Inspirations II

The film that made me aware of filmmaking--the craft behind this fantastic art form--is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990). During the late 1980s and early 1990s, I was perhaps the biggest Turtles fan alive. I had the Halloween costume, the lunch box, the Trapper Keeper, the drink, the fruit snacks, the bed sheets, the pillow case, the toothbrush, the video game, and of course, the action figures. When the movie came out on March 30th, 1990--to this day, I still remember the exact date--I dunno, I lost my shit. I couldn't sleep the night before, I couldn't do my homework, I didn't even care that my best friend had kissed my crush on the lips that afternoon during recess.

My Mom took me to 4 p.m. matinee showing at the UA Fresh Meadows 7 right after school. Those 93 minutes went by in a flash--just seeing Shredder, Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Casey, April, Splinter in live action blew my little mind. And when it was over, I wanted to see it again. I called my cousins to come over to the theater, and I stuck around for the next showing. I wanted to stick around for the subsequent one after that, but I wasn't granted permission.

During its theatrical run, I saved up enough money to see it three additional times. Later, I got the VHS as an early Christmas gift from my godmother, and I must've seen the movie on video at least twenty more times.

On approximately my tenth video screening, I started noticing the filmmaking behind the movie. It intrigued me that behind this very tangible product (the movie) lived this strange assembly of abstracts (the cuts, the camera placement, the the action blocking, the music).

I would love to say that at that moment, I realized that I wanted to become a filmmaker. But then, I would be lying. When I was eight, I still wanted to be an MTA subway operator (and part of me still does want to drive trains underneath and above New York City all day). Nonetheless, I feel that that moment still must hold some significance in my life and in my decision to become a filmmaker.

Heroes in a half shell!
Kwok