Shanghai Express by Josef von Sternberg - 10 out of 10

 

Shanghai Express by Josef von Sternberg

10 out of 10

 

 

I have mentioned to my daughter, Hannah, that I was watching Shanghai Express when she called, and asked her if she knows who Marlene Dietrich was and she did not know – in a few decades, names like Marlon Brando – the titan that helped make The Godfather http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-godfather-written-by-francis-ford.html one of the best movies ever made – for many cinephiles, the number one film above Lawrence of Arabia, Citizen Kane and others of the same caliber.

 

Have I read somewhere that Marlene Dietrich was special in her sexual orientation, alongside her special charisma on the screen, albeit, as we find from reading the co-winner of The Booker Prize for 2019, Girl, Woman, Other http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/06/girl-woman-other-by-bernardine-evaristo.html by Bernardine Evaristo ‘gender is one of the big lies of civilization’, and we need to see sexuality in terms of ‘Two Spirits’, non-gender, gender fluidity as in something that changes from one minute to the next

Shanghai Express brings to mind Murder on The Orient Express http://realini.blogspot.com/2018/10/murder-on-orient-express-based-on-novel.html by the Queen of misery writing, Agatha Christie, with the similarity that we have a train ride in both narratives, and one or a few mysteries to analyze and solve, eventually, in the Shanghai story, we have political and historical aspects that are leading us to tense moments, when the rebels may kill one or a few passengers.

 

The Shanghai Express travels in China, before the calamity of Mao and communism, although the situation was not infinitely better, a civil war was ravaging the country and foreign powers dictated terms, something that the communist leaders of our time keep repeating, it was true, but nevertheless, they us that fact to advance their malign propaganda, the West has exploited the country, they are determined to use their advance to try and keep China down, which is not true, it helps keep the commies in power.

We read in Why The West Rules for Now  http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/10/why-west-rules-for-now-by-ian-morris.html by brilliant Ian Morris about the background, how the colonizers of South and Central America could have met the Chinese, instead of the Native populations, since the Chinese had had a massive advance, they had ships that looked like the Titanic compared with a canoe, set near the Columbus vessels, but they had just decided to rule that sailing to foreign lands would be forbidden…

 

Alas, now it is the opposite, they are clearly showing an aggressive, bullying strategy, trying to make the South China Sea some sort of an internal lake, grabbing territory that does not belong to them, it is at least disputed, building airstrips on islands where they have no right to do that, and most of all, they keep pushing the idea that Taiwan must be incorporated into the ‘mother nation’, against the will of the islanders

 

A tyranny does not take that will into account, it is what the despot wants, and we have seen this here – I juts remembered that this is supposed to be about Shanghai Express, but I have abandoned the subject, and only say on it that yes, there are some classic moments, one of which has Marlene Dietrich smoking a cigarette and looking distant, meditative, outré, the quintessential superstar and mysterious woman (or other) but I did not find the film, compelling, because of too high expectations…

Whenever China is mentioned these days, I think of communism and the pride of my life, the fact that I took part in the 1989 Revolution http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html when I went to the Roman Square to protest, we had been lucky to have a marvelous leader, Andrei Finti, but one that does not have any recognition, not only he is without a statue, which he would deserve, but I have never heard him mentioned, while so many crooks and liars – actually, it is tens of thousands of them – went to claim the benefits, without having any contribution

 

In those fighting days – there was heavy shooting, in spite of the later discovery that there had been no terrorists brought in by Ceausescu to keep him in power, soldiers were shooting at other army corps, civilians targeting shadows and mirages – I have met Michael Meyers from Newsweek and he asked me about what I have seen and this is how I have ended up in his article on the violent end of tyranny here

Sometimes I regret the fact that I did not go to claim the ‘revolutionary certificate’, an official document that certifies that one has been a contributor to the change, somehow an oxymoron, for most of those who took one, did so on false claims, and because of that, I felt so disgusted and associated that paper with an insult that I passed the honor, only it had quite a few privileges attached to it, and even if I was a true ‘fighter against communism’, and maybe my daughter could get the medal in my name

 

Now for a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/unique-in-world.html?q=unique+in+the+world  – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html