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back-and-totheleft · 9 months

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A rumor of war

Roger Ebert, in his 1986 review of Oliver Stone’s compelling Vietnam era film Platoon, quoted Francois Truffaut. The acclaimed French director once remarked that it was impossible to create an anti-war film, because all war movies turn combat into noble brawls or manly adventures. Not Oliver Stone’s Vietnam. Here war is mean, ugly, and even more, physically and psychologically disorientating. Hollywood recognized Stone’s accomplishment, awarding Platoon with Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director (Stone), Best Film Editing, and Best Sound.

The central character in Platoon is Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) and he bears a striking biographical resemblance to Oliver Stone. Like the filmmaker, Taylor is a well educated, upper-middle-class kid who enlisted in the Marines, when he didn’t have to, in search of glory, excitement, and manly validation. But the war that Stone depicts only takes; it robs soldiers of their morals, decency, and all too often their lives. Taylor sees this right from the start. Just as he is shipping out, he spots a line of flag-draped caskets coming back from the front.

In Vietnam, Taylor’s platoon, like the nation itself in the 1960s, is divided, split between whites and blacks, and between the juicers (who drink) and the heads (who get high). Even more fundamentally, the troops are split between two senior officers and two moral visions of war. With his scarred and grizzled face, Sgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger) is the king of the juicers; he is a brilliant and fiercely Machiavellian warrior. He will do anything to win, to cut down the enemy, and make sure his men survive to fight another day. The heads are led by Sgt. Elias, who tries to wage war not just to survive physically, but to some how survive the killing with his humanity in tact.

Stone doesn’t take the easy way out here, celebrating bravery or redemption. Taylor is torn by these two visions. His instincts, even his class background, lead him towards the heads. But he knows that Barnes and his sometimes vicious juicers, notably the nearly psychopathic Bunny (Kevin Dillon), are products of a geo-political hell created by know-nothing policy makers thousands of miles away. But they are also savviest soldiers and the most likely to make it through to the next battle. The morals tensions between Barnes and Elias are always there in Stone’s film and to his credit, they never get preachy or reduced to simple choices.

But the real strength of the film is its unvarnished depiction of the war itself. Soldiers in Stone’s Vietnam face real conditions. They are always hot and always slogging through a wet jungle. They can’t ever get dry and their feet swell with puss. The land-mine spiked ground below them makes every step an uncertain and perilous one. Mosquitoes and snakes are everywhere. And boredom, not an easy thing to weave into a film, hangs over the soldiers, as they wait for what they didn’t want, another battle.

On the guns do roar and the napalm explodes, Stone captures the ambushes and firefights brilliantly. The battles are full of chaos. Like Taylor and the men in his platoon, you never where the bullets are coming from. You never really know where the enemy is or even who is the enemy. Again, like the Vietnam war itself and an unlike a sneakily romantic film like Saving Private Ryan, Platoon features no epic battles, there are no Normadies, no Battles of the Bulges here. This refusal to inflate or glorify is the essence of Platoon’s courageous anti-war sensibility.

Avoiding these kinds of dramatic moments and pushing up against the flag-waving rhetoric of the Reaganites and the Rambos of his own day allows Stone to capture the war’s huge psychological tolls on US combatants. (In a later film, Heaven and Earth, he tried to tell the war story from the Vietnamese perspective, and in Born on Fourth of July, he looked at the long-term costs of the conflict and government and social indifference to veterans.) Vietnam, Stone makes clear, was a war of attrition and the point was to kill. As Philip Caputo, who like Stone was also an enlistee from a middle-class, Ivy League background, writes in his stirring memoir, A Rumor of War, “Our mission was not to win terrain or seize position, but simply to kill: to kill Communists and to kill as many of them as possible. Stack ‘em like cordwood. Victory was a high body-count, defeat a low body kill-ratio, war a matter of arithmetic.”

In many ways, Platoon is the cinematic twin to A Rumor of War. In the first words of his book, Caputo states, “this book does not pretend to be history.” Neither does Platoon. But this lack of pretending is what makes both of the film and the book such great history. They both capture the past as it was really lived. In the case of Vietnam on the wet, dank ground, the war is portrayed in the book and the film is relentlessly wrenching, cruel, and costly.

The more we remember wars from the honest perspective of those who fought them, the less maybe we will start them in the first place. That surely is the simple, yet still powerful, anti-hawk position Oliver Stone, the war veteran and anti-Reaganite filmmaker, gives a messy life to in Platoon.

-Bryant Simon on Platoon, "Reconsidering the Oliver Stone Filmography," PopMatters, Sept 23 2010

#oliver stone #platoon #philip caputo #popmatters

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moradmbasha · 3 years

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PHOTOS TELL THE TRUTH - NAPALM GIRL

The Vietnam War which lasted from 1955 to 1975 was arguably one of the most brutal and pointless wars of the 20th century. It was a long and bloody war that shaped the course of modern history in more ways than one. It is often argued that the war was lost in the newspapers and press and not in the battlefield. At the height of the war, there were about 600 accredited journalists of all nationalities in Vietnam, reporting for U.S. wire services, radio and television networks, and the major newspaper chains and news magazines. These journalists were mainly photographers and filmmakers leading to the war being dubbed “ the first television war”. The exposure that the American people had to the war lead many citizens to finally understand the brutal and needless nature of this war. One great example of said exposure which looked to expose the brutality and ruthlessness of the war was “ The Terror of War” by Vietnamese photographer Nick Ut. This Pulitzer Prize winning photograph depicts just one of the moments of cruelty that transpired daily in Vietnam at the time and immortalized it in history forever. The photo shows 8 year old Phan Thi Kim Phuc as she runs through the streets , crying, naked and afraid. Young Kim had just lost her family, her clothes and most of her skin to a napalm strike. There could not be a more truthful photograph on the nature of war than this one. From the terror on the faces of the innocent Vietnamese children to the indifference in the body language of the American soldiers ,the truth shines. Within the nature of photography, photographs have always had this capacity to probe and suggest larger conditions, “which underlies the notion of an image's potential 'universal' appeal and international language.” ( Graham Clarke, 1997) . “ The Terror of War” takes this potential to its peak, the image evokes an almost universal response “ this should not be happening”. A sentiment that rang true enough to send ripples through the United States with some crediting the photograph as a turning point in public opinion on the Vietnam war. The photo was not staged and nor was its narrative, further cementing and emphasizing the truthful nature of the photograph. the photographs speaks to the ability of photographer Nick Ut who is a world-renowned photographer. He was born on the 29th of March 1951. He has been a photographer for the Associated Press since he was 16 years old and. He got the job after his brother, also a photographer for the Associated Press, was killed in the Vietnam War. He is from French Indochina, which is in South East Asia, but he now lives in LA.

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abdifarah · 4 years

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Bloody

There was never a time when Spike Lee wasn’t Spike Lee to me. I seem to remember being born with images from his movies pre-installed on my mental harddrive. School Daze, one of the first few VHS’s in our house, was a favorite of my mom, and seemed to always be on in the background. Watching it recently, I had a this is water realization: “This is a musical?!” The movie’s mechanics and construction were so overly familiar as to be invisible.

I love Spike Lee the way Americans love Jesus. More than any particular film (He Got Game, Do the Right Thing, and Malcolm X are three favs), I love everything Lee represents, has represented, and what I’m sure he will continue to represent. I knew even before instagram was invented that he would be great at it. And I am sure whatever mechanism comes next that facilitates a creator’s connection to their audience, Spike will embrace and master it like a surfer to the waves. Spike is always Spike, which probably facilitates his uncanny ability to appear comfortable in many worlds, from high art auteur filmmaking, to pop culture fare, to sports documentaries to political commentary. He is unapologetically ambitious, unapologetically confident, unapologetically black; a trio that America works hard to keep separate. He believes in the imperative of his movies and will do anything–hawking merch, launching a Kickstarter, starring in Capital One commercials–to get them made.

Spike’s work is not just black, but majestically black, sophisticatedly black, dangerously black. This man made Bamboozled, a movie about a television exec that makes a modern day minstrel show! There are obviously a small handful of other successful and busy black filmmakers, namely Tyler Perry and Lee Daniels. Their movies do the necessary, but not-that-interesting work of simply putting blackness front and center. But the vision of blackness of Daniels or Perry has always felt like it was for someone other than me; someone either less black or less smart. Spike’s films, while often informative, never preach or pander. They assume a black outlook as a given and not an oddity. His films are challenging and do not often resolve with easy lessons. They incorporate the broad history of film and culture and do very little to catch the audience up. It is his way of showing respect to us as viewers.

Even when I do not like a Spike Lee Joint, I always admire the chutzpah, which for me is higher praise than simply liking or enjoying a work of art. Spike will go down as one of the most prolific filmmakers. He prides himself on his goal of producing a major work annually, as opposed to many of his contemporaries like Paul Thomas Anderson or Quentin Tarantino who move at a more leisurely clip. I wonder if Spike’s breakneck pace emanates from a conscious or subconscious fear of being forgotten, and having the door closed on him; ending up like so many other promising directors of color or women directors that after successful early work find it harder and harder to secure funds and get new projects greenlit. Spike has spoken candidly of the trouble he has getting movies produced, even as a celebrity director. While historically impressed by the amount of output, I now wish Spike Lee felt the freedom and permission to slow down.

Da 5 Bloods has so much in it that I love, and multiple scenes that I found genuinely moving, but this is a mess of a movie. For a film about finding buried treasure, Lee seems to be unaware of how much gold he’s sitting on. The movie undertakes the meaty premise of having four older black Vietnam veterans return to the site that indelibly changed them, mostly for the worse, to find the remains of their inspiring troop leader, Stormin’ Normin’, and a chest of gold bullion boosted from a crashed plane and hidden in the deep jungle. They returned to America after the war broken by what they saw and unable to partake of the freedoms they supposedly fought for, but like all black folks attempted to make the most of this reality. Their meeting in Vietnam is a college reunion of sorts, if you went to college to major war atrocities, and ptsd. Like any good reunion plot, each man has their post-war war stories; divorces, estranged kids, bad breaks, bankruptcies.

They are different, almost unrecognizable to each other. Delroy Lindo’s, Paul, once a black militant, is a Maga hat wearing Trump supporter, but they are all family still. I could have watched these dialogues amongst black men who lived through civil rights, survived Vietnam, but are still fighting their own private wars all night. I wanted to stay in this movie. But about halfway through the tone of the movie shifts and whatever this movie was supposed to be about tragically steps on a landmine. The movie changes from a subtle portrait of these GI’s, their relationships to each other, and their quest to lay to rest the ghosts of the past, and becomes a gory shoot-em-up and basic-bitch heist movie, albeit with some still compelling scenes dripped in, mostly involving Paul.

In New Orleans you can often see a big storm rolling in from miles away. The writhing clouds, tinged with the primordial reds and purples of sundown and coursing with whip snaps of lightning, mesmerize to the point where you forget you’re about to get drenched. Delroy Lindo’s performance similarly entrances as he descends like King Lear into paranoia and madness, enroute to self-sabotaging the mission and his relationship with his fellow soldiers and his doting son, who has stowed away on the excursion. Spike Lee’s casting has always indicted the rest of Hollywood, by highlighting the black actors and other actors with looks were deemed too “ethic” or too “this” or too “that”, but who have more chop in one of their nostrils than many on the A-list could muster sitting on each other’s shoulders. Why is Lindo not considered one of our great actors?

While some of the creative and plot choices can be forgiven as artistic liberty, the depiction of the actual Vietnamese people in the movie is hard to justify. Other than a compelling cinematic portrait of the historical figure Hanoi Hannah whose radio broadcasts entertained and taunted American soldiers during the war, the other Vietnamese characters in the movie are pretty flat at best and ugly stereotypes at the other extreme. One of Lee’s perpetual explorations across all of his movies has been the destructive violence of racial stereotypes. Do the Right Thing ends when Police indiscriminately kill Radio Raheem, perceiving the imposing black man as only a threat and not a beloved community member and human worthy of dignity and protection. Blackkklansman presents us with a black man who is also a cop and all of the complexity that entails. Strangely, Lee regurgitates the worst stereotypes of the Viet-Cong in the group of Vietnamese mercenaries serving at the behest of bloated Jean Reno’s french gangster (and Donald Trump surrogate?) who ambush Da Bloods for their gold, leading to the films Tarantino-esque bloodbath ending. The climactic scene which sees Da Bloods, like retired athletes, reliving their glory days as soldiers by extension glorifies the Vietnam conflict and the killing of the Vietnamese, which is disappointing and sad. For a director that for decades avoided tidy popcorn conclusions, this film and his previous outing, Blackkklansman, basically end in good guy vs. bad guy gunfights.

Da 5 Bloods should have been Girls Trip but with Vietnam vets; former friends with divergent lives butting heads and ultimately reconnecting; learning from while burying the past. There’s a strange moment in Da 5 Bloods before the movie breaks bad when the gang finds a pistol hidden by Clarke Peter’s character, Otis, the ostensible leader of the adventure. For battle worn vets they seem weirdly squeamish at the thought that one of them is packing. These astute Spike Lee characters, knowledgeable of movie and theater orthodoxy, understand that if a gun appears, at some point it's going to go off. Perhaps they, like me, were lamenting the inevitable end of the more dynamic and challenging first half of the movie. Maybe through them Spike Lee is voicing his own reservations about the pending violence of the film. Either way, Spike, like Otis, shouldn't have brought the gun.

#Da 5 Bloods #Spike Lee #Movies

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nikitasbt · 5 years

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Tran Anh Hung’s The Scent of Green Papaya (1993, Mùi đu đủ xanh)

The Scent of Green Papaya became a debut film of Vietnamese born director Tran Anh Hung who had spent the majority of his life in France. The pre-war Sai Gon’s story is set entirely in Vietnam, though The Scent of Green Papaya was shot in the pavilion in France. The film cast consists of only Vietnamese actors (most notable actress here is director’s wife Tran Nu Yen-Khe who appeared in all films of Tran Anh Hung), through cinematography and editing were handled by the French filmmakers working with the Vietnamese director. The Scent of Green Papaya is certainly a Vietnamese feature, but the language and style are pretty international not dealing with any sly cultural South-East Asian of Buddhist references which might be difficult for western viewers to distinguish.

To begin with, it is necessary to say this is the film concerning the little world we drop in. The Scent of Green Papaya has a slow plot development. This is a story of young peasant girl Mui who arrives in a prosperous house to be a servant. She begins learning how to handle the housework from the older servant. Mui appears to be tremendously inquisitive and curious about every littlest thing of the world around her. She likes watching frogs in the night or white sap dripping down from the plants in the family’s garden. Later, a little girl develops the emotional bonds with the family’s wife living there who had lost her own daughter 7 years back. The plot revolves around relations between Mui and other family members and later shifts to another house Mui moves to when the family is going through hard times, unable to keep Mui staying. There is also a very touching subplot concerning an old man who comes to the house fence from time to time inquiring about an old grandmother’s health. He’s been loving her throughout his life and feels shy to even step into the yard to see her once again.

The basic idea of Tran Anh Hung’s The Scent of Green Papaya was to show the new dimension of Vietnamese peasants’ life. In many films about war times, the Vietnamese were presented as villains. Even peasants were also not remarkable just being shown as martyrs without exposure to the lives and feelings. The director attempted to give a fresh colour to the image of these simple people showing them humans. Telling the story of Mui, he doesn’t choose an advanced plot but creates a dreamlike enthralling world with the utmost attention to every detail around Mui. It is so vividly beautiful that one can hardly say it is realistic. This world is more like a fantasy of the land which has been lost forever with the war breaking in. Every bit of this world painted by Tran Anh Hung is very sophisticated and it gives rare warm feelings which last from the first minutes till the very last shot.

Two Muis are shown with a time gap of 10 years. The first time we see her as the servant she is 10, and then she’s around 20 growing up as a stunningly beautiful young lady, who had preserved her curiosity, modest and vivid attitude and consideration. 20-years old Mui portrayed by Tran Nu Yen-Khe is blazingly beautiful, and it comes as no surprise that the artist’s soul of young pianist would have eventually fallen in love with her. The gorgeous and colourful ending shots show the pianist teaching Mui how to behave like an aristocratic lady and how to read. Tran Anh Hung has selected a perfect match of 10-years and 20-years old actresses: the same lively glint can be seen in the eyes of both. They are nothing, but the same person, it’s just a perfect selection.

In addition to creating a quixotic world of Sai Gon and film’s cast, the most important achievement of Tran Anh Hung is related to camera work. Influenced by Kurosawa and Ozu, he is always looking for the angles to show the characters in a more intimate and personal way. At some point, the camera emerges from the little gap between staircase balusters, while later is shots from the low angles which is like something similar to Ozu’s work. Then the camera emerges from the far corners of the house floating slowly and showing a wide picture of the house – no rush, no hustle. All the moves are very gentle and smooth. Also, it important to note the vivid colour of this world created by the director – it seems to be something adorable to be so curious about, just the way Mui is.

Dialogues are not so important for Tran Anh Hung way of developing the story. Mui rarely says anything which makes her almost as reserved as Korean heroines of Kim Ki-duk’s films. Looking at this wonderful splurge of colours and camera tricks, the viewers might be a little frustrated about the plot which advances very slowly. But the director doesn’t seem to be worried about that, he is eager to make The Green Scent of Papaya sketchy.

The symbolism of the film title The Scent of Green Papaya is simple but exquisite: later, the Iran films which might be more famous such as the Pear Tree by Mehrjui and Kiarostami’s Taste of Cherry will bear similar sort of poetic symbolism. It is a symbol of the world around Mui who doesn’t want just to make a salad from papaya and throw it away as the older servant instructs, but opens it to be amused with seeing the soft seeds inside it.

For the fresh picture and exquisite glimpse into quixotic Vietnamese peasant life, the debut film of Tran Anh Hung is certainly worth watching. It has received quite a few rewards including Golden Camera Award for the best debut at Cannes Film Festival and was the first Vietnamese film nominated for 1993 Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language Film. In the next 25 years, Tran Anh Hung has produced 5 films but still remains not so well-known art-house master.

#green scent of papaya #tran nu yen-khe #vietnamese #tran anh hung #mùi đu đủ xanh

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mrsrcbinscn · 4 years

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Six Degrees of Franny Robinson

It’s like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon lmao

Who wants a massive spreadsheet of Franny’s relatives across the globe kids! Nobody needed this, least of all me.

[Link] TW: for mentions of but no graphic descriptions of genocide

List of other #famous family below the cut.

Boramey “Emma” Sor (born 1968) - is a Cambodian-born French journalist. Her father was killed during the Khmer Rouge. She revealed the details in the miniseries Alia’s Family Tree, a docu series by Canadian filmmaker Lola Kyle, the wife of the titular Alia (Kateb), cousin of Emma Sor. She is a maternal first cousin of American singer Franny Sor Robinson.

Amandine Sor (born 1988) - is a French historian and author best known for publishing several books on French colonisation in Cambodia, the country her father came to France from as a refugee. She is a maternal first cousin of American singer Franny Sor Robinson.

Trai “Trey” Sor (born 1988) - is a Vietnamese standup comedian, actor, and screenwriter currently living in the United States. He dropped out of college in 2009 to pursue comedy and screenwriting full time. He is best known for his appearances on Conan. He is a maternal first cousin of American singer Franny Sor Robinson.

Minh Sor (born 1993) - is a Vietnamese TV presenter, MC, and host. He is the younger brother of comedian Trey Sor.

Tola Boran / Tola (born 1992) - is a Cambodian artist and rapper. She is a maternal first cousin of American singer Franny Sor Robinson.

Eysam Boran (born 1994) - is a Cambodian model, social media influencer, and Tiktok star. He is the younger brother of rapper Tola Boran.

Mungkol Boran (born 1998) - is a Cambodian rapper, singer, DJ, and music producer. He is the younger brother of rapper Tola.

Sarika Boran (born 2001) - is a Cambodian singer known mononymously as Sarika. She is a member of South Korean girl group JULY (Joyful Universe of Love and Youth) that debuted in 2018. Sarika is the first Cambodian idol to debut in the South Korea music industry. She is the maternal first cousin of American singer Franny Sor Robinson, and younger sister of Cambodian rapper Tola.

Hatsue Shibutani (born 1983) - is a Japanese manga writer. She is the daughter of a Japanese woman and a Cambodian man, who took on the Japanese surname Shibutani upon settling in Japan as a refugee in the 70s. She is the second cousin of American singer Franny Sor Robinson.

Erina Shibutani (born 1994) - is a Japanese YouTuber, MC, model, and TV presenter currently based in South Korea. She is a second cousin of American singer Franny Sor Robinson, Cambodian idol singer Sarika, and French journalist Emma Sor. She is also the younger sister of Japanese manga writer Hatsue Shibutani.

Alia Kateb (born 1986) - is a Canadian virologist. Her mother is a refugee from Cambodia and her father a refugee from Palestine. She runs a YouTube channel where she talks about medical news and tries to break down the hottest topics in medicine. She is married to filmmaker Lola Kyle. She is the second cousin of American singer Franny Sor Robinson.

Chantrea “Anna” Kateb (born 1968) - is a Cambodian-born Canadian politician. She is currently an MP in the NDP. She is the older sister of author Yousef Kateb and virologist Alia Kateb.

Yousef Kateb (born 1984) - is a Canadian novelist and poet. His novels are almost all fantasy, with some sci-fi works. His writing is known for featuring creative nods to his Cambodian and Palestinian heritage.

Chantelle Quinn (born 1990) - is a New Zealand politician. She is a member of the Labour party and currently an MP representing a part of Hamilton. She is a second cousin of American singer Franny Sor Robinson.

Georgia Quinn (born 1993) - is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. She is the younger sister of Labour MP Chantelle Quinn.

Trixle Baumann (born 1986) - is a Swiss director currently based in Paris, France. She is a paternal first cousin of American singer Franny Sor Robinson, and has directed many of her music videos.

Jakob Framagucci (born 1989) - is a Swiss singer-songwriter, known by his stage name Köbi Fram. He is a paternal first cousin of American singer Franny Sor Robinson, with whom he has collaborated numerous times. He is also the cousin of director Trixle Baumann, who has directed many of his music videos.

Gian Framagucci (born 1988) - is a Swiss-born American right-wing political commentator. He is a paternal first cousin of American singer Franny Sor Robinson. Robinson has said of her cousin in a 2020 interview, “I have him blocked on all of my socials. I have not seen him since I was twenty-nine, I’m forty now. That’s the thing about growing up; you get to choose which family members stay your family, and which ones you cut out. I don’t regret cutting ties with Gian, no. He’s a vile person and not only are his opinions wrong, they are dangerous and actively harmful.”

#&&...hc

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tasksweekly · 7 years

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[TASK 060: VIETNAM]

Shout out to @olivaraofrph and the amazing @victnam for inspiring and helping compile this task! There’s a masterlist below compiled of over 290+ Vietnamese faceclaims categorised by gender with their occupation and ethnicity denoted if there was a reliable source. If you want an extra challenge use random.org to pick a random number! Of course everything listed below are just suggestions and you can pick whichever character or whichever project you desire.

Any questions can be sent here and all tutorials have been linked below the cut for ease of access! REMEMBER to tag your resources with #TASKSWEEKLY and we will reblog them onto the main! This task can be tagged with whatever you want but if you want us to see it please be sure that our tag is the first five tags, @ mention us or send us a messaging linking us to your post!

THE TASK - scroll down for FC’s!

STEP 1: Decide on a FC you wish to create resources for! You can always do more than one but who are you starting with? There are links to masterlists you can use in order to find them and if you want help, just send us a message and we can pick one for you at random!

STEP 2: Pick what you want to create! You can obviously do more than one thing, but what do you want to start off with? Screencaps, RP icons, GIF packs, masterlists, PNG’s, fancasts, alternative FC’s - LITERALLY anything you desire!

STEP 3: Look back on tasks that we have created previously for tutorials on the thing you are creating unless you have whatever it is you are doing mastered - then of course feel free to just get on and do it. :)

STEP 4: Upload and tag with #TASKSWEEKLY! If you didn’t use your own screencaps/images make sure to credit where you got them from as we will not reblog packs which do not credit caps or original gifs from the original maker.

THINGS YOU CAN MAKE FOR THIS TASK - examples are linked!

Stumped for ideas? Maybe make a masterlist or graphic of your favourite faceclaims. A masterlist of names. Plot ideas or screencaps from a music video preformed by an artist. Masterlist of quotes and lyrics that can be used for starters, thread titles or tags. Guides on culture and customs.

Screencaps

RP icons [of all sizes]

Gif Pack [maybe gif icons if you wish]

PNG packs

Manips

Dash Icons

Character Aesthetics

PSD’s

XCF’s

Graphic Templates - can be chara header, promo, border or background PSD’s!

FC Masterlists - underused, with resources, without resources!

FC Help - could be related, family templates, alternatives.

Written Guides.

and whatever else you can think of / make!

MASTERLIST!

@vietfaceclaims - a directory!

Trans Ladies:

Cindy Thái Tài (36) - singer.

Vikki Le (born in 1988 or 1989) - model and interviewer.

Lan Phuong (born in 1989) - model.

Julie Vu (25) - YouTuber.

Huong Giang Idol (26) - pop singer.

Bao Anh (25) - singer and makeup artist.

Elena Genevinne (18) Vietnamese, Indian - YouTuber.

Lâm Chí Khanh (?) - singer.

Dong Phuang Tran (?) - model.

Duong My My (?) - model.

Ngoc Ang (?) - model.

Truong Giang (?) - model.

Tram Anh (?) - tv star, model, and dancer.

Ladies:

Thái Thanh (83) singer

Kieu Chinh (80) Vietnamese / French - actress.

France Nuyen (78) - actress and model

Khánh Ly (72) - singer

Thanh Lan (69) - singer

Khánh Hà (65) - singer

Hương Lan (61) - singer

Cẩm Vân (58) - singer

Ánh Tuyết (56) - singer

Thuy Thu Le (51) - retired actress

Siu Black (50) - singer

Thanh Lam (48) - singer

Hiep Thi Le (47) - actress.

Lê Hồng Nhung (47) - singer

Như Quỳnh (47) - singer

Christy Chung (47) Chinese-Vietnamese / Vietnamese - actress and restaurateur

Leyna Nguyen (47) - television anchor and reporter.

Cẩm Ly (47) - pop singer

Junie Hoang (46) - actress

Chloe Dao (45) Kinh - fashion designer and tv personality

Hà Phương (45) - singer

Việt Trinh (44) - actress

Phương Thanh (44) - singer

Phạm Thị Huệ (44) - singer

Ngọc Bích Ngân (44) - singer, songwriter, artist and writer.

Jane March (44) English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish - actress and model.

Tào Thế Lệ Thu (43) - singer

Kathleen Luong (42) - actress and model.

Truong Ngoc Anh (40) - actress

Trần Thu Hà (40) - singer and producer

Thu Minh (40) - singer

Minh Tuyet (40) - singer

Tâm Đoan (40) - singer

Đoan Trang (39) - singer

Vân Khánh (39) - singer

Ngô Thanh Vân (38) - actress, singer and model.

Christine Hà (38) - chef, writer, and TV host.

Jeannie Mai (38) Vietnamese, Chinese - tv personality.

Maggie Q (38) Vietnamese / Irish, Polish, French - actress and model.

Mayko Nguyen (37) - actress.

Phan Thi My Tâm (My Tâm) (36) - singer.

Kathy Uyen (36) - actress, producer, and screenwriter

Hiền Thục (36) - singer

Trish Thuy Trang (36) - singer and songwriter

Vũ Lệ Quyên (36) - singer

Như Loan (36) - singer

Hồ Quỳnh Hương (36) - singer

Lý Nhã Kỳ (35) - actress, model and businesswoman.

Linh Nga (35) - film director, film producer, actress, screenwriter, and news anchor.

Kristine Sa (35) - singer and songwriter

Isild Le Besco (34) Algerian Kabyle Berber, French, Breton, possibly some Vietnamese - actress and filmmaker.

Do Thi Hai Yen (34) - actress

Michelle Banzer (34) German, Irish, Cherokee / Vietnamese, Chinese, Mongolian, Russian - model and beauty queen.

Thanh Hang (34) - model, actress, singer and judge.

Linda Le (34) - osplayer, costumer, model, artist and Internet personality.

Bebe Pham (34) - model and actress.

Hồ Bích Ngọc (34) - singer

Linda Chou (34) - singer

Rosie Tran (33) - stand-up comedian, model, actress, writer, and podcast host.

Phạm Quỳnh Anh (33) - singer

Hồ Ngọc Hà (32) - model, pop singer, actress and entertainer.

Jennifer Pham (32) - model.

Esther Luu (Hari Won) (32) Vietnamese, Korean - singer and actress.

Maria Tran (32) - actress, martial artist, producer and director.

Natalie Tran (31) - youtuber and actress.

Thug Tiên (31) - singer.

Thanh Trúc (31) - actress and singer

Tăng Thanh Hà (30) - actress and model.

Minh Hằng (30) - singer and actress.

Michelle Phan (30) - YouTuber.

Nguyễn Thùy Lâm (30) - singer and actress,

Elly Tran (30) - model.

Phuong Vy (30) - singer.

Mai Phương Thúy (29) - actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder.

Hoàng Thùy Linh (29) - actress and singer.

Cathy Nguyen (29) - YouTuber.

Minh Thùy Idol (29) - singer

Uyên Linh (29) - singer.

Bảo Thy (29) - singer and actress

Karrueche Tran (29) Vietnamese / African-American - actress and model.

Tam Tit (28) - model.

Truong Quynh Anh (28) - actress.

Vũ Hoàng My (28) - beauty queen, an athlete, a humanitarian activist and a filmmaker.

Tóc Tiên (28) - singer.

Dông Nhi (28) - singer.

Gina Darling (28) Vietnamese / Russian - youtuber

Thanh Thảo (28) - singer and actress

Diem My (27) - actress.

Vân Trang (27) - actress.

Vũ Ngọc Hoàng Oanh (27) - model

Dang Thi My Dung (Midu) (27) - actress.

Tuyêt Lan (27) - model.

Dianne Doan (27) - actress and dancer.

Hang Lam Trang Anh (SUBOI) (27) - rapper.

Dang Thu Thao (26) - beauty pageant titleholder.

Sierra Deaton (26) British / Vietnamese - singer.

Trang Khiêu (26) - model.

Pham Huong (26) - model and beauty pageant titleholder.

Phongchi (26) - idol.

Nhât Thùy (26) - singer.

Ani Hoang (26) - singer

Amy Pham (26) - youtuber

Miu Lê (26) - singer

Hoàng Thùy (25) - model.

Khổng Tú Quỳnh (25) - singer.

Maily Taipau (MLee) (25) Vietnamese, French - singer.

Trân Ngoc Lan Khuê (25) - model and beauty queen.

Linda Dong (LeendaDProductions) (24) - YouTuber.

Hoàng Quyên (24) - singer.

Nguyēn Thùy Chi (Chi Pu) (24) - actress.

Bùi Diêu Linh (Ivone) (24) - idol (Lime).

Phan Kim Cuong (Liz) (23) - idol (Lime).

Nguyēn Minh Tú (23) - model.

Sơn Tùng M-TP (23) - singer.

Lê Vō Huynh Nga (Yori) (22) - idol (Lip B).

Nguyēn Trân Thào Quyên (Mei) (22) - idol (Lip B).

Thúy Vy (May) (22) - idol (Lime).

Angela Phuong Trinh (22) - actress.

Mai Ngô (22) - model.

Nguyên Thi Thu Thùy (Anna) (21) - idol (Lip B).

Nhat Khanh (Emma) (21) - idol (Lime).

Celine Duong (21) Vietnamese, French - model.

Lana Condor (20) - actress.

Quynh Anh Shyn (20) - YouTuber, model and actress.

Khả Ngân (20) - model and actress.

Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen (20) - beauty pageant titleholder.

Dô My Linh (20) - beauty pageant titleholder.

Lê Hoàng Bo Trn (19) - model.

Linh Dan Pham (born in 1974) Vietnamese-French - actress.

Anna-Solenne Hatte (born in 1989) Vietnamese, French - actress.

Trà Giang (born in 1941) - actress

Fung La (born in 1993) - model.

Ái Vân (born in 1954) - singer

Navia Nguyen (born in 1973) - model and actress.

Trương Tri Trúc Diễm (1987) - model and actress.

Nai Bonet (born in 1945) - belly-dancer, singer and film actress.

Phan Thu Ngân (born in 1980) - 7th Miss Vietnam

Diễm Liên (born in 1971) - singer and actress

Alex Tran (born in 1987) - model

Doan Hoang (born in 1972) - director, producer, editor, and screenwriter.

Anh Thu (born in 1989) - model

Quynh Nguyen (born in 1976) - pianist

Nhu Thao (born in 1987) - model

Hong Chau (?) - actress.

Pham Thi Huong Tram (Huong Tram) (?) - singer

Kelly Marie Tran (?) - actress

Minh Nhu (?) - singer.

Sĩ Thanh (?) - actress, model, and singer.

Giang Le-Huy (?) - actress

Thu Tran (?) - actress

Siu Ta (?) - actress and film producer.

Elizabeth Thuy Tien (?) - model

Xanthe Huynh (?) - voice actress

Dạ Nhật Yến (?) - singer and dancer.

Trans Males <3

Kendy Nguyen (?) - bodybuilder.

Males:

Trần Hiếu (81) - singer

Elvis Phương (72) - singer

Lữ Anh Tuấn (69) - singer

Tom Vu (69) - poker player, real estate investor and speaker.

Nguyên Lê (58) - musician.

Dustin Nguyen (55) - actor, director, writer, and martial artist

Don Hồ (55) - singer

Tran Anh Hung (54) - film director

Niels Lan Doky (53) Vietnamese / Danish - pianist.

Phong Bui (53) - artist, writer and independent curator.

Trúc Hô (53) - musician.

Cuong Vu (48) - jazz trumpeter

Charlie Nguyen (48) - film producer, director, screenwriter and martial arts action director.

Lance Krall (46) - comedian and actor,

Lâm Nhât Tiên (46) - singer.

Ngoc Son (46) - singer.

James Duval (45) French, Irish, Unspecified Native American / French-Vietnamese - actor and musician.

Cung Le (45) - actor, retired mixed martial artist and Sanshou kickboxer.

Bàng Kiêu (44) - singer.

Kym Purling (44) - pianist, composer and conductor

Quan Yeomans (44) Australian / Vietnamese Australian - musician

Danny Graves (44) - Major League Baseball pitcher.

Jay Manalo (44) Vietnamese, Filipino - actor and model.

Jason Ninh Cao (43) - actor.

Johnny Trí Nguyễn (43) - actor, stuntman and martial arts choreographer.

Bui Tuan Dung (42) - director

Dat Phan (42) - stand-up comedian.

Jim Parque (42) - former Major League Baseball pitcher.

Lam Truòng (42) - singer.

Victor Vu (41) - film director and screenwriter

Dat Nguyen (41) - boxer

Trọng Tấn (41) - singer

Dan Truong (40) - singer and actor.

Hung Huynh (39) - chef

Nguyễn Tuấn Hưng (39) - singer

Quang Lê (38) - musician.

Duong Ngoc Thái (38) - singer.

Hua Vi Van (37) - actor and model.

Todd Haberkorn (35) - actor, voice actor, and ADR voice director.

Binh Minh (35) - model.

Quang Vinh (35) - singer.

Hà Luong Ngoc (Hà Okio) (35) - musician and actor.

Hoàng Hài (35) - singer.

Nam Phan (34) - mixed martial artist and professional boxer.

Truong Giang (34) - actor.

Tùng Dương (34) - singer

Nguyễn Đăng Khôi (34) singer

David Huynh (34) - actor

Don Le (34) - filmmaker

Cao Thái Son (32) - singer.

Minh Vuong M4U (32) - singer.

Trần Nguyên Cát Vũ (TIM) (32) - singer

Steve Nguyen (31) - director.

Nhan Phuc Vinh (31) - model.

Hồ Quang Hiếu (31) - singer

Marcel Nguyen (30) Vietnamese / German - gymnast.

Thanh Duy (30) - actor.

Ya Suy (30) - singer.

Trân Thành (30) - comedian.

Tony Tran (30) - dancer.

Khac Viêt (30) - singer.

Trần Đại Nhân (30) - singer

François Trinh-Duc (30) Vietnamese, Italian, French - rugby player.

Jeff Nguyen (Phi Nguyen) (29) - dancer.

Ben Nguyen (29) - mixed martial artist

Pham Luu Tuan Tai ( Isaac) (29) - singer

Only C (29) - singer.

Ngo Kien Huy (29) - pop singer

Chí Thiên (29) - singer.

Phạm Tuấn Anh (Mr. A.) (29) - rapper

Tommy Pham (29) African-American, Vietnamese - professional baseball outfielder

Luu Quang Minh (29) - singer and writer.

Nguyen Phuong Thinh (Noo Phuong Thinh) (29) - pop singer

Isaac Pham (29) - actor.

Phạm Lưu Tuấn Tài (29) - actor, singer and idol.

Quôc Thiên (29) - singer.

Noo Phước Thịnh (28) - singer.

Jun Pham (28) - singer.

Ngô Trong Thành (28) - idol (365daband).

Matt Vinh Nguyen (28) - dancer

Nguyen Hoang Son (Soobin Hoang Son) (27) - pop singer

Nguyên Anh Tuân (27) - idol (365daband).

Willy Cartier (26) French / Vietnamese, Senegalese - model.

Nguyên Cao Son Thach (26) - idol (365daband).

Truong Nam Thành (26) - model.

Can Nguyen (26) - dancer

Simonas Pham (26) Vietnamese / Lithuanian - model

Nalaye Junior (26) Vietnamese, Dutch, Somali - model

John Luc (Mychonny) (26) - Vietnamese / Chinese - YouTuber.

Bùi Anh Tuấn (26) - singer

Le Huynh Anh (25) - actor.

Trong Hiêu (25) Vietnamese, German - singer.

Vu Duc Thanh (TOKI UNI5) (25) - pop singer

Mac Hong Quan (25) - athlete

Son Hee (born in 1993) - model.

Nguyen Thanh Tung (Song Tung M-TP) (23) - pop singer

Lou Hoàng (23) - singer

Trần Anh Khoa ( Kay Trần ) (23) - rapper

Hoài Lâm (22) - singer and actor.

Lê Trung Thành (ERIK ) (20) - singer

Nguyēn Trân Hung Long (born in 1993) - musician.

Chris Khoa Nguyen (born in 1994) - model.

Truong Tran (born in 1969) - poet, visual artist, and teacher.

Roni Tran Binh Trong (born in 1987) - singer

Cardin Nguyen (born in 1972) - singer

P. Q. Phan (born in 1962) - composer

Chế Linh (born in 1942) Cham - singer

Long Nguyen (born in 1958) - actor.

Xuan Hinh (born in 1960) - musician.

Tôn-Thất Tiết (1933) - music composer

DJ Creeasian (?) Vietnamese / Cree - musician.

Billinjer C. Tran (?) - actor, writer and director

Andrew Phung (?) - actor, improviser, and comedian.

Thế Sơn (1965) - singer

Trịnh Đình Quang (?) - singer

Charles V Nguyen (?) - dancer

Tommy Ngô (?) - singer

Jack (?) - idol (TAS).

Win (?) - idol (TAS).

Fye (?) - idol (TAS).

T.O. (?) - idol (TAS).

Orion (?) - idol (TAS).

ICK: Tyga Tila Tequila Đàm Vĩnh Hưng

#rph #fc list #underused fc #poc fc #Vietnamese fc #task: 60 #task: Vietnam

28 notes · View notes

laurendzim · 7 years

Text

Book review: Vietnam War through lives of those profoundly shaped by it

Knopf

“The Vietnam War: An Intimate History” by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns

By Mark Atwood Lawrence, Special To The Washington Post

Few histories of the Vietnam War shy away from contentious questions or bold conclusions. Was the United States right to wage war in Southeast Asia? Why did Washington fail to achieve its objectives? What are the key lessons of the American defeat? Authors have clashed for years over the answers, making the war one of the most hotly disputed topics in all of American history.

Geoffrey C. Ward takes a different tack in his “intimate history,” the exceptionally engaging, if not wholly satisfying, companion book to “The Vietnam War,” the 18-hour documentary by famed filmmaker Ken Burns, which premiered Sunday on PBS. Rejecting clear-cut judgments, Ward aims instead to capture the war’s ambiguities by telling the story through the varied experiences and emotions of ordinary men and women whose lives were profoundly shaped by it.

“This was a war of many perspectives, a Rashomon of equally plausible ‘stories,'” Burns and his co-director for the television series, Lynn Novick, write in the book’s introduction. Both the documentary and the companion volume, they assert, give voice to “seemingly irreconcilable outlooks” reflected in “as many different perspectives as our narrative could accommodate.”

This approach will be familiar to anyone who has watched Burns’ award-winning documentaries or read the accompanying books over the past 30 years or so. On topics ranging from the Civil War to baseball to the Roosevelt family, Burns and his team have offered a broadly affirming vision of American history that provokes less by stirring debate than by tugging at viewers’ heartstrings with emotionally charged portraits of individuals at the center of their stories.

It’s unquestionably an appealing formula, and Ward’s companion book, a visually stunning tome weighing in at more than 600 pages, overflows with moving profiles of not just soldiers, sailors and airmen, but also doctors, nurses, prisoners, journalists, activists, mere bystanders and more. For example, Ward, who also wrote the script for the television series, unfolds the life story of Denton “Mogie” Crocker of Saratoga Springs, N.Y. After growing up on stories of heroic fighting men, Crocker defied his adoring parents by enlisting in the Army in 1964, only to be cut down by machine gun fire two years later, just short of his 19th birthday, while trying to capture a hill in South Vietnam’s Central Highlands.

On the communist side, Ward tells the story of Nguyen Thanh Tung, a southern-born revolutionary who survives the war despite shrapnel wounds to her leg and unspeakable losses along the way. Four of her brothers died fighting the French and another four battling the Americans. She also outlives her two sons, both born in dank underground tunnels where communist forces took refuge from the fighting above.

These portraits are accompanied by a spectacular array of photographs likely to be the book’s most striking feature for many casual readers. Predictably, the volume includes many old classics, including widely published photos of a South Vietnamese police chief executing a communist suspect and an American chopper lifting off a rooftop during the final collapse of Saigon in 1975. But it also features hundreds of evocative images — many of them focused tightly on the facial expressions of everyday Americans and Vietnamese – likely to be unfamiliar even to experts on the history of the war.

The overall effect of the vignettes and photos is to show how people far removed from the corridors of power were swept up in events beyond their control, often with tragic consequences. The stories suggest parallels in the ways Americans and Vietnamese were victimized by questionable, even immoral, decisions by political and military leaders on all sides.

Ward is less successful when examining those leaders, who get little of the nuanced, sympathetic attention reserved for the book’s cast of lesser-known characters. Perhaps partly as a result of Burns’ and Novick’s decision not to interview former government officials for the project, high-level policymakers often seem comparatively one-dimensional.

To be sure, Ward provides a sprawling, almost encyclopedic account of decision-making by politicians, diplomats and generals, the relatively familiar stuff of many conventional histories of the war. Over 10 densely packed chapters, the book reaches back to the French colonial conquest of Vietnam and the early development of Vietnamese nationalism before delving into the peak years of U.S. embroilment, from the early 1960s to the final communist victory in 1975. Every battle, diplomatic conference, treaty and turning gets its due.

In places, this narrative is superb. Ward draws skillfully, for example, on recent studies by historians who have conducted pathbreaking research into the Vietnamese side of the war. He convincingly lays out North Vietnamese calculations during the pivotal years of escalation, showing how the hawkish communist leader Le Duan displaced moderates, including the revolutionary icon Ho Chi Minh, usually assumed to have been the mastermind of the communist war effort all the way until his death in 1969.

September 21, 2017 Regional books: “Navajo Textiles,” “Spoken Through Clay”

September 21, 2017 Why Longmire doesn’t — and wouldn’t — carry a cellphone

September 21, 2017 Book review: Celeste Ng grapples with both sides of the debate over interracial adoptions

September 21, 2017 Book Review: Author pays tribute to Mother Nature and a 14-year-old survivor

September 21, 2017 Book Review: Jesmyn Ward’s “Sing, Unburied, Sing” is a haunting journey

Still, Ward’s account of decision-making offers little that is entirely new and fails to probe many of the fascinating controversies driving inquiry into the war these days, a missed opportunity to add something of value beyond the television program. On two questions – Would John F. Kennedy have avoided war if he had survived for a second presidential term? Was South Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem a legitimate nationalist with a reasonable claim to leadership? – the book includes fascinating short essays by leading scholars. But those features unaccountably disappear after Chapter 2, despite the numerous other issues worthy of such in-depth treatment.

Ward also disappoints by ending his story with the final collapse of South Vietnam in 1975. The book thus fails to consider how Americans have struggled to understand the war and draw lessons for the conduct of foreign and military policy over the past four decades, a history arguably just as important to the nation’s politics and psyche as the conflict itself.

The companion book, like the television series, is a significant milestone in that history and will no doubt do much to determine how the war is understood for years to come. This is mostly a welcome prospect, for both book and series are inspired by humane desires to overcome painful division and draw attention to the human costs of war. For many of the debates that continue to make the war such a lively topic, however, readers will have to go elsewhere.

Mark Atwood Lawrence, the author of “The Vietnam War: A Concise International History,” teaches history at the University of Texas at Austin.

from News And Updates http://www.denverpost.com/2017/09/21/book-review-vietnam-war-through-lives-of-those-profoundly-shaped-by-it/

0 notes

jackdoakstx · 7 years

Text

Book review: Vietnam War through lives of those profoundly shaped by it

Knopf

“The Vietnam War: An Intimate History” by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns

By Mark Atwood Lawrence, Special To The Washington Post

September 21, 2017 Regional books: “Navajo Textiles,” “Spoken Through Clay”

September 21, 2017 Why Longmire doesn’t — and wouldn’t — carry a cellphone

September 21, 2017 Book review: Celeste Ng grapples with both sides of the debate over interracial adoptions

September 21, 2017 Book Review: Author pays tribute to Mother Nature and a 14-year-old survivor

September 21, 2017 Book Review: Jesmyn Ward’s “Sing, Unburied, Sing” is a haunting journey

Mark Atwood Lawrence, the author of “The Vietnam War: A Concise International History,” teaches history at the University of Texas at Austin.

from News And Updates http://www.denverpost.com/2017/09/21/book-review-vietnam-war-through-lives-of-those-profoundly-shaped-by-it/

0 notes

jimblanceusa · 7 years

Text

Book review: Vietnam War through lives of those profoundly shaped by it

Knopf

“The Vietnam War: An Intimate History” by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns

By Mark Atwood Lawrence, Special To The Washington Post

September 21, 2017 Regional books: “Navajo Textiles,” “Spoken Through Clay”

September 21, 2017 Why Longmire doesn’t — and wouldn’t — carry a cellphone

September 21, 2017 Book review: Celeste Ng grapples with both sides of the debate over interracial adoptions

September 21, 2017 Book Review: Author pays tribute to Mother Nature and a 14-year-old survivor

September 21, 2017 Book Review: Jesmyn Ward’s “Sing, Unburied, Sing” is a haunting journey

Mark Atwood Lawrence, the author of “The Vietnam War: A Concise International History,” teaches history at the University of Texas at Austin.

from Latest Information http://www.denverpost.com/2017/09/21/book-review-vietnam-war-through-lives-of-those-profoundly-shaped-by-it/

0 notes

ericpoptone · 5 years

Text

Thiên Hương — better known as “Tiny Yong” is a French singer associated with the yé-yé scene of the 1950s and ’60s.

She was born Tôn Nữ Thị Thiên Hương on 8 February 1944 in Phnom Penh — the capital of Cambodia since 1865 but then part of French-Indochina. Her father was a doctor and her mother a homemaker; both traced their heritage to Vietnam‘s Dương Dynasty. The family relocated to Saigon and Thiên Hương was schooled at Le Couvent des Oiseaux de Dalat, where she learned English, Spanish, and French. In 1958, the family again relocated, this time to a home on La rue Coustou in Paris‘s 18th arrondissement. There her father continued to practice medicine and her mother opened a Vietnamese restaurant.

In 1960, Thiên Hương performed in Albert Camus‘s Les Justes and Jean Cocteau‘s L’Épouse injustement soupçonnée, staged at La Théâtre de la Tomate. She next appeared in François Campaux‘s Chérie Noire. Meanwhile, her brother helped her secure a job performing Vietnamese and French “chanson à texte” at a cabaret in the 1st arrondissement called La Table du Mandarin. In December, she made her television debut on Aimée Mortimer‘s show A L’École des vedettes. The following February, she returned to the airwaves to mime “Rêve Opératoire.” In March she released her debut recording, the 7″ EP “Le Monde de Suzie Wong,” accompanied by Jacques Loussier et son orchestre, on Caravelle.

Cambodian actress and singer Tiny Yong in Rome, Italy, to star in the film ‘Parias de la gloire’ (‘Pariahs of Glory’), 1964. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

In April, Thiên Hương performed “Si tu cherches ta jeunesse” on the music television series, Discorama, a song intended for an EP which ultimately wasn’t released. She also continued performing at La Table du Mandarin, where she was noticed by filmmaker Robert Hossein, who cast her as “L’eurasienne” in Jeu de la vérité (1961).

youtube

Her second audio release was “La Prison de Bambou,” a duet with Jean-Philippe, backed by Jack Ledru et son ensemble, and released by the tiny label, Lotus in 1962. It was recorded for the 1962 Piero Pierotti film, L’avventura di un italiano in Cina, in which she also appeared as “Tai-Au.” It was released in the US, dubbed in English, as Marco Polo — and with a Les Baxter score.

In November, she returned to Discorama where she performed “L’Oiseau de paradis” — the theme to Marcel Camus‘s film of the same name. For the performance she was accompanied by Elek Bacsik (a cousin of Django Reinhardt) and Henri Salvador (a Guyanese comedian, singer, and producer who co-owned his own label Disques Salvador with his wife, Jacqueline).

In December, Thiên Hương appeared on another television program, La Tournée des Grands Ducs, this time joined by her sister Bạch Yến, with whom she duetted on “Les Fées du crépuscule.”

youtube

Shortly after, Thiên Hương signed a deal with Disques Salvador, where Henri and Jacqueline came up with a new nom de scène, “Tiny Yong.” The couple hoped to fashion her into a rock ‘n’ roller along the lines of Jacky Moulière. Henri Salvador also owned a club, L’Alhambra, where Thiên Hương began singing songs popularized by American girl groups. Her first recording for Disques Salvador was “Tais-Toi Petite Folle” with Christian Chevallier. The A-side was a French language cover of Helen Miller and Howard Greenfield‘s, which had been a big hit for The Shirelles just weeks earlier. The B-side was a French cover of Roy Orbison‘s “In Dreams” titled “En rêve.”

Her next release was the 10″ album, Je Ne Veux Plus T’Aimer, the title track a cover of Goffin And King‘s “I Can’t Stay Mad at You” adapted into French by Hubert Ithier.

youtube

For the next few years, Tiny Yong was a regularly featured performer on television, radio, film, and in print ads for companies including Bic and Odilène; all the while releasing 7″ EPs on Disques Salvador and Rigolo (the Salvador’s other label). In March 1964, she performed “Les garçons m’aiment” on the program, Âge tendre et tête de bois, for which she was introduced by Albert Raisner as “la yéyé du pays du sourire” (even though it’s Thailand which is sometimes referred to as “the land of smiles.” In April she appeared as “La chinoise ” in the Henri Decoin film, Les Parias de la gloire. She next performed on Les Raisins verts and twice on La grande farandole.

youtube

In 1965, she performed on Entrez dans la ronde, Pirouettes Salvador, and Tête de bois et tendres années.

youtube

Yong’s final release on Rigolo was “Mon Futur Et Mon Passé” in 1965. A second appearance on Tête de bois et tendres années — on 27 April 1966 — proved to be her final television performance. Following a disagreement with the Salvadors, she parted ways with them.

Hương appeared as in Nicolas Gessner‘s 1967 film, La blonde de Pékin, in which still credited as “Tiny Yong” she played Yen Hay Sun.

Hương returned to Saigon, in 1968 — the year the Tet Offensive marked a major turn in the Vietnam War. There she resumed performing at cabarets before deciding to retire from public performance. In 1970, she returned to France where she appeared on an episode of Allô police titled “La pantoufle de jade.”

It was also in 1970 that she opened the first of several restaurants — first in Paris, then in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, followed by Pont de Jade in Pont-sur-Yonne, and finally in Montpellier, where she resides today. She married An Nguyên Ngoc and the two had a daughter.

Naturally, Thiên Hương/Tiny Yong’s vinyl catalog is out of print but her music has been thrice compiled by Magic Records on compact disc: La Collection Sixties Des EP’s Français, Tiny Yong – L’integrale 1961/1965, and the two-disc Tiny Yong – L’Intégrale Sixties. In 2017, a duet with Trần Văn Trạch of Nguyễn Văn Đông‘s “Chiều Mưa Biên Giới” was released 57 years after it was recorded.

Bon anniversaire!

DISCOGRAPHY

1961 – Le Monde de Suzie Wong (7″, EP), Caravelle

1961 – Le Monde de Suzie Wong / Pour t’aimer / Geisha / Fol amour (7″, EP), Caravelle

1962 – Parfum Céleste / La Prison De Bambou / Avril A Paris / Mon Galant Viendra (with Jean Philippe), (7″, EP), Lotus

1963 – Tais toi petite folle (7″, Single), Disques Salvador

1963 – Je ne veux plus t’aimer (10″, Album), Disques Salvador

1963 – Je ne veux plus t’aimer (7″, EP), Disques Salvador

1963 – Je ne veux plus t’aimer (I Can’t Stay Mad At You) / Le Carrosse blanc (7″, Single), Disques Salvador

1963 – En rêve (In Dreams) / Ma poupée (Charms) (7″, Single, Promo, Juk), Disques Salvador

1963 – Je ne veux plus t’aimer / Le Carrosse blanc / Tu es seule / Un seul garçon sur la Terre (7″, EP), Disques Salvador

1963 – Je ne veux plus t’aimer / Le Carrosse blanc / Ma poupée / En rêve / Tais-toi petite folle / Un seul garçon sur la Terre / Tu es seule / Syracuse (LP25), Disques Salvador

1964 – Tiny Yong avec Christian Chevallier et son Orchestre Mon chien et moi / Je t’attendrai / Les garçons m’aiment / Il reviendra (7″, EP), Belter, Disques Salvador

1964 – Histoire d’amour / Aime-moi / C’est fini nous deux / Tout ce qui fut l’amour (7″, EP), Rigolo, Belter

1964 – Tiny (I’m Too Young) / La Nuit est à nous / Le Sauvage (He Is No Good) / Adieu Bonne Chance (Shake Hands With A Loser) (7″, EP), Rigolo

1964 – Il reviendra (7″, Single), Disques Salvador

1964 – Je t’attendrai / Mon chien et moi (7″, Single), Disques Salvador

1964 – Un seul garçon sur la Terre (7″, EP), Belter

1964 – Je t’attendrai / Les garçons m’aiment / Il reviendra / Mon chien et moi (7″, EP), Disques Salvador

1965 – Huit jours par semaine / Le Tigre (7″, Single), Rigolo

1965 – Mon futur et mon passé (7″, EP), Rigolo

1965 – Huit jours par semaine / Tu es le roi des menteurs / Le Tigre / Je reviens pour toi (7″, EP), Rigolo

1966 – Mon futur et mon passé / Le Bonheur / Je t’aime t’aime tant / Il ne me reste plus rien (7″, EP), Rigolo

2017 (recorded in 1960) – Chiều Mưa Biên Giới (7″, single), Dĩa Hát Dư Âm

Eric Brightwell is an adventurer, writer, rambler, explorer, cartographer, and guerrilla gardener who is always seeking paid writing, speaking, traveling, and art opportunities. He is not interested in generating advertorials, cranking out clickbait, or laboring away in a listicle mill “for exposure.”

Brightwell has written for Angels Walk LA, Amoeblog, Boom: A Journal of California, diaCRITICS, Hidden Los Angeles, and KCET Departures. His art has been featured by the American Institute of Architects, the Architecture & Design Museum, the Craft & Folk Art Museum, Form Follows Function, Los Angeles County Store, the book Sidewalking, Skid Row Housing Trust, and 1650 Gallery. Brightwell has been featured as subject in The Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Magazine, LAist, CurbedLA, Eastsider LA, Boing Boing, Los Angeles, I’m Yours, and on Notebook on Cities and Culture. He has been a guest speaker on KCRW‘s Which Way, LA?, at Emerson College, and the University of Southern California. Art prints of Brightwell’s maps are available from 1650 Gallery.

Brightwell is currently writing a book about Los Angeles and you can follow him on Ameba, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram, Mubi, and Twitter.

Click here to offer financial support and thank you

Thiên Hương (aka “Tiny Yong”) Thiên Hương -- better known as "Tiny Yong" is a French singer associated with the…

#1960s pop #French Music #Thiên Hương #Tiny Yong #Vietnamese Singers #yé-yé

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marketingadvisorvietnam · 6 years

Text

Award-winning documentary about Vietnamese transgender lady to display in Vietnam

Marketing Advisor đã viết bài trên https://is.gd/LtskVN

Award-winning documentary about Vietnamese transgender lady to display in Vietnam

Discovering Phong tells the compelling story of Vietnamese lady born as a boy looking for herself via organic transformation.

The documentary is a collaboration betwen Tran Phuong Thao, a Vietnamese unbiased director and producer and Swann Dubus, a French cinematographer and movie director based mostly in Vietnam.

The movie is about Phong – a younger man born in Quang Ngai metropolis in central Vietnam, who goes to Hanoi and turns into a design artist on the Thang Lengthy Puppet Theater. Since a baby he has felt that he’s a girl trapped in a person’s physique, and it’s only within the capital metropolis that he discovers there are others like him. Phong is torn between secret needs to be who he actually is and guilt related to that id when it comes to his household and society at massive.

A few years later, his good friend from the U.S., Gerry advises him to go to Thailand for a intercourse reassignment surgical procedure. Whereas on this international nation, Phong is shocked to witness a very completely different dynamic within the transgender group.

Thailand transgenders are utterly content material with themselves and dwell in concord with the folks round them. But lots of them have their share of difficult points of their non-public lives, hidden away from the bare eye. Upon returning to Vietnam, Phong continues to face challenges from his household, society and his newly acquired physique.

The documentary poster. Picture courtesy of IMDb

Along with administrators’ on-the-scene filming, the documentary additionally has many scenes recorded by Phong himself. The non-public scenes embody monologues, on a regular basis actions of the character, and the way others behave round Phong and to his new organic id. The administrators stated that they wished to get scenes that can’t be captured by cameramen via conventional taking pictures.

Sharing their ideas with VnExpress, the 2 administrators stated: Transgender folks in Vietnam are victims of prejudices that render them marginalized. Some make it to success as singers and fashions, whereas the vast majority of them are newbie performers at public gala’s or promote their our bodies for intercourse. Social discrimination rips them off alternatives to work at different industries. Transgenders’ sexual identities are sometimes what society chooses to see them. Nevertheless, altering one’s intercourse is basically a query of gender id. Transgender folks care about who they’re once they stand in entrance their family members.

By portraying the psychological impacts of a transgender particular person all through the whole, prolonged technique of self-discovery, the filmmakers hope the viewers can get insights into the issues that face such folks and see a transgender particular person as a whole citizen moderately than deviants to be marginalized.

The documentary, accomplished in 2014, has gained a number of, together with the 2015 Grand Prix on the Jean Rouch Worldwide Movie Competition in Paris, and the 2016 Viet Movie Fest in Los Angeles (U.S.). The 92-minute movie additionally introduced residence the “Finest Image” award on the 2016 LGBT Worldwide Movie Competition in Greece.

HCMC residents will get to look at this internationally acclaimed documentary on October 2.

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back-and-totheleft · 3 years

Text

Romantic, freewheeling, containing fathoms

IT'S early in the piece but maybe the best way to explain the allure of Oliver Stone’s romantic, freewheeling autobiography is to tell you how one of my best friends took on the experience.

My mate, a self-confessed Stone nut, downloaded the audio version of Chasing the Light - as read by the author - and then proceeded to drive around Cork city with the Oscar-winning director and screenwriter for company. “Love how he paints a picture of post-war optimism in New York circa 1945-46,” he messaged me. “Take me there...” Throughout his storied but turbulent career, Stone has certainly taken us places - the steaming jungles of Vietnam, the (serial) killing fields of the American heartland, the fervid political theatre of El Salvador, the grassy knoll. Even if we didn’t always like the destination, more often than not it was worth the journey.

Reading Stone's words in Chasing the Light, it’s impossible not to hear that coffee and cognac voice. The words roll from the page, sentences topped off with little rejoinders, just about maintaining an elegant flow. Drugs are mentioned early and often, while the word “sexy” features half a dozen times in the opening chapters alone. As in his best movies, Stone displays a positively moreish lust for life, at one point referring to how the two parts of the filmmaking process, if working well, are "copulating".

The book tells the story of the first half of his life, up to the acclaim and gongs of Platoon, and it’s clear that his own sense of drama was underscored by his family background, which is part torrid European art flick, part US blockbuster. His mother, Jacqueline - French, unerringly singleminded - grew to womanhood during the Nazi occupation of Paris. She downplayed her striking appearance as the jackboots stomped the streets but quickly scaled the social ladder, becoming engaged to a pony club sort. Enter Louis Stone.

Considerably older than Jacqueline, Louis quickly zoned in after spotting her cycling on a Paris street. In no time Jacqueline has jilted her fiancée (who, remarkably, appears to have turned up as a guest at the wedding), Oliver is conceived and one ocean crossing later, William Oliver Stone is born.

This family contains fathoms, Stone's father straight-laced and Commie-hating on the surface, yet a serial adulterer (even threesomes are mentioned) and positively uxorious towards his own mother. "It was sex, not money, that derailed my father," he writes. Louis's infidelities nixed Jacqueline's American dream, and Oliver’s with it. Jacqueline ultimately cheats on Louis, not simply via a fling but a whole new relationship, and with a family friend to boot.

What’s even more interesting is Stone’s reflections on *how* it was dealt with. Already dispatched to a boarding school, he learns of the disintegration of his family down the phone line. It has the coldness of some of the best scenes from Mad Men, children of the era parceled off to the side even as momentous events in their home life detonate in front of them. As things veer ever more into daytime soap territory, Louis then tells his son he's "broke", echoing the impact of the Great Depression on his own father's business interests.

By now, Stone is unmoored. He has secured a place in Yale but blows it off for a year and heads to Saigon to teach English: "I grew a beard and got as far away from the person I'd been as I could." On his return he decides he is done with academia; he'll be a novelist in New York, much to the distaste of his father. "That's why I went back to Vietnam in the US Infantry - to take part in this war of my generation," he writes. "Let God decide."

And here we are at the pivotal moment in Stone's adult life. Plunged into the strange days of 1968 in the jungle, he recalls a scene in which his patrol group comes under attack, imagining itself surrounded. Time elides and a metre may as well be a mile, explosions going off everywhere and bullets flying amid paranoia and uncertainty that borders on the hallucinogenic. "Full daylight reveals charred bodies, dusty napalm, and gray trees."

Tellingly, Stone focuses on this arguably cinematic episode while other incidents in which he is actually wounded don't receive the same treatment. By the time he leaves Vietnam he has served in three different combat units and has been awarded a bronze star for heroism. So many of his peers were drafted, yet he had decided to go. You never get a direct sense that his subsequent career is in any way a type of atonement, yet it is never fully explained. "Why on earth did you go?" he is asked. "It was a question I couldn't answer glibly."

From this point on, Chasing the Light mainly becomes a love letter to the redemptive power of the cinema, pockmarked with acerbic commentary on Hollywood powerplays. Stone's firsthand experience of jungle combat gives him a sense of perspective that no amount of cocaine or downers can ever truly neutralise, and it also imbues him with a sense of derring-do. At NYU School of Arts, his lecturer is Martin Scorcese, an educational home run. Watching movies is a place a refuge, writing them a cathartic outlet. It leads to visceral filmmaking, beginning with his short film Last Year in Vietnam. That burgeoning sense of career before anything else brings an end to his first marriage - "'comfortable' was the killer word". The seeds are sown for the plot that would germinate into Platoon.

As he moves past the relative disappointment of his first feature, Seizure, the big break of writing Midnight Express, and then onto the speedbump of The Hand, his second movie, Chasing the Light becomes a little more knockabout, though no less enjoyable. Conan the Barbarian, for which he wrote the screenplay, became someone else's substandard vision, Scarface a not entirely pleasant experience as his writing efforts move to the frosty embrace of director Brian de Palma. Hollywood relationships rise and fall like scenes from Robert Altman's The Player. His second marriage, the birth of his son, the slow-motion passing of his father, and all the time Stone is chasing glory on the silver screen.

By his late thirties it feels like he's placing all his chips on Salvador, a brutal depiction of central American civil war based on the scattered recollections of journalist Richard Boyle and starring the combustible talents of James Woods and John Belushi. His own high-wire lifestyle is perhaps best encapsulated in his reference to Elpidia Carrillo, cast as Maria in Salvador: "Elia Kazan once argued against any restrictions for a director exploring personal limits with his actresses, and I wanted badly to get down with her," he writes with delightful candour. Yet ultimately "I convinced myself that repression, in this case, would make a better film." Note: in this case.

Salvador was a slow burner, not an immediate critical or commercial success, but then in the style of a rollover jackpot, it started climbing the charts just as Platoon is about to announce itself to the world. Despite some loopy goings-on, that shoot in the Philippines had never gone down the Apocolypse Now route of near-madness, the drama mainly confined to warring factions within the production team. Ultimately, Platoon was the movie mid-Eighties America wanted to see about Vietnam. The book finishes in triumph, Stone clutching Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture.

There are piercing insights and inconsistencies dotted throughout. Stone lusts after good reviews but rails against the influence wielded by certain writers, such as Pauline Kael. He makes frequent reference to his yearning for truth and factual accuracy, yet hardly raises a quibble with The Deerhunter, the brilliant but flawed movie by sometime ally Michael Cimino which - particularly in the infamous Russian Roulette scenes - delivers an entirely concocted depiction of North Vietnamese forces. But then again, Stone revels in what he says is the ability to "not to have a fixed identity, to be free as a dramatist, elusive, unknown."

We've come to know him more in the decades since - through the menacing Natural Born Killers, the riveting but wonky conspiracy of JFK, the all-star lost classic U-Turn, even the missed opportunity that was The Putin Interviews. As my friend, who is the real authority, correctly observes, Chasing the Light is also weighted with nostalgia for a time when political dramas and anti-war films were smashing the box office, something hard to imagine today.

The second volume, if and when it arrives, will surely make for good reading - or listening. Buckle up your seat belt and take a spin.

-Noel Baker, “Oliver Stone’s freewheeling autobiography tells the story of the first half of his life,” Irish Examiner, Jan 17 2021 [x]

#chasing the light #oliver stone #reviews #book reviews #books #irish examiner

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janetoconnerfl · 7 years

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Book review: Vietnam War through lives of those profoundly shaped by it

Knopf

“The Vietnam War: An Intimate History” by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns

By Mark Atwood Lawrence, Special To The Washington Post

September 21, 2017 Regional books: “Navajo Textiles,” “Spoken Through Clay”

September 21, 2017 Why Longmire doesn’t — and wouldn’t — carry a cellphone

September 21, 2017 Book review: Celeste Ng grapples with both sides of the debate over interracial adoptions

September 21, 2017 Book Review: Author pays tribute to Mother Nature and a 14-year-old survivor

September 21, 2017 Book Review: Jesmyn Ward’s “Sing, Unburied, Sing” is a haunting journey

Mark Atwood Lawrence, the author of “The Vietnam War: A Concise International History,” teaches history at the University of Texas at Austin.

from Latest Information http://www.denverpost.com/2017/09/21/book-review-vietnam-war-through-lives-of-those-profoundly-shaped-by-it/

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samanthasroberts · 7 years

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12 of Montreal’s best neighborhoods

Montreal (CNN)Montreal is home to more than 200 ethnic groups that have all stitched their own patches into the urban quilt, and the city is full of distinct neighborhoods — some created hundreds of years ago and others born of the 21st century.

Many of them are hosting special events this year as the city celebrates its 375th birthday. But in any year, the city’s diverse districts provide visitors with much to explore.

“It’s definitely a city of boroughs and neighborhoods,” said Danny Pavlopoulos, who guides Montreal foodie tours for Spade & Palacio. “There are so many. And they’re so close together. And they’re all so different.”

To prove his point, Pavlopoulos took me on a tasting tour that included Salvadoran pupusas and horchata in La Petite-Patrie, gourmet cheeses, mushrooms and gelato in Little Italy and hipster coffee and craft beer joints in Mile-Ex — three dramatically different areas within a 20-minute walk of one another.

Even lifelong locals are amazed by the surprising variety one encounters while moving from one area of Montreal to another. “It is a pleasure to be able to calculate, to subdue, to rub shoulders with the mystery that was taking place in the neighborhoods, villages and alleys of Montreal,” wrote Monique LaRue in her award-winning 2009 novel “L’Oeil de Marquise.” And that continues to hold true.

“Just the other day, I was exploring a neighborhood I thought I knew well, and in turning a corner I ran into a Buddhist temple smack dab in the middle of Little Italy!” said Tyler Wood of the Montreal History Center.

“Montreal is special in that it has managed to preserve a great number of inner-city neighborhoods from the ravages of urban renewal,” Wood added. “Not to say the city hasn’t seen its share of expropriations, demolitions and car-centric projects. However, you can still find parts of town very much on the human scale. The street grid, reliable public transit and a growing number of bike paths make them easy to explore.”

Cycling is how I discovered half a dozen other neighborhoods, on a tour with Michel Thriault of Ca Roule Montreal that took us from Old Montreal to the Gay Village, through Le Plateau-Mont-Royal and the historic Jewish quarter before circling back to the St. Lawrence River waterfront.

On foot, by bike or via public transportation, the city is ripe for exploration. Here are a dozen neighborhoods to get you started:

Old Montreal

Today, the city’s oldest district, founded as a fur trading post in 1605 by Samuel de Champlain, is a mlange of shops, bars and sidewalk cafes that attracts visitors and locals in equal measure.

It’s also become the hip place to crash on a Montreal sojourn, with hotels like Le Petit Htel and the new Hotel William Gray creatively adapting old buildings into cool places to stay.

Thirty years ago, this wasn’t the case. Many of the Vieux-Montral structures were vacant, and most of the residents had fled to other areas, draining the neighborhood of life. But since listed historical buildings cannot be torn down, in recent years people began renovating them into modern business, entertainment and residential spaces.

Among the neighborhood landmarks are the Notre-Dame Basilica, the Pointe–Callire museum of history and archeology and the Old Port (Vieux-Port) where bygone docks, warehouses and grain silos have morphed into venues for summer swimming, winter ice skating, food festivals and IMAX films.

Le Plateau-Mont-Royal

Life in the hip Plateau neighborhood revolves around the area’s bars and cafes and the leafy Parc la Fontaine, with its serpentine lakes and albino squirrels. The neighborhood flanks the north side of Mont Royal and McGill University.

Gentrification has transformed the Plateau into an artsy, upscale neighborhood where residents bike to work and school, “renaturalize” their alleyways with murals and gardens and restore the wrought iron stairs and colorful facades of their Victorian townhouses.

A sort of east coast version of Berkeley, the Plateau is also renowned for the militant attitude of its mayor and many residents, especially when it comes to motor vehicles. Copious bike lanes, expanded sidewalks and more park land have greatly reduced traffic in the neighborhood and created one of Canada’s most livable urban environments.

“Rents have doubled in recent years,” Thriault explained as we cruised down one of the Plateau’s many bike lanes. “But cafe life and the number of patisseries has increased. And you can get food from different regions of France. Finding an apartment in Le Plateau is much harder now, but your chance of finding a good croissant has greatly improved.”

Mile End/Mile-Ex

Montreal’s creative cauldron, Mile End is home to artists and writers, musicians and filmmakers, as well as galleries, bookstores and entertainment venues packed into an area that barely covers one square mile.

Anchoring the neighborhood, the neo-baroque Thtre Rialto is a wonderfully restored 1920s moving-picture palace that now presents a year-round slate of cabaret, comedy, burlesque, dance, music and drama.

As Mile End moves up the food chain, many of the younger, edgier artists have migrated to adjacent Mile-Ex, a former industrial zone now filled with ateliers and hipster hangouts.

The world of sci-fi owes a debt of gratitude to Mile End, for this is the neighborhood that shaped the young Captain Kirk — it’s the place where William Shatner was born and raised.

La Petite-Patrie

Rather than having one distinct personality, this trendy neighborhood just north of Le Plateau cultivates two totally different vibes.

Chic shopping is the main event along the Rue Saint-Hubert, home to more than 400 boutiques, many of them one-off shops with unusual or offbeat items.

But the neighborhood also has a Latin flair, a delicious array of Hispanic eateries like the Salvadoran Resto Los Planes (their pupusas are to die for) or the Peruvian El Jibaro.

Gay Village

Simply called “The Village” by locals, this compact neighborhood sprawls along Rue Sainte-Catherine between the Plateau and the St. Lawrence River.

Once down and out, the area has morphed into a lively dining, drinking and entertainment hub where more than 80 bars and restaurants serve the city’s large LGBT community and anyone else looking for an alternative night out.

“Gay Village is a great example of Montreal’s neighborhoods continuing to evolve,” Thriault said. “A couple of decades ago, this was the city’s roughest area, the only place there was street crime. People shooting up, prostitutes on the street corners, people getting mugged.”

The gay residents who started moving in transformed the area, he said.

The area is synonymous with the Boules Roses — a canopy of pink balls by landscape architect Claude Cormier that hovers above a one-kilometer stretch of the Sainte-Catherine pedestrian zone.

The Village also hosts an annual summer event called Aires Libres that brings new, original and often startling public art to the neighborhood.

Little Italy

Italians have been in Montreal for nearly as long as the French, thanks to a 16th-century regiment recruited from northern Italy and sent to reinforce the king’s army in New France.

By the 1950s, the area around Jean-Talon Market was predominantly Italian and soon gained the moniker of Little Italy.

While the community revolves around the red brick Church of the Madonna della Difesa (a national historic site), visitors flock to the vibrant market to sample all sorts of gourmet foods and drinks.

Italian eateries also abound. But Little Italy’s most unique culinary attraction is arguably Southern fried chicken at Dinette Triple Crown, which offers fully-stocked baskets for those who want to picnic across the street in Parc de la Petite-Italie.

Historic Jewish Quarter

Although it was never a ghetto in the eastern European sense of the term, the area along Boulevard St. Laurent between McGill University and Mile End has long had a strong Jewish flavor.

The Museum of Jewish Montreal preserves the area’s heritage as well as the memory of celebrated residents like author Mordecai Richler, who set “The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz” and other bestselling books in the neighborhood.

That heritage also endures in food — historic eateries like Schwartz’s Deli and top-notch bakeries like St. Viateur Bagel Shop where the real-life Richler (and the fictional Duddy Kravitz) dined.

Hochelaga-Maisonneuve

One of the few neighborhoods named for the First Nations people who once lived there, Hochelega was the name of an Iroquoian village that Jacques Cartier visited in the 1530s on his first trip up the St. Lawrence River.

Now it’s renowned as the home of Montreal’s Olympic Stadium and of Parc Maisonneuve with its botanical garden, insectarium and planetarium.

But perhaps its most beloved institution is the sprawling, chaotic and aromatic March Maisonneuve, a public market lodged inside a historic early 20th-century stone pavilion. Dozens of stalls dispense Quebec fruits, vegetables, meats and fish, as well as artisanal cheeses and breads.

Cte-des-Neiges

A microcosm of modern Montreal, Cte-des-Neiges harbors residents from more than a hundred different ethnic groups from just about every corner of the planet.

A brief stroll down the Chemin de la Cte-des-Neiges, the neighborhood’s main drag, reveals a wealth of ethnic eateries — Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Cambodian and Japanese, Middle Eastern, American, British, Italian, French and Haitian.

Hovering above the area is the massive St. Joseph’s Oratory, the largest church in Canada. Cte-des-Neiges is also a gateway to the warren of trails that meander through the thick woods and cemeteries on the north side of Mont Royal.

Little Burgundy

Located near the Lachine Canal on the south side of downtown, Little Burgundy is one of Canada’s most celebrated black neighborhoods, as well as the cradle of Canadian jazz.

Although gentrification has changed the demographics of the district in recent years, the population was originally comprised of a blend of Caribbean immigrants and black people drawn from other parts of Canada by railway jobs, including the descendants of former slaves who escaped from the United States into Canada via the Underground Railroad.

Rockhead’s Paradise jazz club is long gone. But other Little Burgundy landmarks are still going strong, like Atwater Market and Union United Church, the nation’s oldest black congregation.

Rue Notre-Dame, the main drag through Little Burgundy, has become a haven for trendy little cafes and antique shops.

The Islands/Cit du Havre

Some might dispute that islands in the St. Lawrence River and an adjacent finger-shaped peninsula are actually neighborhoods, since they aren’t typical business or residential areas. But people do live there, in the famed Habitat 67 housing complex designed by architect Moshe Safdie for the Expo 67 world’s fair.

This urban archipelago is made up of two main islands: le Sainte-Hlne, a natural island that French explorer Samuel de Champlain named after his wife, and le Notre-Dame, an artificial island created in the 1960s from all the dirt and rock excavated during the creation of the Montreal Metro.

Both were obscure and under-utilized until Expo 67, when 50 million visitors passed through the islands. Many of the futuristic fair buildings were later adapted for other uses: the former US Pavilion is now the Biosphere environmental museum, while the French and Quebecois pavilions became the Montreal Casino.

FYI: The average purchase price of a Habitat 67 “cube” unit is around C $600,000.

Quartier des Spectacles

As the name suggests, “spectacles” of one sort or another are the raison d’tre of this flashy district between the Old Town and McGill University.

Though the district was conceived in the early 2000s as part of a concerted effort to boost Montreal’s cultural life, it’s now a bona fide inner city neighborhood that draws locals and visitors alike.

The quarter revolves around the Place des Arts cultural complex, home to the Montreal Opera and Symphony Orchestra as well as the Grands Ballets Canadiens. It’s also home to the Montreal Jazz Festival and Just For Laughs comedy fest.

Among its many other cultural institutions are Montreal’s central library, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the National Theatre School of Canada, the historic Club Soda music club and the Cinmathque Qubcoise.

Source: http://allofbeer.com/2017/08/31/12-of-montreals-best-neighborhoods/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2017/08/31/12-of-montreals-best-neighborhoods/

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jimdsmith34 · 7 years

Text

12 of Montreal’s best neighborhoods

Many of them are hosting special events this year as the city celebrates its 375th birthday. But in any year, the city’s diverse districts provide visitors with much to explore.

On foot, by bike or via public transportation, the city is ripe for exploration. Here are a dozen neighborhoods to get you started:

Old Montreal

Today, the city’s oldest district, founded as a fur trading post in 1605 by Samuel de Champlain, is a mlange of shops, bars and sidewalk cafes that attracts visitors and locals in equal measure.

It’s also become the hip place to crash on a Montreal sojourn, with hotels like Le Petit Htel and the new Hotel William Gray creatively adapting old buildings into cool places to stay.

Le Plateau-Mont-Royal

Mile End/Mile-Ex

As Mile End moves up the food chain, many of the younger, edgier artists have migrated to adjacent Mile-Ex, a former industrial zone now filled with ateliers and hipster hangouts.

The world of sci-fi owes a debt of gratitude to Mile End, for this is the neighborhood that shaped the young Captain Kirk — it’s the place where William Shatner was born and raised.

La Petite-Patrie

Rather than having one distinct personality, this trendy neighborhood just north of Le Plateau cultivates two totally different vibes.

Chic shopping is the main event along the Rue Saint-Hubert, home to more than 400 boutiques, many of them one-off shops with unusual or offbeat items.

But the neighborhood also has a Latin flair, a delicious array of Hispanic eateries like the Salvadoran Resto Los Planes (their pupusas are to die for) or the Peruvian El Jibaro.

Gay Village

Simply called “The Village” by locals, this compact neighborhood sprawls along Rue Sainte-Catherine between the Plateau and the St. Lawrence River.

The gay residents who started moving in transformed the area, he said.

The area is synonymous with the Boules Roses — a canopy of pink balls by landscape architect Claude Cormier that hovers above a one-kilometer stretch of the Sainte-Catherine pedestrian zone.

The Village also hosts an annual summer event called Aires Libres that brings new, original and often startling public art to the neighborhood.

Little Italy

Italians have been in Montreal for nearly as long as the French, thanks to a 16th-century regiment recruited from northern Italy and sent to reinforce the king’s army in New France.

By the 1950s, the area around Jean-Talon Market was predominantly Italian and soon gained the moniker of Little Italy.

While the community revolves around the red brick Church of the Madonna della Difesa (a national historic site), visitors flock to the vibrant market to sample all sorts of gourmet foods and drinks.

Historic Jewish Quarter

Although it was never a ghetto in the eastern European sense of the term, the area along Boulevard St. Laurent between McGill University and Mile End has long had a strong Jewish flavor.

That heritage also endures in food — historic eateries like Schwartz’s Deli and top-notch bakeries like St. Viateur Bagel Shop where the real-life Richler (and the fictional Duddy Kravitz) dined.

Hochelaga-Maisonneuve

Now it’s renowned as the home of Montreal’s Olympic Stadium and of Parc Maisonneuve with its botanical garden, insectarium and planetarium.

Cte-des-Neiges

A microcosm of modern Montreal, Cte-des-Neiges harbors residents from more than a hundred different ethnic groups from just about every corner of the planet.

Little Burgundy

Located near the Lachine Canal on the south side of downtown, Little Burgundy is one of Canada’s most celebrated black neighborhoods, as well as the cradle of Canadian jazz.

Rockhead’s Paradise jazz club is long gone. But other Little Burgundy landmarks are still going strong, like Atwater Market and Union United Church, the nation’s oldest black congregation.

Rue Notre-Dame, the main drag through Little Burgundy, has become a haven for trendy little cafes and antique shops.

The Islands/Cit du Havre

FYI: The average purchase price of a Habitat 67 “cube” unit is around C $600,000.

Quartier des Spectacles

As the name suggests, “spectacles” of one sort or another are the raison d’tre of this flashy district between the Old Town and McGill University.

source http://allofbeer.com/2017/08/31/12-of-montreals-best-neighborhoods/ from All of Beer http://allofbeer.blogspot.com/2017/08/12-of-montreals-best-neighborhoods.html

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