comes, he’s a hick. Anyone who guarantees him somewhat bit extra, his eyes gentle up and all the remaining. He’s an awesome character.
All of the assistants to the ladies are all good characters.
The individuals who eat on the restaurant that Mr. Bao owns, they’re sort of a household and all of them are fascinating characters, all individualized. And one factor you possibly can’t do in motion pictures which might be 100 minutes is you possibly can’t do a sort of a Balzacian panorama, whereas this present really does way more with that.
JW: 30 episodes. American exhibits don’t have 30 episodes. If we’re fortunate, we’re excited {that a} six-episode season has been renewed for a second season. What’s it prefer to have 30 episodes?
JP: It’s barely daunting to truly have 30 episodes as a result of it’s being made by someone who’s a filmmaker who’s used to telling one story. And actually, you’re being informed one story over 30 episodes. With lots of exhibits, you will have the sensation that they provide you eight. After which for the second season, they’re having to suppose, ‘What can we do on this one? How can we construct on this? We’ve simply given you a cliffhanger.’ Effectively, while you’re doing 30 episodes, you don’t have these sorts of cliffhangers. You don’t have someone the place it’s important to wait a 12 months and a half. There needs to be one thing the following week. And actually, what which means is you’re following it alongside and issues change, however the arc is one large arc of the story. After which every of the characters have their arcs inside it, however you don’t have any of the sort of discontinuities you typically do or the disappointments of claiming, “’Oh, the second season wasn’t so good as a result of it’s clear they’d an thought what they wished to do within the first one. After which it was so well-liked, they realized they needed to have a season two, however they hadn’t considered what to do in season two”.
Or it’s not like sure issues which might be popping out, exhibits that we’ve seen the place they – Gradual Horses sort of continues, however doesn’t. It’s not that. It’s, should you can think about the primary season of Gradual Horses being 30 episodes, which I believe could be inconceivable to do. I believe it could be arduous to maintain that tone for 30 episodes.
No, however so it’s an fascinating factor to see one thing that’s mainly in a approach conceived like a movie or a novel, however that in truth is a TV collection in an period the place individuals don’t do this.
JW: American critics have talked about this as an train in nostalgia. Is that the way in which you see it?
JP: Effectively, actually, I believe when it performed in China, it crammed many individuals with nostalgia as a result of it was capturing the period when issues had been opening up and all of it appeared like freedom and pleasure forward.
And issues below Xi have modified, so it’s a way more buckled down factor. A whole lot of the wealth that individuals are making has been made, however individuals at the moment are seeing a number of the darker sides of it. However that is again, particularly for younger individuals saying, “Oh, that is what it was like.” After which the individuals who lived by way of it, bear in mind how blissful they had been. Possibly it’s virtually like their ‘60s in some kind of bizarre approach, which is when these individuals had been so free now.
Wong Kar Wai is a nostalgic filmmaker. He missed the Shanghai of his childhood and he’s made these motion pictures stuffed with, set prior to now, Within the Temper for Love is providing you with a sort of poeticized, stunning Hong Kong.
However normally the thought in it isn’t nostalgic. So it’s not like, “oh, you’re wallowing prior to now.” You’re seeing, in truth, how the previous shifted from, I’d say the blissful first 10 episodes to the extra dramatic, darker final 10 episodes, with then the center half the place issues are in flux. And so it’s capturing that period, however I don’t suppose in a approach that prettifies it, apart from in a approach that motion pictures and TV prettify all the pieces, however I don’t suppose it’s preeminent need is to be nostalgic.
JW: Blossom Shanghai, 30 episodes by Wong Kar Wai concerning the early days of capitalism in Shanghai. Taking part in now on the Criterion Channel, they dropped three new episodes each week. John Powers wrote an introduction for the web site, criterion.com. John, thanks for speaking with us at this time.
JP: My pleasure, Jon.
