Podcasts about south african canadian

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Best podcasts about south african canadian

Latest podcast episodes about south african canadian

HeartTalk
29: From Heartbreak to Hope with Dr. Alisha Rai

HeartTalk

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2024 55:22


Dr. Alisha Rai, is a South-African Canadian family physician who is deeply committed to advocacy for the disability community. This is fueled by her personal experience as a mother to a son with cerebral palsy. She co-founded a non-profit with her husband, Hope for Cerebral Palsy to fund quality private early interventional therapy for children with cerebral palsy. Additionally, she openly shares her experience with infertility and has the privilege of speaking at a TEDx event at the University of Mississippi. Her multifaceted background reflects a passion for healthcare, advocacy, and sharing impactful stories.

Everyone Comes From Somewhere
There is Still Joy in the Unexpected: Dr. Alisha Rai

Everyone Comes From Somewhere

Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2024 44:08


Dr. Alisha Rai, is a South-African Canadian family physician who is deeply committed to advocacy for the disability community. This is fueled by her personal experience as a mother to a son with cerebral palsy. She co-founded a non-profit with her husband, Hope for Cerebral Palsy to fund quality private early interventional therapy for children with cerebral palsy. Additionally, she openly shares her experience with infertility and has the privilege of speaking at a TEDx event at the University of Mississippi. Her multifaceted background reflects a passion for healthcare, advocacy, and sharing impactful stories.In this episode Dr. Jody and Dr. Alisha chat all about opportunities coming your way and the choices we make to take these opportunities to learn something new and love it or NOT and that is okay. Alisha tells us her incredible story that has so many layers, from joining the military in South Africa to raising a son with Cerebral Palsy. Being a special needs parent has shaped her to be the compassionate physician she is now with less judgment and more understanding.LinksAlisha's InstagramHope For Cerebral Palsy Website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

DealMakers
Naseem Saloojee On Raising $80 Million To Create AI-Driven Tools To Help Amazon Sellers

DealMakers

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 4, 2023 31:27


Naseem Saloojee's journey from Toronto to becoming a key player in the world of e-commerce is a testament to the power of seizing unexpected opportunities and learning from personal challenges. His unique perspective, shaped by his South African-Canadian roots, has instilled in him a deep appreciation for opportunities and a sense of responsibility to pay it forward.

Indie Film Hustle® - A Filmmaking Podcast with Alex Ferrari
BONUS EPISODE: Big Budget Indie Films and Creative Freedom with Neill Blomkamp

Indie Film Hustle® - A Filmmaking Podcast with Alex Ferrari

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 18, 2023 73:27


Ever since I saw District 9 and learned of all the mythical stories behind the short film becoming a feature, I have been a massive fan of today's guest, Neill Blomkamp. Though Neill is here today to talk about his new sci-fi horror fiction film, Demonic, we also chatted up about his other films that have been successful over the years.Released in August 2021, Demonic follows a young woman who unleashes terrifying demons when supernatural forces at the root of a decades-old rift between mother and daughter are ruthlessly revealed.Neill is a South African Canadian film director, producer, screenwriter, and animator, best known for writing and directing multiple-award-winning films such as Chappie, Elysium, and the iconic District 9, along with a plethora of short films, commercials, and special effect credits.If you have seen a few of Neill's works already, you would already know and admire his dystopian, action, and sci-fi style of writing and filmmaking. He depicts the short film in documentary style, with xenophobic social segregation themes.In 2009 Neill and his wife, Canadian screenwriter Terri Tatchell, co-wrote a short film titled, Alive in Joburg, which later became his feature film debut, District 9. Neill received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture for this $210.8 million-grossing film from a $30 million budget.District 9 was a critically acclaimed splash, earning multiple awards, including the Bafta, the Academy, Golden Globes, etc., for its visual effects, editing, screenplay, and picture. And a 90% on rotten tomato. But the success of this film is truly in the story it tells and the inspiration that drove it. In 1982, a massive star ship bearing a bedraggled alien population, nicknamed "The Prawns," appeared over Johannesburg, South Africa. Twenty-eight years later, the initial welcome by the human population has faded. The refugee camp where the aliens were located has deteriorated into a militarized ghetto called District 9, where they are confined and exploited in squalor.In 2010, the munitions corporation, Multi-National United, was contracted to forcibly evict the population with operative Wikus van der Merwe in charge. In this operation, Wikus is exposed to a strange alien chemical and must rely on the help of his only two new 'Prawn' friends.As you will hear in our conversation, this project was inspired by parts of Johannesburg in South Africa's history Neill was learning. His journey involved gaining awareness of xenophobia from relatively poor South Africans against immigrants from Mozambique, Nigeria, and Malawi --- a sentiment is still prevalent with some South Africans to this day.The initial short film, Alive In Joburg that preceded District 9, had a socio-political theme shot in realism-based style paired with sci-fi but of performers sharing real-life experiences of illegal aliens/immigrants in South Africa. By the time he had to adapt the script for the feature, District 9, Neill had moved into an interest of South Africa's history, including apartheid, and precisely its border war period in the 1980s.As mentioned earlier, Neill started his career in this industry through visual effects and animation in commercials. When he moved to Canada at 18 years old, the pathway opened up for him to finally pursue his childhood dream of working in the film industry. He did Ads animation for some years while closely following the works of film directors who had gone the commercials to film directing route. One of his most prominent commercials to date, which was shelved by the clients based on creative differences, was a short film Superbowl ad for Nike.Even though he spent a short time doing commercials, Neill has held on to all the transferable lessons and tips to his filmmaking and screenwriting.IN 2015, Neill released his third feature film, dystopian sci-fi action fiction, Chappie, co-written with his wife, Tatchell --- starring Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, and Hugh Jackman. Chappie became a massive success at the box office with a gross of from a $49 million budget.Chappie, an artificial general intelligence law enforcement robot, is captured during a patrol and reprogrammed by gangsters after being stolen. He becomes the first robot with the ability to think and feel for himself.Not to give too much away, let's dig into my interview with our incredible guest, Neill Blomkamp.

The Hidden Coconuts
Love, Grief, and Loss (Feat. Namita Patel)

The Hidden Coconuts

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 30, 2022 51:05


Content Warning: death, blood, “purity”. In the last episode for 2022, Agnibarna & Maira are joined by Namita Patel, a South African-Canadian self-proclaimed Brownie of Indian descent. Namita discusses coming to Canada during her pre-teen years, and what she has learned about marriage and arranged marriages. She is studying Psychology & Thanatology, so we were also treated with a different approach to loss and grief and how this is affected by cultural differences. Grief is an interesting concept, socially. On one hand, we are told to conceal our emotions and keep it to a minimum, yet when we bounce back and are ready to continue with life, we are judged for moving on too quickly. This is a great time to remind ourselves that grief is not a linear process. Humans like things to be simple, clear cut, but the thing is, we are anything but. Grief is not a linear process, and neither are our moods.

Eh Poetry Podcast - Canadian poems read 3 times - New Episodes six days a week!

This episode is the third of a special three episode series featuring seven excerpts from the poem "Hand" by Klara du Plessis from her 2020 book Hell Light Flesh (Palimpsest Press) Klara du Plessis is a South African-Canadian poet, who writes in both English and Afrikaans. Her debut poetry collection Ekke won the Pat Lowther Award, and was shortlisted for the Gerald Lampert Award, in 2019. Her second collection, Hell Light Flesh, was released in 2020. As always, we would love to hear from you. Have you tried send me a message on the Eh Poetry Podcast page yet? Either way, we would like to reward you for checking out these episode notes with a special limited time coupon for 15% off your next purchase of Mary's Brigadeiro's amazing chocolate, simply use the code "ehpoetrypodcast" on the checkout page of your order. If you are a poet in Canada and are interested in hearing your poem on Eh Poetry, please feel free to send me an email: jason.e.coombs[at]gmail[dot]com Eh Poetry Podcast Music by ComaStudio from Pixabay --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ehpoetrypodcast/message

Eh Poetry Podcast - Canadian poems read 3 times - New Episodes six days a week!

This episode is the second of a special 3 episode series featuring seven excerpts from the poem "Hand" by Klara du Plessis from her 2020 book Hell Light Flesh (Palimpsest Press) Klara du Plessis is a South African-Canadian poet, who writes in both English and Afrikaans. Her debut poetry collection Ekke won the Pat Lowther Award, and was shortlisted for the Gerald Lampert Award, in 2019. Her second collection, Hell Light Flesh, was released in 2020. As always, we would love to hear from you. Have you tried send me a message on the Eh Poetry Podcast page yet? Either way, we would like to reward you for checking out these episode notes with a special limited time coupon for 15% off your next purchase of Mary's Brigadeiro's amazing chocolate, simply use the code "ehpoetrypodcast" on the checkout page of your order. If you are a poet in Canada and are interested in hearing your poem on Eh Poetry, please feel free to send me an email: jason.e.coombs[at]gmail[dot]com Eh Poetry Podcast Music by ComaStudio from Pixabay --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ehpoetrypodcast/message

Eh Poetry Podcast - Canadian poems read 3 times - New Episodes six days a week!

This episode is the first of a special 3 episode series featuring seven excerpts from the poem "Hand" by Klara du Plessis from her 2020 book Hell Light Flesh (Palimpsest Press) Klara du Plessis is a South African-Canadian poet, who writes in both English and Afrikaans. Her debut poetry collection Ekke won the Pat Lowther Award, and was shortlisted for the Gerald Lampert Award, in 2019. Her second collection, Hell Light Flesh, was released in 2020. As always, we would love to hear from you. Have you tried send me a message on the Eh Poetry Podcast page yet? Either way, we would like to reward you for checking out these episode notes with a special limited time coupon for 15% off your next purchase of Mary's Brigadeiro's amazing chocolate, simply use the code "ehpoetrypodcast" on the checkout page of your order. If you are a poet in Canada and are interested in hearing your poem on Eh Poetry, please feel free to send me an email: jason.e.coombs[at]gmail[dot]com Eh Poetry Podcast Music by ComaStudio from Pixabay --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ehpoetrypodcast/message

Eh Poetry Podcast - Canadian poems read 3 times - New Episodes six days a week!
#31 - Excerpt from "Las Meninas" by Klara du Plessis

Eh Poetry Podcast - Canadian poems read 3 times - New Episodes six days a week!

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 27, 2022 4:23


Klara du Plessis is a South African-Canadian poet, who writes in both English and Afrikaans. Her debut poetry collection Ekke won the Pat Lowther Award,[2] and was shortlisted for the Gerald Lampert Award,[3] in 2019. Her second collection, Hell Light Flesh, was released in 2020. Du Plessis was born in Montreal, but raised predominantly in Bloemfontein, South Africa. She is currently a graduate student at Montreal's Concordia University. Since 2018, she has been developing, Deep Curation, a practice of poetry reading organization that places poets' works in deliberate thematic and conceptual dialogue in performance. You can read more about Klara, here. You can follow Klara on Twitter, here and on Instagram, here. Here is a link to the Palimpsest Press page where you can pick up your own copy of Ekke, and Hell Light Flesh. As always, we would love to hear from you. Have you tried send me a message on the Eh Poetry Podcast page yet? If you are a poet in Canada and are interested in hearing your poem on Eh Poetry, please feel free to send me an email: jason.e.coombs[at]gmail[dot]com Eh Poetry Podcast Music by ComaStudio from Pixabay --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ehpoetrypodcast/message

Bulletproof Screenplay® Podcast
BPS 147: Neill Blomkamp - Big Budget Indies and Creative Freedom

Bulletproof Screenplay® Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 12, 2021 70:30


Ever since I saw District 9 and learned of all the mythical stories behind the short film becoming a feature, I have been a massive fan of today's guest, Neill Blomkamp. Though Neill is here today to talk about his new sci-fi horror fiction film, Demonic, we also chatted up about his other films that have been successful over the years.Released in August 2021, Demonic follows a young woman who unleashes terrifying demons when supernatural forces at the root of a decades-old rift between mother and daughter are ruthlessly revealed.Neill is a South African Canadian film director, producer, screenwriter, and animator, best known for writing and directing multiple-award-winning films such as Chappie, Elysium, and the iconic District 9, along with a plethora of short films, commercials, and special effect credits.If you have seen a few of Neill's works already, you would already know and admire his dystopian, action, and sci-fi style of writing and filmmaking. He depicts the short film in documentary style, with xenophobic social segregation themes.In 2009 Neill and his wife, Canadian screenwriter Terri Tatchell, co-wrote a short film titled, Alive in Joburg, which later became his feature film debut, District 9. Neill received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture for this $210.8 million-grossing film from a $30 millionbudget.District 9 was a critically acclaimed splash, earning multiple awards, including the Bafta, the Academy, Golden Globes, etc., for its visual effects, editing, screenplay, and picture. And a 90% on rotten tomato. But the success of this film is truly in the story it tells and the inspiration that drove it.In 1982, a massive star ship bearing a bedraggled alien population, nicknamed "The Prawns," appeared over Johannesburg, South Africa. Twenty-eight years later, the initial welcome by the human population has faded. The refugee camp where the aliens were located has deteriorated into a militarized ghetto called District 9, where they are confined and exploited in squalor.In 2010, the munitions corporation, Multi-National United, was contracted to forcibly evict the population with operative Wikus van der Merwe in charge. In this operation, Wikus is exposed to a strange alien chemical and must rely on the help of his only two new 'Prawn' friends.As you will hear in our conversation, this project was inspired by parts of Johannesburg in South Africa's history Neill was learning. His journey involved gaining awareness of xenophobia from relatively poor South Africans against immigrants from Mozambique, Nigeria, and Malawi --- a sentiment is still prevalent with some South Africans to this day.The initial short film, Alive In Joburg that preceded District 9, had a socio-political theme shot in realism-based style paired with sci-fi but of performers sharing real-life experiences of illegal aliens/immigrants in South Africa.By the time he had to adapt the script for the feature, District 9, Neill had moved into an interest of South Africa's history, including apartheid, and precisely its border war period in the 1980s.As mentioned earlier, Neill started his career in this industry through visual effects and animation in commercials. When he moved to Canada at 18 years old, the pathway opened up for him to finally pursue his childhood dream of working in the film industry.He did Ads animation for some years while closely following the works of film directors who had gone the commercials to film directing route. One of his most prominent commercials to date, which was shelved by the clients based on creative differences, was a short film Superbowl ad for Nike.Even though he spent a short time doing commercials, Neill has held on to all the transferable lessons and tips to his filmmaking and screenwriting.IN 2015, Neill released his third feature film, dystopian sci-fi action fiction, Chappie, co-written with his wife, Tatchell --- starring Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, and Hugh Jackman. Chappie became a massive success at the box office with a gross of from a $49 million budget.Chappie, an artificial general intelligence law enforcement robot, is captured during a patrol and reprogrammed by gangsters after being stolen. He becomes the first robot with the ability to think and feel for himself.Wanting to experiment and have more creative freedom Neill created Oats Studios. Oats Studios makes experimental short films, a testing ground for ideas and creativity leading to full scale feature films based on ideas created here. One of the studios most popular shorts is Rakka.Not to give too much away, let's dig into my interview with our incredible and inspiring guest, Neill Blomkamp.

Mark and Me Podcast
Episode 162: Neill Blomkamp & Carly Pope

Mark and Me Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 1, 2021 83:29


Demonic.On this episode we are joined by Neill Blomkamp and Carly Pope, Neill Blomkamp is a South African-Canadian film director, producer, screenwriter, and animator. Blomkamp employs a documentary-style, hand-held, cinéma vérité technique, blending naturalistic and photo-realistic computer-generated effects, and his films often deal with themes of xenophobia and social segregation.Carly Pope is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles on The WB's drama series Popular, supernatural drama series The Collector, USA Network's legal drama series Suits and The CW's Arrow.Please support the Mark and Me Podcast via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/Markandme or you can buy me a coffee here: https://ko-fi.com/markandme or you can even treat yourself to a sticker over at my store here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/MarkandMeStore

Indie Film Hustle® - A Filmmaking Podcast with Alex Ferrari
IFH 500: Big Budget Indie Films and Creative Freedom with Neill Blomkamp

Indie Film Hustle® - A Filmmaking Podcast with Alex Ferrari

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2021 72:57


Ever since I saw District 9 and learned of all the mythical stories behind the short film becoming a  feature, I have been a massive fan of today's guest, Neill Blomkamp. Though Neill is here today to talk about his new sci-fi horror fiction film, Demonic, we also chatted up about his other films that have been successful over the years.Released in August 2021, Demonic follows a young woman who unleashes terrifying demons when supernatural forces at the root of a decades-old rift between mother and daughter are ruthlessly revealed.Neill is a South African Canadian film director, producer, screenwriter, and animator, best known for writing and directing multiple-award-winning films such as Chappie, Elysium, and the iconic District 9, along with a plethora of short films, commercials, and special effect credits.If you have seen a few of Neill's works already, you would already know and admire his dystopian, action, and sci-fi style of writing and filmmaking. He depicts the short film in documentary style, with xenophobic social segregation themes.In 2009 Neill and his wife, Canadian screenwriter Terri Tatchell, co-wrote a short film titled, Alive in Joburg, which later became his feature film debut, District 9. Neill received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture for this $210.8 million-grossing film from a $30 million budget.District 9 was a critically acclaimed splash, earning multiple awards, including the Bafta, the Academy, Golden Globes, etc., for its visual effects, editing, screenplay, and picture. And a 90% on rotten tomato. But the success of this film is truly in the story it tells and the inspiration that drove it. In 1982, a massive star ship bearing a bedraggled alien population, nicknamed "The Prawns," appeared over Johannesburg, South Africa. Twenty-eight years later, the initial welcome by the human population has faded. The refugee camp where the aliens were located has deteriorated into a militarized ghetto called District 9, where they are confined and exploited in squalor.In 2010, the munitions corporation, Multi-National United, was contracted to forcibly evict the population with operative Wikus van der Merwe in charge. In this operation, Wikus is exposed to a strange alien chemical and must rely on the help of his only two new 'Prawn' friends.As you will hear in our conversation, this project was inspired by parts of Johannesburg in South Africa's history Neill was learning. His journey involved gaining awareness of xenophobia from relatively poor South Africans against immigrants from Mozambique, Nigeria, and Malawi --- a sentiment is still prevalent with some South Africans to this day.The initial short film, Alive In Joburg that preceded District 9, had a socio-political theme shot in realism-based style paired with sci-fi but of performers sharing real-life experiences of illegal aliens/immigrants in South Africa. By the time he had to adapt the script for the feature, District 9, Neill had moved into an interest of South Africa's history, including apartheid, and precisely its border war period in the 1980s.As mentioned earlier, Neill started his career in this industry through visual effects and animation in commercials. When he moved to Canada at 18 years old, the pathway opened up for him to finally pursue his childhood dream of working in the film industry. He did Ads animation for some years while closely following the works of film directors who had gone the commercials to film directing route. One of his most prominent commercials to date, which was shelved by the clients based on creative differences, was a short film Superbowl ad for Nike.Even though he spent a short time doing commercials, Neill has held on to all the transferable lessons and tips to his filmmaking and screenwriting.IN 2015, Neill released his third feature film, dystopian sci-fi action fiction, Chappie, co-written with his wife, Tatchell --- starring Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, and Hugh Jackman. Chappie became a massive success at the box office with a gross of from a $49 million budget.Chappie, an artificial general intelligence law enforcement robot, is captured during a patrol and reprogrammed by gangsters after being stolen. He becomes the first robot with the ability to think and feel for himself.Not to give too much away, let's dig into my interview with our incredible guest, Neill Blomkamp.

Mark and Me Podcast
Episode 152: Neill Blomkamp

Mark and Me Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2021 29:32


Demonic.On this episode we are joined by Neill Blomkamp, Neill Blomkamp is a South African-Canadian film director, producer, screenwriter, and animator. Blomkamp employs a documentary-style, hand-held, cinéma vérité technique, blending naturalistic and photo-realistic computer-generated effects, and his films often deal with themes of xenophobia and social segregation.Please support the Mark and Me Podcast via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/Markandme or you can buy me a coffee here https://ko-fi.com/markandme

Terrible Happy Talks
#35 - Alain Joubert: Drawn

Terrible Happy Talks

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 29, 2019 52:18


Alain Joubert is a 33-year-old South African/Canadian artist, international educator, and world traveler.Alain graduated from York University, Toronto with a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts and Education. He now continues to translate his passion by working as a teacher at a highly recognised sustainability-focused school in Bali.Prior to moving to Bali, Alain founded the Chiniguichi Outpost sustainable eco-lodge in Ontario Canada.Alain is a deep thinker whose main form of artistic expression is painting and drawing. Skills that he willingly assists in developing in his students.In my opinion, Alain possesses views on our world that are honest and sometimes uncomfortable to hear. I was drawn to him immediately.Alain is with me on this week’s episode to share his journey, experiences, challenges, and hopes for the future. Support the show (https://terriblehappytalks.teemill.com)

Diabetes Canada Podcast
Diabetes 360: Season 2, Episode 6

Diabetes Canada Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2018 17:49


Renira Narrandes is a South African-Canadian storyteller, poet, and speaker who lives with type 1 diabetes. Her stories are generally humorous—though occasionally, she reaches in and pulls out something heavy from deep within. Despite being detail-oriented and methodical, Renira will admit she doesn’t always know where her path is going. Her journey so far has included three master’s degrees (journalism, science, public health), two life-changing events, and one near-death experience. You can find Renira’s spoken word poem about hypoglycemia on YouTube and check out her poetry and photography on Instagram @words_by_renira.

diabetes south african canadian
CRI来明
超能查派(人类的自我否定之旅)

CRI来明

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2015 4:10


What distinguishes South African-Canadian filmmaker Neil Blomkamp from others is the audacity to challenge the traditional concept of human existence.In his first film "District 9," co-written by Neil and his wife Terri Tatchell, the lead character was infected by a fluid which gradually turned his physical form into that of an alien. The sight of a human body morphing and developing the feature of an insect-like creature was not appealing to average viewers’ stomachs. His 2013 science fiction movie "Elysium" was a big-budget blockbuster. For better box office results the director had to tune down on his peculiar interest, although he still introduced the idea of an exoskeleton surgically attached to the body of the lead character. The story was written single-handedly by Neil Blomkamp.The latest science fiction film "Chappie" was once again the brain child of the Blomkamp couple. With a budget slightly bigger than "District 9," the new piece allows the director to continue the agenda of producing disturbingly fantastic imagery."Chappie" has something in common with the sci-fi blockbuster "Avengers: Age of Ultron." Both were released in China in the same month and both featured a sentient robot. While Ultron's newly acquired thinking capacity was led astray by bloody events in human history, Chappie encounters evils of a more tangible and more immediate kind. Right after the inception of his mind, Chappie is held in captivity by a gang who teach him gang swagger and four-letter words. He is also given the valuable lesson of being lied to and learns about the fact that he, like other living things on the planet, must die one day.Instead of fixating on the topic of artificial intelligence and engaging in a philosophical discussion about nature and nurture, I would prefer to highlight the director's apparent loathing of the human form, his fear of death and his eagerness to amend nature's very first largess to mankind. In each of his feature film, his lead character takes on an alternative physical form. "Now, you will live forever, Maker," thus speaks Chappie to his creator Deon, after he transfers the latter's mind to a robot's.In most science fiction stories it is common to find the glorification of a certain type of human virtue, be it courage, intelligence or compassion. Such films are intrinsically narcissistic. In comparison, Neil Blomkamp's critical spirit comes as a fresh, though not quite pleasant, complement.Of Neil Blomkamp's three recent products, "District 9" won the director critical acclaim and world recognition, "Elysium" failed to offer refreshed excitement despite a bigger budget, and even "Chappie" packed a weak punch due to implausible twists in an unconvincing story. But still I will continue to check out on Neil's future films, for all the unconventional whims they might or might not provide.

CRI来明
极乐空间(毫无创新的新瓶装旧酒)

CRI来明

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 3, 2014 3:44


They say "you can't teach an OLD dog new tricks", but at the tender age of 33, director Neil Blomkamp is already projecting old age into his new film "Elysium". Blomkamp's 2009 movie "District 9" concludes with the aliens promising to return in three years. Four years later, the South African-Canadian director returns with "Elysium", older, but none the wiser. Like "District 9", "Elysium" is full of political messages, highlighting the conflict between the haves and have-nots. The only difference is, the previous film was centered on immigration, the new one on medical care. In Blomkamp's dystopic vision of the year 2154, humans are divided between the rich and the poor. The poor struggle with insufficient resources and unemployment on earth while the rich live comfortably on a space station called Elysium where sickness is eradicated with the help of super-effective medical devices. Matt Damon is a former car thief and menial worker at an assembly line. He is exposed to a lethal dose of radiation at work and his only chance at survival lies in the medical devices on Elysium. He has no idea that his attempt to reach Elysium could cause the whole system to crumble. Blomkamp's insight or skills only allows him to describe things as they are. In the guise of science-fiction, he vividly depicted the fate of immigrants in "District 9"; the pictures were largely filmed in South Africa. Similarly, "Elysium" is mostly photographed on the poor outskirts of Mexico City. Both films painted a striking picture of deprived groups, but neither venture deeper to disclose the root of the problem. Most notably, no explanation is given on the concentration of medical resources on Elysium. Is the disparity a result of the constant exploitation of the poor on the part of the rich? Or is the poverty on earth the result of pure negligence? In both films the director is satisfied with describing the world as he conceives it. On the other hand, both films provide unsatisfactory endings. The aliens never returned in "District 9" and the lead character never recovered from trans-human mutation. "Elysium" simply ends with a revolution, during which the super-effective medical service is made available to all people. Revolutions can be difficult and a good story for a movie, but what follows is even more difficult. When you conceive a world where medical resources are controlled by the rich, you would naturally assume the situation is caused exactly by a shortage of such resources. If so, the act of making it available to all is hardly the end of the problem. However, our dear director seems Okay with the unrealistic, if not naïve, ending. Neil Blomkamp was able to attract a lot of attention for the sarcasm and political message in his previous film, but if he learns no new tricks to broaden his reach, his audience will soon grow tired and go away. On a scale from one to ten, I give Elysium a five.