ICYMI: Turn Left Turn Right (2003)

In case you missed it, the 2003 romance film Turn Left Turn Right is based on the illustrated book A Chance of Sunshine by Taiwanese author Jimmy Liao (who makes a cameo appearance with his wife and daughter in the film) and stars Takeshi Kaneshiro and Gigi Leung.

Huod, this is another "recently" old film nga nadumduman ko tulad nga tag-ururan... Buhay ko run dya nalantaw kag indi ko malipatan how simple the plot is, how charmingly old fashion the romance, kag Takeshi's visuals, of course. Pay ang pinaka attraction kang film ka nakon is actually the love poem; ang "Love at First Sight" by famous Polish poet, essayist and translator Wisława Szymborska, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1996. I love the poem! It was also a love at first read for me.

Hambal ni Wiki, "The film has managed to include every single image in the book with a high level of accuracy, although some are fleeting", gani pasugti ako anay mag fangirl sa libro... Nanglaghap ako ka dya sa internet pay waay ako naka download.

The Picture Book

Jimmy Liao is a prolific Taiwanese illustrator and author who has expanded readership of picture books beyond children to general audiences. With sensitivity and creativity, he crafts each of his stories to become a journey through human feelings. Universal, timeless and stateless features define Liao's characters and scenes. His technique responds to an “automatic drawing/illustration,” where his recurring theme is emotional communication, rather than visual precision. Amo ran nga he is considered as Taiwan's most beloved and awarded illustrator. Matahum gid man mga obra na, the type nga pang desktop wallpaper hay bugnaw sa mata kag calming sa kalag... ukon naga pahidlaw kanimo sa mga scented stationery nga gina collect/trade/barter nyo kauna kang elementary pa kamo in the 1980s.

The original graphic novel was first published in 1999. Inspired by Liao's own story of how he met his wife, in Turn Left, Turn Right, he focuses on how happy coincidences could make two parallel lines cross one day. The characters were not given names, they were only referred to as "him" and "her". Ang Chinese title of the book translates to "Turn Left, Turn Right", kag ang A Chance of Sunshine is the original English title of the book. Sa mga urihi nga editions te gingamit dun ang "Turn Left, Turn Right" sa title. The book consists of a series of detailed illustrated images, with a small amount of text in poetry style.

Here is a trailer of the book:

In the film, John (Takeshi Kaneshiro), is an aspiring violinist who supports himself by playing in random restaurants until some major European orchestra will discover him. Mahuyugon man tana mag panghangaw-hangaw sa park kag magtukar biskan mga pispis lang ang nagapamati. Si Eve (Gigi Leung) tana translates German horror stories into Chinese until she will be allowed to tackle her beloved poet Wiszlawa Szimborska. By "chance", nagkitaay sanda sa park and discover that they had actually met 12 years earlier as high school students. (surprise surprise gid dya daad kun bukon ikaw paralantaw ka kdrama) Ugaring, bag-o pa magpakilal-anay kag mag exchange ka contact information kanday John and Eve, they were separated by a summer storm. (which will be another surprise kun bukon ikaw dramaland dweller) Dason bilog nga movie nagpangitaay lang sanda nga duha. Lintoks! Serendipity liwat?! Daw kusipadun mo man sanda kag magpudagpudag sa ridiculous circumstances, mahangpan mo sa urihi nga may nagakaigu nga timing ang tanan. Truthful lang gid ang plot kag characters sa anda theme, that is given to us in beautiful verse. Matyagan ko gani everything is poetry in motion.. picture.

The Poem

The story book as well as the film, opens with the first lines of the poem... Ang gingamit sa movie is the English translation of Walter Whipple. Ka pira da man gawa ginsulit ang binalaybay nga dya sa bilog nga film pay waay takun natak-an.

Ang story ka poem revolves around a young couple of innocent lovers who miss each other in an amazing series of coincidences despite the fact that their path keep intersecting constantly. Angay lang nga ginhampangan sanda ka that thing called tadhana... Ginpa amag sanda anay, dason ginpabulag man lang. Te ano sayuron dya? Indi mo pag ipirit kun bukon pa it tyempo, masakitan ka lang.

Love at First Sight

Wislawa Szymborska

Both are convinced

that a sudden surge of emotion bound them together.

Beautiful is such a certainty,

but uncertainty is more beautiful.

Because they didn't know each other earlier, they suppose that

nothing was happening between them.

What of the streets, stairways and corridors

where they could have passed each other long ago?

I'd like to ask them

whether they remember-- perhaps in a revolving door

ever being face to face?

an "excuse me" in a crowd

or a voice "wrong number" in the receiver.

But I know their answer:

no, they don't remember.

They'd be greatly astonished

to learn that for a long time

chance had been playing with them.

Not yet wholly ready

to transform into fate for them

it approached them, then backed off,

stood in their way

and, suppressing a giggle,

jumped to the side.

There were signs, signals:

but what of it if they were illegible.

Perhaps three years ago,

or last Tuesday

did a certain leaflet fly

from shoulder to shoulder?

There was something lost and picked up.

Who knows but what it was a ball

in the bushes of childhood.

There were doorknobs and bells

on which earlier

touch piled on touch.

Bags beside each other in the luggage room.

Perhaps they had the same dream on a certain night,

suddenly erased after waking.

Every beginning

is but a continuation,

and the book of events

is never more than half open.

-translated by Walter Whipple

Takeshi Kaneshiro (2003)

Te pasugot lang timo kun ano iduhol ni kapalaran?

references: http://www.mission.net/poland/warsaw/literature/poems/lovesigh.htm; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turn_Left,_Turn_Right; https://www.screendaily.com/turn-left-turn-right-xiang-zuo-zou-ziang-you-zou/4018260.article; https://saigoneer.com/saigon-music-art/18119-the-masterful-urban-symbolism-of-turn-left,-turn-right-author-jimmy-liao

pictures from: https://4.bp.blogspot.com/; https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81POESmHCLL.jpg;