Alaa Qui

Hello Netizens, On Friday, I had the chance to watch 'Life Is Beautiful' (1997), an Italian film directed by  Roberto Benigni. It is a comedy-drama set in Italy and takes place before and after World War II.  It tells a story of an Italian Jewish man, Guido, falling in love with a school teacher. The film is inspired by the book ' In the End, I Beat Hitler ', and Begini's father's experience in a German labour camp.  The film has won multiple awards, Grand Prix, nine David di Donatello Awards, Best Film in Italy and three academy awards. Life Is Beautiful is a film that is meant to illustrate the beauty of life and plant hope in the hearts of the watchers. The main character is an over-optimistic individual with an extremely charming personality, and when faced with tragedies he laughs at the face of misery and smiles till the very end. The love interest is Dora, a conserved woman who then shows a little more of her perkiness. Their...

Hello Netizens, This week's figure is a German inventor and printer Johannes Gensfleisch Gutenberg. He was born on 1395 into a modest merchant family in Mainz, Germany. Johannes Gutenberg is known for inventing the mechanical movable type printing press. His family was exiled in 1428 due to the craftsmen of the town revolting against the noble class. They then settled at, where it is now known as, Strasbourg, France. And that is when he started experimenting with printing.   Johannes Gutenberg's early life wasn't documented, hence the lack of factual information about it. However, it is speculated that he learnt either goldsmith and/or blacksmith trade. Historians also believe he attended the University of Erfurt after moving to France.  For a while. Gutenberg worked on developing special mirrors that captured light that erupted from holy places, and they were usually sold to pilgrims. He was skilled with metal working, so he s...

Hello Netizens, This week I got the chance to watch my first Zhang Yimou film, and it is 'Not One Less' .  I thought about summarising the film in one word, but I seem to never settle on one in particular. Not One Less is a touching film, a visually beautiful film and a film that successfully portrayed the importance of education in rural and poor areas of China. Not One Less, a 1999 drama film , revolves around a 13 years old substitute teacher, Teacher Wei, as she teaches in Shuiquan Primary School. She is the heroin of the movie, but not like every movie, she is not special, Wei is ordinary... Very ordinary. Her only qualifications is that no one else wants the job, good handwriting and knows one song about chairman Mao. As I watched the film I eagerly waited for her to blossom into a life changing teacher, However, this is not this kind of film. Everything is very subtle, it is satisfying to watch the story unfold and not attempt to be over the top...

Dear netizens, For this week, I have got another admirable individual I want to introduce you to. You m ust have seen one of his films before or at least heard of them. This creator is Zhang Yimou.  Zhang Yimou was born in the 2nd of April 1950, he is a Chinese filmmaker that receive huge recognition from the west and challenged the censorship rules of China. He is counted to be from the fifth generation of filmmakers in china.  His films are recognised for having strong colour palettes, and his vibrant colours distinguish him from other creators. Zhang Yimou dabbles in themes as the resilience  of Chinese people in the face of hardships,  which can be seen in his film 'Not One Less' . Several of Zhang Yimou's films were banned in his homeland, which led for outside viewers - mainly from the west -  to recognise his work. He begun his journey as a cinematographer in 1984, after graduating on 1982 from the Beijing Film Academy, wit...