Week 12...

Well, time passes without us noticing it, and now it's Week 12 already. I'm in my 2nd phase doing my research paper. I feel pressured by the feeling that I might unable to finish my research paper because I feel like I don't have enough sources to complete my research. The main problem is that whether the format that I'm using for my paper, whether it is appropriate or not. Whether it meets with Pn. Juridah's needs.

It has been a long week last week because we got Test 2 for Cik Pah's paper and we've to submit the Task 1 for Dr. Noreen on Wednesday, this week. It has been a chaotic week. Everything seems to be out of control. Maybe I'm too slow in doing my tasks. I need to be more agressive, I guess. But don't worry, by the time's coming, I will submit my research paper, no matter what.

Zhang Yimou's Fantastic Film: 'The Road Home'...

Yesterday was the second day we watched the Mandarin movie entitled 'The Road Home' starring by Zhang Ziyi, the famous female actress, and was directed by Zhang Yimou. What happened was last week, we were unable to watch the movie completely due to some incompatibility between the DVD and the player in Carine's notebook. It kept hanged and they have to repeatedly played the movie. Alas, we decided to stop and viewed for another time.

The most unique about the screenplay was, there were flashback and present scenes. It was portrayed by the director that the past scenes contains coloured ones and on present, it was black and white. The village was named Sanhetun, situated very far away from the nearest city in China. The scene took about the year 1950's and adapting the novel written by Bao Shi "Remembrance."

The main actor named Yu Sheng, was a son of a great teacher, Lou Changyu who came to the village around 30 years ago to teach the children of the village. Zhao Di, the mother was only 18 years old at that time. It was the famous love at first sight that strikes both of them. They were being tested with lots of pain and obstacles before they could finally live together. But now, Yu Sheng's father was dead. The unexpected things happened when the mother decided to 'walk her husband' home from the mortuary house at the city. She was willing to pay to the men who will lift her husband's coffin. The son also promised to contribute the money and had seen the mayor about this matter. When the day comes, it was quite rough weather where it was winter and the storms could come in their way anytime, they could witnessed hundreds of people out of nowhere attend the ceremony to walk the teacher's body back to the village. They claimed that they were his former students. Yu Sheng was curious on how they knew about his death and that they wanted to bring him back to Sanhetun. On the way back, the mayor return the money back to his mother saying that every men who lifted the teacher's coffin would not accept her money and they were willing to do it freely. The movie ends when Yu Sheng reads his father self-made textbook to his children of the village, exactly the same spot that his late father did when he was alive. It is because he wanted to fulfill his father's wishes and also his mother's wish.

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To me, it was among the most 'touching films' that I've ever watched! How the director able to make us as the viewers to actually 'feel' the same way as the character Zhao Di experienced. What she felt when she first saw the teacher, Lou Changyu, when she wanted to attract his interest towards her, her long wait at the passing road for him, and her excitement when she runs to the school building to hear the teacher's voice which she claimed the best voice she ever heard. But the main point is how the society in the village looked up upon the teacher. It is vividly portrayed in the film that the teacher was being treated nicely an with full respect by the villagers right from the day he arrived, and since that day, he was strongly attached to the village. He sacrificed a lot for his students and had a remarkable influence over his students' life. Neither the wife nor him himself could ever realize that he had affected his students deeply. He was the person who was responsible to bring the great changes in the village and had met with the society's expectation towards him.

This movie had trigger the sense of inspiration to me as a teacher-trainee, that it is not impossible to become the teacher full with passion to teach,enthusiasm, greatness, and have this sense to make my future students a better person. It is just with great patience and determination will make my dreams as the great teacher to become true.

Another film that have the same quality is the 'Freedom Writers' starring by Hillary Swank.