best film

Every year there are various films that are nominated by the "Academy" and through votes they select which one is the best in different categories (best picture, best soundtrack, best actor, best actress, etc) in a ceremony called the "Oscars".

I am not an expert movie critic, and I know a few friends who can analyze movies in much deeper ways that I do. I do enjoy watching movies a lot.

Perhaps it's because as a child I started to watch movies with my parents (whether at home or at the theaters). But I do enjoy it and I am usually opened to watch various types/genre of movie (action, comedy, drama, suspense, psychological). Depending on the genre, there are different aspects of appreciation towards the film.

This year I made a point to try to watch as many movies as possible from the list of nominated films for the 2017 Oscars. First reason of this is mainly to spend time with friends who share this interest. Second reason is to learn to appreciate the films that the "Academy" selects. Third reason is purely for entertainment.

So I watched most of the nominations for best picture, and I am going to write a few sentence to describe my thoughts on those films:

• Arrival: I like Amy Adams, and she was the center of the film. The pacing and storytelling was pretty good to keep the audience in suspense.
• Fences: Denzel Washington and Viola Davis showcased their acting skills in a movie that looks more of a play. It's very conversation-driven, slightly difficult to follow.
• Hacksaw Ridge: a pretty inspiring story of a man who stood firm on his beliefs. The start is a bit slow, but the final battle scenes are intense (probably comparable to Saving Private Ryan)
• Hidden Figures: complete package of a satisfying movie: great story with themes of good cause, a main character who we can cheer for, and a strong supporting cast, 
• La La Land: it's very pretty, it's attractive and nice, flashy but lacking a bit in substance. The ending was very well done.
• Manchester by the Sea: sad, dramatic, but real and acted masterfully.
• Moonlight: it's an unique film with an unique theme and unique storytelling. It was very well done as a film, but it is difficult to be entertained by the story.

I personally think "Manchester by the Sea" is the best film of this list, but my favorite is "Hidden Figures".

After watching "Hidden Figures" I was very happy. The story has many good themes to fight for, including civil rights, equal treatment, and merit-based reward system. There are many elements from the story I could relate to, including overcoming obstacles, being part of a minority ethnic group, feeling of being an underdog, overworking and underappreciated (lol), and of course the appreciation of mathematics! The movie is so nerdy, and I can't help but to laugh and reminisce my days in undergrad

The movie is centered on conflict between a system (NASA workplace policy) and the people who are fighting against this system (African-American who are treated as inferior in this workplace). And I think some of us can relate to that, as we are Christians, and we hold fast to a set of principles that are in constant conflict with the system (the world) that surrounds us, whether it is the school environment, the workplace, or family.

I appreciate the ways that the African-American "fought" the system, as it did not incite any violent rebellion in midst of the unfair treatment, but they still submitted to the system and committed to hard work with the hope that their good results will change the situation for the better. In some instances, the characters were smart to find creative ways to "gain favor" from the system without incurring to any violent activity.

I find myself sometimes fighting a system in my workplace, and sometimes I kind of want to just leave or flip the table. But that is not necessary the right way to express my disagreement with the system. We are called to submit to our authorities and to submit to our bosses. And looking at examples of Joseph or Daniel in the bible, it is encouraging because they were put into very difficult systems that were contrary to their beliefs, but they persevered, they worked hard, they found favor, and God blessed them.

That's one of the beauties of being a Christian, that my ultimate boss is God, and that if I work hard to honor Him, He will indeed take care of you.

game of miracles

In the Champions League football playoffs, two teams will play each other twice. A game is held at each team's home stadium, and the results of both games is aggregated to see which team goes through the next round. In case of a "tie", the team which scored more goals in the away game will go through.

One of the most dominant team, FC Barcelona (Barca) faced Paris Saint Germain (PSG) in the round of 16. Though PSG is not a weak team, they surprised many by beating Barca 4-0 in the game in Paris. That's a big score, and in the history of the Champions League, no teams have overcome that deficit. (This means that Barca needs to win 4-0 to force overtime, or 5-0 or 6-1 to win)

Sure, Barca had the greatest player today, Lionel Messi, and many other great players like Neymar, Suarez, and Iniesta, so the idea of scoring more than 4 goals is definitely do-able. But of course, PSG is not a small team, and they could also score, especially since Barca will have go to all offensive, leaving gaps in defense.

I am myself a big fan of Barca, and I was not a "believer" of the "remontada" (Spanish for "comeback"). I was sure Barca will win the second game, but will not be able to overturn the playoffs.

I was on a trip (in Italy) when this game happened, and I was sitting at a restaurant, and from afar I was able to catch a glimpse of the game from a TV screen from another restaurant.

The game started, and in the first few minutes, Barca scores via Suarez. This is a perfect start, scoring early on the game to gain momentum. More scoring opportunities came by, but for the next 30 minutes, no more goals were scored. Doubts started to appear on Barca fans, until the last 5 minutes for the first half, Iniesta manages to fabricated a goal (thanks to sloppy defending) to make it 2-0. This is a great way to end the first half. Barca is half way there!

At that point, I started to believe "remontada" was possible.

Second half started, and in the first 10-15 minutes, Neymar falls in the area, and it is penalty kick! And of course Messi scores it with conviction for a 3-0. Now that is totally possible! You could see the fear in the eyes of the PSG players.

But 5-7 minutes after, on a long pass and a defensive gap lets PSG scores the 3-1. This felt like pouring a bucket of cold water to all Barca fans. We were in silence and shock. Now Barca had ~25 minutes remaining to score 3 more goals to make the comeback, which is very difficult. As the time elapsed, Barca players were out of sync and could not generate scoring changes, and many doubts started to cloud the fans.

PSG actually had 2 more opportunities to score, but they missed their changes to keep the hopes alive.

Now we are at the last 3 minutes of the game (+ whatever the referee adds on stoppage time), and I already left the restaurant and have given up on the comeback. But it is to my surprise that I probably missed one of the greatest football moment in history. This is what happened:

• 87th minute, Neymar scores a beautiful free kick for a 4-1. This awakens hope, but there are only 3 minutes remaining (+ stoppage time) for 2 more goals.
• 92nd minute, Messi gives a nice pass to Suarez, and he manages to invent a penalty kick, and now this has become intense. Neymar takes it, and makes it 5-1. Now this is getting serious. 
• 94th minute, Barca has long free kick, Neymar pass was blocked, but he recovers it and makes a long pass that is connected by Sergi Roberto to put the 6-1. Unbelievable. The whole city goes crazy, the comeback is happening. Barca players celebrate like they have just won a trophy, and PSG players cannot believe what had just happened.

I was in complete shock, but extremely happy.

As an analytical person, I tend to think a lot and look at different possibilities. When I looked back on how I analyze the situation of Barca before the second game, of course the possibilities for them to win the playoffs were very slim. And I was totally skeptical that this would happen.

But the result was a good lesson for me, to have "more faith" on unusual and unexpected outcomes. This was a game of humans, and these humans managed to made this "miracle" of a comeback to occur.

Similarly, when it comes to spiritual matters, being too analytical can affect my faith by constraining in a box on what God can do in people's lives. For example, many years ago, my grandma had a stroke. She was not a Christian. As a matter of fact she would scold me for going to church, because she had a bad experience with a religious organization before, and always blamed them for asking for money and being fake. She was well advanced in years, and she also had a tough life, so physically she was not in good condition.

Many of us were did not think she would recover. Even when I was praying, I felt many doubts.

But against all expectations, she woke up, and slowly recover certain physical responses with her eye sight and head movement. That was very good news!  What happened was a miracle, but the greatest part of the miracle is what I gonna explain next. The pastor's wife from my home church started to visit her at the hospital everyday. And God led her with the Holy Spirit to proclaim the gospel to my grandma, with lots of patience, explaining all the details of the salvation plan of Jesus. And to my surprise, my grandma accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior.  I was shocked. I never though that would be possible (theologically, I know God can change people's hearts, but in my limited analytical mind, I was skeptical. I am not saying being analytical is bad, it is actually very important for bible study! But it's about not letting that mindset constrain my belief on how God can work).

It was very joyful news to see my grandma as part of God's family, a precious miracle and a valuable lesson for my faith. By grace, I was able to visit my grandma a few months after to see her one last time.