Decision

Have you ever watched Moneyball? I have just did. The movie is about a baseball manager who applied a new style of putting a player based on statistical performances to win the match. His name was Billy Beane. Brad Pitt acted as him as a cold attitude kind of person. He was also a stubborn 40 years old ex-baseball player. One moment showed it when he asked his baseball team owner, to give more funding to buy players. The reason is surely to win the league. Unfortunately, his owner said that Oakland Athletics (A’s) was not have a huge budget. To be survived in the main league, is even more, too good to be true.

Billy Beane once have been a baseball player. It all started in his upcoming high school graduation in early 1980s. He was offered to two options of his future career: to be a baseball athlete, or go to prestigious college. He chose number one. A flashback of his past was showed along, with the moment when he struggled to save A’s. With his facial expression and gesture, we’ve got to known that he was regret to choose those path. Until one “eureka” moment came along.

He met Peter Brand, a data analyst that helped Billy to use a technique called sabermetrics. By using this way of managing player, he put a lot of statistical numbers as consideration to choose to buy or sell baseball player(s). The result was satisfying, A’s won the game for 20 times in a row. 

Actually sabermetrics was first ackowledged in the early of 19th century. Even so, Billy and Peter was fully use it in that first decade of 20th century. Oakland Athletic’s didn’t came as a winner for the tournament. Nevertheless, under Billy Beane’s managerial tactic, there was one magical moment that he (always) missed—Billy was never watched their team played. Peter showed him at the end of their 20nd victory on a recorded video. There was a fat player dying to run to the base after he beat the ball. Unbeknownst, he pointed a home run—his ball thrown highly so that their enemy cannot interupt the batter to run over the circle to make a point. So, actually he hasn’t need to did so because afterall, his statistical record proved that he could did it. And Beane gave him that chance. You ought to watch it by your own to see this serenical climactic moment.

At the end of the film, Beane was offered a job as GM on another team: Red Sox. Reffering to his experience on leaving college scholarship for baseball (and money), he took one crucial choice: decline the offer that would make him “the highest-paid GM in the history of sports.” Beane said, “I made one decision in my life based on money and I swore I’d never do it again.” []

Shadow

Imagine you are in this kind of condition: an Iranian mother who lives in a high rise building in the middle of war situation. At the same time, you were haunted by a jinn. That’s the story you would see when you are watching Under The Shadow. I have seen it a few days ago after the movie was released in 2016. Formerly, I have heard several reviews said that this Iranian film served us an intense fear and terror feeling. Does it really do?

Under The Shadow tells the story of an Iranian wife whom his husband leave her and their daughter to go to work. It was situated in the early 1980s, when Iran and Iraq confronted in a military war. One day, their building was attacked. On one hand, she has to survived, but on the other hand she have to persuade her daughter to come along. The problem is, they were haunted by a ghost. Moreover, they were separated by the spirit’s incitement.

This film showed us of how Iranian portray ghost appearance. Same with how we see ghost in Indonesia (and another country in Southeast Asia), Iranian—based on Under The Shadow—also see women as a the scariest ghost. Even so, in this film she came with no face. All of her body was covered with a spreading fabric, and using that cloth to terrorized her (allegedly) daughter. I’m not sure about whether she was really are or not, because there were no blatant clue to said so. The figure of mother only showed through the dialogue and writing in the book whom saved secretly by the main character. 

Perhaps, that was just the way of how Iranian filmmaker delivered the story. Once in the past, I have watched another Iranian movie called A Separation. That Abbas Kiarostami’s movie was not precisely ended up the divorce process of one household. We as a viewer, decided by ourselves with considering each and every character involved on it. I guess—without being generalizing—that’s the beauty of Iranian art of moving pictures. []

Joshua

What did you do when you were 18 years old? There was a boy in Hong Kong who managed to gather people in his country to fight against tyranny. His name is Joshua Wong. I watched a story of him through the movie called Joshua: Teenager vs Superpower.

The movie was started with a glimpse of Hong Kong’s history in the day when they handovered from British Empire’s territory at 1997. Since then, Chinese government handled Hong Kong as one of its area based on a principle called: one nation, two systems. It means that Hong Kong has its own government. The problem is, leader of Hong Kong was dictated—or chosen—by Chinese government. It means that their program would not be dedicated to the people of Hong Kong, because they weren’t choose their own leader. 

As time goes by, Hong Kong government was going to adopted the Chinese education system. Meanwhile, Chinese government thinks that Hong Kong’s students are not nationalistic enough. The nationalism term in Chinese national education context, means obedience. Joshua, was rise against that idea. Through Facebook, he and his friends creates an organization named Scholarism. They fought for their future by occupied public space. Long story short, in September 2012, chief executive of Hong Kong announced that national education system was not a mandatory. Joshua was win.

Another success story of defending Hong Kong’s freedom from Chinese pressure, was happened in early 2014. Joshua and friends, gathered with activist Benny Tai whom declared to fight for national suffrage. They tried to get out from Chinese domination in choosing their own political leader through a mass action called Occupy Central. CY Leung took a hard action to defend national conductivity. Police push mass hardly to clear the occupied place. Even more, they attacked Joshua when he was speaking in the middle of demonstrant. Nevertheless, Joshua kept his chin up. He said he will never stop make hong kong is hong kong again. 

At last, Scholarism turned into a political party. Some of the activist ride through it to make their political goals comes true—to fight for freedom beneath legislative board. On the other hand, Joshua was found guilty on unlawful assembly. A few days ago, Joshua was freed after he has been detained for one month. And Hong Kong, once again fell to the battlefield. This time, people fought for anti extradition law. Will they be the victor? []