10.21.09
In Asia, even tea cinema is action-packed
posted by Ifang Hsieh | 6 comments
What movies and dramas come to mind when thinking about tea? Tea and Sympathy? Tea with Mussolini? Movies that are of the drama genre, right?
My cousin Andrea learned that I write posts for T Ching and recently sent me a copy of Tea Fight!, a 2008 movie first released in Japan. Andrea told me not to have high expectations for the film, and just as her informal review revealed, the storyline for Tea Fight! is mediocre and inconsequential, despite a central idea that is somewhat novel. In ancient China, in order to obtain the title of best tea producer, the clan of the “Male Black Golden Tea,” which not only energizes those who partake of it, but also makes them belligerent, feuds with the clan of the “Female Black Golden Tea”, which has a notably calming effect on those who drink it. Before all of the “Female Black Golden Tea” crop is destroyed by the “Male Black Golden Tea” clan in a decisive clash, a seedling is opportunely preserved by a Japanese tea master, and a child who drinks a mixture of the two teas is transformed into a dragon, symbolizing immortality and omnipotence. The legend continues into modern times when the “Female Black Golden Tea” plant is re-discovered in Japan, and descendants of the two clans re-encounter one another in Taiwan. The story concludes with reconciliation and a juvenile love affair. In a forced attempt to be philosophical, the screen writers ask these questions in the movie: Why do human beings drink tea? And why do only human beings drink tea?
Another Asian tea drama titled Eight Tael Gold also depicts conflicts caused by fierce competition in the marketplace. (”Tael” is a unit in the Asian weight system. “Eight Tael Gold” is the name of a fictional tea.) The conspiracy to eliminate the No. 1 tea master, who pan-fries tea leaves in a big wok with his two hands, turns murderous. Babies are switched at birth. Opium is illegally traded to generate fortune. Clearly some of the subplots are excessively dramatic.
To lure viewers, at least in Asia, even tea cinema is action packed.
October 21st, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Yeah, that’s some really attention-getting drama in my eyes. I’m in the process of building a collection of tea-themed songs available as MP3s. I’ve got quite a few now but I only have several tea movies. That’s partly because I can listen to music while I work but movies demand a lot of time. However, nothing can relax like a good, involved video and on occasion it’s totally healed me (I don’t own a TV so I’m impressionable.)
October 22nd, 2009 at 1:53 am
Wouldn’t it be great if there was a main stream movie about tea - an opportunity to further enlighten the American masses about this ancient brew?
November 12th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Jason, perhaps you could write a post about the collection of tea-themed songs? I can’t think of any such song at the moment…
November 12th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Yes, I’ll do that with one of my next posts. All about the tea songs.
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:57 am
I am a great fan of music. Jason, I am waiting for your tea songs release.
I hope we will enjoy it a lot.
January 24th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
In the past I always drank tea hot.
Tea preparation and enjoyment often take time.
As a result related etiquette and culture emerged and continue to evolve.
There is also a fashionable element in tea appreciation.
I can’t remember when drinking tea cold first became popular.
Bottled tea can be purchased at convenient stores and enjoyed anytime, anywhere.
Tea drinking is no longer for the sole purpose of “drinking tea” or tea appreciation but for fulfilling the simple desire of wanting to have a drink.