Friday, December 12, 2008 The Threat Of Love (Part One) Posted by juphelia at 16:48

Lately, I have been re-watching a drama series called “The Threat Of Love”, both parts. This series features twenty short stories on the different aspects of love as well. The first part is more heart-warming as compared to the more humourous second part. Love in a cosmopolitan context and how people deal with it.

In Part One, the first story was about how a playboy pilot got a lady pregnant after a one night’s stand. She got dumped by her boyfriend who went overseas to work and got involved with a girl, so she regretted that she did not get pregnant so as to keep him by her side. Then when she really got pregnant after the one night stand, she told her ex-boyfriend and made it sound like it was his kid, but he made her terminate the pregnancy and she then dumped him there and then.

She decided to keep the baby because she said men will let her down, but her own child truly belongs to her. Somehow she met the pilot again and he found out about her pregnancy. So he moved into her place and said to bring the baby for a DNA test after he was born to ensure he really fathered the child. After moving in, he realized that it was not too bad living with her, and even though she disliked his irritating and irresponsible ways, somehow she started treating him as part of her family. At the end, after she gave birth, he realized he wanted to settle down and he said the words, “I love you” to both the mother and child.

First lesson : loving a person means wanting to settle down with her.

The second story was on a couple of migrants. The lady was raped on the way, and the guy, in order to protect her, was beaten up. Because they were migrants, they were not able to find proper jobs, so she ended up being a waitress, later a masseuse, and he ended up being a security guard, later a loan shark. However he still kept looking out for her.

She wanted to start over a new life, so accepted a matchmaker’s introduction to this foreigner who was looking for a wife, although it seemed more like he wanted a slave than a wife. When the loan shark found out, he gave her the money to offset the amount paid to the guy so she could redeem herself, but she refused. On the day of departure, she finally realized how much he meant to her and turned back, but unfortunately, he was beaten to death by a rival loan shark. She then lamented about how late it was for her anymore.

Second lesson : Love means always being there for the person, no matter what happens, especially when in need. Love means never having to say goodbye, and to cherish it when it is around, not regret when it is gone.

The third story was about how a henpecked pair of father and son-in-law won the lottery and did not let their wives know. Their wives controlled the purse strings so they did not have much money to spend, thus when they won the lottery, they quit their jobs and started spending in lavish, all the time not letting on.

However, their wives (the mother and daughter pair) misunderstood that they were fired from their jobs, so decided to pool out their savings to let them run a business. The men then felt guilty as they felt it was even rarer for a woman to give them money than for a man to give the money. So they decided to tell them the truth. Unfortunately, before they even said anything, the father was kidnapped and the ransom the total amount of the money won.

The son-in-law thus had no choice but to spill the beans. After paying the ransom, they found the father in a box, but turned out he talked and nagged so much that the kidnappers got so irritated that they let him go before the family paid the ransom. Needless to say, he hit the roof when he found out that his family paid the ransom, and in the end, both had to go back to work again.

The message of love was not that obvious here. The men thought their wives did not love them thus controlled them, but in the end, it was their wives who helped them out when they thought they were in trouble.

Third lesson : Love is not the passionate kind shown during happy times, but the support and commitment shown during tough times.

The fourth story is actually my personal favourite, on how a conservative father who favours his sons over his daughter, finally came to terms that not just one, but both his sons, are gays. The story also shows a close aspect of a homosexual relationship, that even though both are of the same gender, the love they show each other may be even deeper and better than the love between two persons of opposite gender. Even though they may never have kids, but they were willing to sponsor and adopt kids, and buy life insurance for each other to protect each other in the event one of them leaves the world earlier.

Fourth lesson : Love transcends genders, cultures and race.

The fifth story is on a mother, who gave her life for her children, only to raise three selfish and ungrateful children. They were supposed to have a stepfather, but he was thrown out of the house by the eldest girl, who hated him for horning into her family. The mother got struck with senile dementia, yet the children refused to believe and thought she was just gaining attention, until one day, she could not remember the way home.

It was only then that the eldest daughter went to find the mother’s old flame and begged him to come back and take care of the mother. He never did forget her as he still sent her birthday cards every year and still displayed her photos in his room, but the mother, in order to let him forget her, lied to him that she was re-marrying. It was only when the eldest daughter told the truth that he came back to see the mother in the end.

Fifth lesson : Loving someone does not mean needing to be with the person, but looking out for the person and wishing blessings and happiness on the person.

The sixth story is on a couple, after having been married for seven years, the husband was starting to itch. So when he met a young, bubbly, whiny girl, he felt on top of the world, because she made him feel needed. Hmmm… is that men’s ego for you, that he wants someone to want him? Yet why do men then dump a girl who is too clingy?

The wife suspected of course, because he has a sudden change in attitude towards her. She chose to remain silent about it until one day, when it was raining heavily and he was supposed to pick her up, he called to cancel because that little girl wanted him to pick her up. The wife caught the girl and her husband together in the car being rather close. Then the girl changed her mind and got out of the car and the husband then called the wife, saying he could pick her up after all.

When she got into the car, he apologized and gave the excuse that he was held up at work, but she just kept quiet. When she leaned over to him in the same position the girl did, he only remarked how wet she was and seemed rather irritated. The next day, the wife found the girl in their house, with her wrists slit. At the hospital, it was discovered that the girl was making use of the husband to get back at her ex, and she attempted suicide because of him too. So the husband realized he had been made a fool, and started being so loving to the wife, but she decided to wage a cold war on him until the end.

Sixth lesson : Maybe it takes a momentary diversion for someone to realize how much his spouse means to him? Love itself withstands everything, even momentary diversions. Love means forgiveness, that even if you suspect your partner is cheating on you, you still take him back in the end.

The seventh story touches on the aspects of a May-November romance, between an older lady and a younger man. She has an established career, money, her own place and car, whereas he is just starting out as a chef. To her, she takes the relationship very seriously, and she is not able to handle all the finger-pointing on why she is running around with a “little boy”.

So she started treating him coldly, hurting his feelings in the process. But he could not get over her, so started visiting her again. This time, they talked things through and he asked why did she not tell him all her fears? Somehow he managed to convince her he was true to her and she agreed to go with him overseas for a better job prospect.

Seventh lesson : Love transcends all ages and boundaries.

The eighth story touches more on true friendship and relationship between parents and children. The main character of the story is not a down-to-earth person. Instead of working and slogging his life away, he rather gets involved in “get rich quick” schemes, and takes chances on gambling and betting, except he never gets rich. Instead, he got into even more debt. His best friend normally has to bail him out and be his guarantor for loans, to the displeasure of his wife. His parents have to continue working and running a store to help him out.

One day, he went on board a ship and gambled, and won with a very lucky hand. So he managed to clear off all his debts, and just when he was about to gamble even more, his parents took away his credit cards and filed for bankruptcy on his behalf, so he had no choice but to help his parents out in their store until he paid back every single cent. The conclusion of the story is that perhaps, it is better to be down-to-earth and live a simple life, instead of thinking how to get rich quick.

Eighth lesson : Love can also be between friends, ie true friends will love you and be there for you no matter what happens.

The ninth story is also a rather touching one. A lady was bored with her marriage life as her husband is just a simple man without any romantic streak in him. She went on a business trip and met a photographer, who got inspired by her and started taking her portrait. They felt attracted to each other and started dining and dancing together. Then she had to go back home and told him the had to face reality and would never see each other again. When she went home, she went back to her mundane life, but was thinking of him all the time.

One night, her husband brought home a guest, and it happened to be the photographer. They used to be classmates. She panicked and could hardly concentrate the whole night. He requested for her to walk him down to hitch a cab, and he confessed how he hoped she would divorce her husband and go away with him. She then told him that they had a beautiful time, and even though he is so much better than her husband in every aspect, still, it was her husband who had been there for her through thick and thin, it was her husband who had shown his love in his own way, it was her husband who took care of her family. So even though she would always keep him in her mind, she could not leave her husband and forsake her whole family.

At the end, she chose her family over the guy she loved, and he went away, upset and alone. A year later, in an interview regarding one of his works, he said he had only loved one woman in his life, but unfortunately they met each other too late. The story ended off with her reading the article, listening to the song they danced to, and then she looked at her husband and smiled.

Ninth lesson : Memories of love are more than enough. Being committed means staying with the person, even if there is someone else better, because in the end, it takes more than love to sustain a marriage.

The last story is quite funny. It talks about how women go to extremes to stop a man’s roving eye. This lady’s husband had been teasing her about her boyish figure, thus she went ahead to get a boob job. However, her plan backfired because her husband, instead of being more attracted to her, actually got turned off, as he said she is not the wife he is used to, and it felt as if he is sleeping with a stranger. In the end, she re-did the operation and went back to normal.

Tenth lesson : If the man really loves you, he will accept you for who you are and not want you to change any part. Men look at voluptuous girls just like how women look at hunky guys, but the one they married will always be their one true love.

Monday, January 14, 2008 Hong Kong Drama : Loving You, 我爱你 Posted by juphelia at 16:48

A few weeks back, I was watching this Hong Kong series called “The Threat Of Love”. It has two series of 10 episodes each, a total of 20 episodes. Each episode is one story, but all the stories touch on the different aspects of love, between parents and children, siblings, friends, couples, homosexuals, etc.

A very heartwarming show. The first series is better though, more touching, the second is funnier. This is something like the movie “Love, Actually”, where in this society when one thinks people are incapable of love, they look around and find that love actually is all around them.

Let's hope I will have better luck this year when it comes to love! :-p

Sunday, February 4, 2007 Hong Kong Drama : Shine On You Posted by juphelia at 13:39

Currently I am hooked on the Hong Kong series "Shine On You". It is a show on teachers and the education system. Come to think of it, our lives are rather similar to those in Hong Kong. Wonder if it is because the two countries used to be under the same ruler?

The show appeals to me because it is on the relationship between teachers and students. I can really relate to that! Students are just as difficult, parents are just as demanding, the principal and management is just as uncooperative, teachers are just as overworked and underpaid. These are the reasons why I chose to leave.

However, come to think of it, by moulding someone's life, and the kid later comes to you and says you have created an impact in his / her life, this is a real fulfilling reward, something which no money can ever buy, no matter how much. Just like the former student I met on the bus the other day. He still recognises me, and he still tells me the things in school, although he is now out of the school and at a higher level.

That is essentially what a teacher hopes for. No matter how troublesome kids can be, a teacher will hope to make a difference in their lives, and see them going on the right track and not turn bad. So in a way, I feel rather happy I managed to achieve a little of this, even though I only taught him for half a year.

Thursday, October 26, 2006 Hong Kong Television Serials Posted by juphelia at 11:17

I had a super long weekend. My company gave everyone an off day on Monday to tie in with the two public holidays, which accounts for the accumulation of work the past few days.

I have been so bored lately. Now that my salsa classes have ended, with the next stage starting in December, I have taken a break from school and singing, and my social life is almost non-existent with most of my friends busy or dating or married or preparing for marriage, I am lacking of something to do.

So I started being hooked on Hong Kong television series. Not the new ones; those that were filmed around the eighties and nineties. I prefer the older actors to the newer ones as somehow I feel they have more substance, and I enjoy watching their shows! A lot of the newer stars only look good.

There have been lots of drama serials produced in Hong Kong, from period dramas to family to crime thriller. I always go for my favourite genres - crime and justice. Thus, I managed to get the entire File of Justice series (I - V), by far the longest running series from 1991 to 1995.

I also got the Detective Investigation Files series (I - IV). Only the first three are continuous. The fourth series is a totally different story with different actors, but since it is also a police and thief type of show, the producers used back the same name.

The oldest one I have is Return of the Condor Heros. I remember when that was shown on television almost two decades ago, my classmates were all going ga-ga over Andy Lau. At that point in time, he was really handsome and muscular.

The newer series I got is Armed Reaction (I - IV). Plus some of the older shows like Duke of Mount Deer (with the young Tony Leong and Andy Lau) and Legend of the Condor Heroes.

Somehow our local series never attain the standard of Hong Kong shows. The plot, storyline, portrayal of characters are all so real. I think the reason why a lot of people like these drama series can be because the characters reflect anyone of us, ie the things that happened to them can happen to anyone of us.

One can be a high-flyer, but totally messed up in personal and love life. One can be married but still have an affair outside as he / she is not able to find the warmth and love from the spouse. One can give up love just for family and friends.

And not all have happy endings. Not every show has the fairytale ending that the two main characters end up together. The main characters may have to go through lots of trials and upheavels where their relationships are concerned, and still not be together.

There is love and lost, painful breakups, pining for someone, the ache of missing someone. All these can happen to just anyone. Which is why I enjoy watching these shows, as from the story and the various characters, I can relate myself to several of them.

Monday, September 5, 2005 Television / Movie Fest! Posted by juphelia at 01:27

I had a VCD / DVD Marathon earlier on. It is such a bliss staying home with nothing to do sometimes. Finally I can catch up on all the shows and movies I have been accumulating but have not had the time to watch. I started to indulge in TV and VCD watching to get my mind off the frustrations and worries of the past few days. Thus I turned into a couch potato and started snacking on durian chips and finished up half a box of Ferrero Rochers as well.

First on my list was the Hong Kong serial "Angels of Mission", which I started watching on Friday. It was a twenty-parter. I wanted to stay up the whole night to finish, but by the time it was 5:00am on Sunday morning, my eyes finally closed and I had to finish watching the last four episodes in the afternoon. The show is on the Counter-Terrorist Unit (CTU) of HKSAR Police Force. The main characters are three female police officers who have to deal with terrorists, bomb threats and cope with their own tumultuous love lives at the same time.

Next was "Sleepless in Seattle". I have been wanting to watch this show for ages after I heard the song, and when I realise it is starring Tom Hanks. I first watched this show when my friend taped for me on cable back in 1999 or so, and now that I am watching it again, it still brings tears in my eyes, especially what Tom Hanks said about "You know the feelings are real, as they come just like magic." I love the part especially when they met each other at the top of the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day at the end of the show. Such a tear-jerking moment. This is what love should be - magic. I know too well the feelings just come all of a sudden without warning.

The third show was "Untold Scandal", a Korean period movie on dangerous liaisons. I get to drool at my idol Bae Yong Jun on screen the whole time throughout! Although I still prefer him with the golden streaks in his floppy hair, spectacles and long winter coat in "Winter Sonata". He is just so suave and charming! He still looks better in contemporary gear rather than period costumes. Now I cannot wait for his new movie to start screening in October.

I wanted to watch "Shall We Dance?" as well, starring the ever-suave Richard Gere, but my eyes cannot take it anymore. I need to sleep since my eyes are watering already. My body is probably telling me something. Thus I have to save Richard Gere to tomorrow (hopefully I will not be too shagged from work).

Meanwhile, I will sleep with hopefully nice dreams of my idol Bae Yong Jun. A bout of Brad Pitt, Legolas or Christian Bale in his batsuit will not matter too. :-p Good night!