'Mu Dan' by Lincoln Chia (FLARE 2009)

Imagine a film that could stir you up and make you lose your sense of a framework in terms of appreciating it. ‘Mu Dan’ is a audacious attempt by Lincoln to explore and even exploit what his actors have and where they will bring him (rather than the other way round). I guess this is why despite the fact that his characters are near-theatrical, I was in full suspension of disbelief. To be blunt, it’s like porn – we forgive all the inconsequential stories and dialogue. We just sway along.
I can imagine ‘Mu Dan’, with its subversion, is hidden somewhere in the fantasies of any imaginative director. But Lincoln has taken it a step further to play it out, in good taste though. A middle-aged mother is driven on the brink of loneliness and starts getting cranky. It does not help that her mildly rebellious son brings home his object of affection, a blonde-wigged Chinese girlfriend, to her disliking. This is where Lincoln defies the rules of behaviour and explores what we really want deep down inside as humans. After having a wig hurled at her by the enraged girlfriend, the mother makes a 180 degree turn, delighting the audience.
Not all have the magnetism of Li Xie, a seasoned stage actress. Actually, there is only one Li Xie. Slithery and seductive, the mother unleashes a new persona to the outside world……in that blonde wig. While Li Xie’s been anchor for the plot before this, now she actually drives it. Every action counts, it seems. They are performed with such intensity (and it felt like every muscle was clenched) that it was easy to read the nuances. They have been many ways local directors have justified camp (read : Hock Hiap Leong by Royston Tan) and in this case, Li Xie justifies it single-handedly. This is not to discredit Lincoln the director. After all, we did move away from Li Xie to the son’e girlfriend who is actually a lingerie model. In a single flutter of her glitter-dusted eyelids, she looks up at something, drawing my attention to uncanny parallel with the born-again mother, widening the reference in the film’s title.

'Respirator' by Michael Tay (FLARE 2009)

Michael shared that he has a penchant for telling stories that carry a fantastical component. In ‘Wet Seasons’, there was a moving skeleton, in ‘Respirator’, the titular object is the centre of the story. The ‘Respirator’ is a revolutionary medical device that can replace a heart. In Chinese, the word used is ‘Metal Heart’. I guess a more romantic sounding name in English would be ‘Respirator’. What I felt made both work is that the human issues interlocked with the fantastical devices are really what props up the drama.
In ‘Respirator’, a child is on the brink of death and the only way to save him is a heart transplant. A doctor pressures his ex-wife (who is the real mother) into doing the operation for guaranteed financial sustenance for an indefinite period. Poor helpless mum, her seeming lack of education about things traps her into a grotesquely complicated looking ‘respirator’. Never mind if I spotted the look of silver paint on cardboard, the issues were riveting (pardon the pun) and the characters throbbing with life. Careful casting paid off well. The mother is a bag of anxiety and her untrained and frail voice is subtly affecting. Boon, the boorish brother redefines ad-libbing with his choppy and crude speech.
I also like Respirator for its brave attempt at a neo-scifi genre, something very much out of reach for many short filmmakers due to budget reaons. In fact, it is not just a brave attempt but a very shrewd and smart attempt. After all, the actual device, at its cheapest could be a composition of materials from your DIY store sprayed with lots of silver paint. But Michael’s clearly milked a fair amount of drama out of it.

'Kitchen Quartet' by Nicole Woodford (FLARE 2009)

‘Kitchen Quartet’ is Nicole’s take on the 6 degrees of separation. The common element in the different stories is something close to the hearts of many Singaporeans – food. The film deserves some credit for adding a more uplifting touch to the usual working class survival issues. Apart from a happy ending, the film also has a slightly saturated look that perhaps serves to make the food in the film more appetizing!

Shu An, a young chef gets fired by the manager because an important food critic, in one of his moods, found the food difficult to stomach. The novelty of this cause-and-effect type of plot makes it easy to neglect the giving meat to the characters. But delightfully, in ‘Kitchen Quartet’, the four characters are as full-bodied in flavour as the hokkien mee that everyone seems to like! We could almost name this film Hokkien Mee too.

Through well-paced relevations on each character, we trace the all important connections between the characters. Food critic secretly likes Hokkien Mee but gets his maid to buy. His son discovers it and starts cooking it for his father. Meanwhile, Shu An tries to cook it for her Hokkien Mee hawker mum after knowing her mum will never grow to like haute cuisine. They finally converge when the critic openly brings his son to the stall. In between all that, personal contradictions and dilemmas are exposed, sometimes comically, sometimes, in a heartwarming way. The bottom line is ‘Kitchen Quartet’ never slips out of ‘major key’ while dealing with gritty, real-life ‘minor key’ issues.

'Promises in December' by Elgin Ho - FLARE 2009

There is something in practiced strokes of the taxi driver Alan’s cleaning motion or the sense of homeground surety in her Bahasa chatter on the phone that tells me Elgin understands his subjects well. In Elgin’s study of two characters who cross paths, he explores deeply both the behavioural and the contextual aspects of the characters.

In Alan, due attention is paid to poignant back story behind the chatty front of the taxi driver. Alan is seen to do much housework e.g. cooking despite already being the breadwinner. On the other hand, he has a wife who is obsessed with praying at temples, often in desperation. In this, Elgin shows how personal good-natured beliefs can bring a family apart. And instead of the usual Christian examples, this one is slightly different. While Raymond anchors the role fairly well (except for some moments reminiscent of his TV days), it is Janice Koh who surprises with her short but emotionally charged moments.

In Siti, due to the geographical barrier, most of her story has to be imagined. Actually this could be potentially more gripping if Elgin has left some doors half open. What we know about Siti’s own life in Indonesia is mostly from her accounts to the taxi driver as well her bits and pieces of information dropped here and there. In the final scene, we also get a glimpse(an imagined one?) of her living conditions in Indonesia. In terms of gaining proximity to her world, I personally felt her spoken moments in the taxi and even some moments of silence brought me further than actual re-enactment of her shanty town life. I also felt the first-hand sounds of the tsunami where a little implausible, almost adding nothing to my empathy for the character. Maybe the imagined is always more vivid than the actualization.

But in all, this film took on a very ambitious issue of the tsunami. Though not always easy to bring out what really cuts in such an epic event, Elgin has at least done a substantial amount of ground work.

My Underwear,My World-Danny Lim(Flare 2009)

My first impression to this film.Did the screenplayer used to did that in the past?
The boy seemed to remind me of the childhood memory where we used to catch Power Rangers on our Television in the past.

A comical film that foster the bond between the father and the son.
Because of the comical conversations they had and the 'underwear' kid reminds me of the Childhood memory of the director(in a way or another).
In the film, the father intend to try to close up with his son,but instead it fails.
(Sort of reminds me of a scene in Jack Neo's I not Stupid 2 where the father mentioned the same thing and the son was stunned).

I like the visuals presented in the screening.Great Animation and visuals presented.

Simply enjoyed this film and it leaves me a very deep impression of it.

Neighbourhood Ghost-Felice Tang(Flare 2009)

What will happened when a blind man meet a nerd along the street and the nerd bumped onto him by accident?

The Blind man assumed that he is dead in the car accident,but in reality he was survived and he assumed that he had a ghost kid following him behind him,but actually it was the nerd who is behind him at all times with his white cane and he wished to return the cane to him.He assumed that he can find his friend who did not say farewell to him and attempted to find the friend and give him a scolding.

Kitchen Quartet-Nicole Midori Woodford(FLARE 2009)

In this film, the food Critic tasted this particular promising female chef and gave a bad review on her unknowingly,which lead to her suspension from the Restaurant.

As such,the Female Chef forced to questioned her culinary skill,she re-examined her relationship with her mother,who is a Hokkien Mee seller,while the Critic's son is yearning to spend time with his father,and uses food to connect the relationship between him and his father.

Unexpectedly,after patronizing the stall for the past 20 years,the Critic mentioned that the plate of Hokkien Mee is the best ever he had ever patronised for the past 20 years.Unknowingly,the Critic commended to the Hokkien Mee Fryer,whom is the one who he gave a bad Review on in the High Class Restaurant.

Respirator-Michael Tay(FLARE 2009)

To Save her son from dying from a rare heart disease,a Single mother has to undergo a bizarre operation but recovers from it only to learn of the terrifying Consequences.

If you are the mother in the film,will you make sacrifices to your dying son?
In this Film,I can feel the mutual bond between the biological son and the Single mother.
The agony of the mother with the weird looks from the trainee Doctors and miserable expressions(Practically which the mother had to bear).

With Some comical scenes in the film with the Taxi Driver,known as Mr Boon and his Sister.
It act as a catalyst to neutralise the dry content of the film to a mild comedy film.

This Too Shall Pass - Ang Aik Heng (SIFF 2009)

With a strong, award winning background in television documentaries, Ang Aik Heng has quite a bit under his belt when it comes to documentaries. This Too Shall Pass has the air of a well thought out and planned documentation of an elderly gentleman's soon-to-be demise from nose cancer and his family's struggles through his dying days.

Mr Lee is diagnosed with nose cancer and his daughter Ellen Lee and himself, make the decision to allow this documentary to be shot in order for Mr Lee's story to be told, as well his family's. Through the documentary we see the relationships he has with his various family members, especially his eldest daughter- the aforementioned Ellen Lee- and the torment he faces with his estranged son, all in the face of death.

What do you do, when death comes knocking at your door? For the Lees, a means of peace was the document their fathers' dying wishes. This means the documentary lays it all out on the table. Nothing is left to your imagination. The one thing that struck me about this film was Mr Lee's liberal and unabashed behaviour, even in front of the camera. Lee seemed more reserved at the beginning of the film and the audience can see him beginning to open up towards the end of th film.

Lee was an odd choice for a character, risky even, I believe. At first the film resembled something of a home movie, with great technical skill. This was mainly due to the fact that the characters, especially the character the story was centered around, Mr Lee, was mainly sullen and quiet. However, with a bit of clever editing and placement of Mr Lee's lively and honest eldest daughter, (who has one of the most approachable demeanors I have seen for a woman being followed around by a camera everyday) the beginning of the film became far less drawn out than I had feared. Lee seems more reserved at the beginning of the film but begins to open up towards the end of th film.

As the film progresses, Mr Lee becomes more candid and at ease with the camera. Death is universal and watching the demise of a fellow human being is never easy. In a gut wrenching scene, Mr Lee shows the audience the quality of his life by showing us an everyday activity of his, that being eating. As the audience watches on in horror, bits of food fall out his nose,into a bucket he places at his feet while he eats. He tells the camera he is in pain while he swallows. If the beginning of the movie hadn't solidified this enough, you get it now. This man is going to die.

The film focuses on other parts of Lee's life as well, like his wife and his estranged son, both of whom he has an extremely rocky relationship with. His son never appears in the movie, not even once but is mentioned as a cause of conflict throughout the entire movie. At certain points in the film I did wonder about the credibility of the son's atrocities but he seemed to be a common "villain" in the family that made them bond. A documentary is a story, and every story must have a villain. Part of the success of the documentary was the "villain" aspect. Unfortunately, this was fulfilled by his son.

Death is an easy issue to deal with in films. It is easy to evoke an emotion from the death of a fellow human being. This is especially so if the character is undeserving of the pain and suffering he or she has to go through. In the documentary genre however, it is amplified more so. Ang was able to make use of this emotion to create and honest piece of work that was in no way egoistic. Although it did play on the cliche of human emotion to send its message across, it did so effectively. Ang was the vessel through which the Lees told their story and his ability to let go of a directors control and build a rapport with a family he barely knew and allow them to tell their story is definitely commendable.

Hi everyone!

I am Darren,and I will be posting blog posts and reviews in SINdie on a ad-hoc basis from now on.

I am pursuing my studies in the Diploma of New Media in Republic Polytechnic.

5 things you should know about me...
----------------------------------------
1. My 1st and only film(For now) was reviewed in SINdie before.Click Here
Believe it or not,It is a pure coincidence when I heard from Jeremy had reviewed my shot for the 1st time.Being it as a virgin film,it is actually a imperfect piece to me as I have noticed in some way,and in the midst of coming out a storyline for another film in near future.


2.Being in the Media Course seems enjoying to me but also a stressed off way to me
I know people will question me...Then in the first Place, why did I chose this course as my choice?

It's all because of the 1st influence in cinematography and the process is challenging as usual(Every job has it challenges anyway),which interest me to be the "next" Boo JunFeng,or the "next" Raja,or even the NEXT "Royston"?Who knows?

3.I am a S-Arts stuff supporter

S-Arts Stuff???What is that?
S=Singapore,Stuff=things...
So in the "Japalang" term,it is actually supposed to be Local Arts Stuff...

Be it S-POP,SIM(not Singapore Idol Music,but Singapore Indie Music),Local films,as long as it is local productions or works of local acts and individuals,it will be always the topic I am interested in.

4.I may be a year 1...but I have a schedule of Year 2 and Year 3 in RP
Believe it or not...As a Year 1 student,I don't look like having an enjoyment like other Year 1s in RP.

My schedule is normally packed with several stuff and I have to keep postponing stuff on and off again...

My friends ended up giving me that term."I may be a Year 1 Student,but I have a Schedule of a Year 2 or Year 3."

5.My Favourite place of Hangout is...
National Museum Of Singapore!

Kinda Weird eh...But it's TRUE!
When everyone's hangout places is Shopping,Clubbing...Mine is Chilling in National Museum Of Singapore.

Simply like it's serenity and conducive environment...that's why I am attracted to its beauty.

For more About me...Do drop by to my blog.

Once again... I am


Great to Introduce myself to you."See" you in the reviews real soon!

Production Talk - 'Kissing Faces' by Wesley Leon Aroozoo

'Kissing Faces' is a small school film project by three 2nd year NTU film undergraduates from the School of Arts, Design And Media. The small group consists of Wesley Leon Aroozoo (Director), Cindy Khoo (producer/ art director) and Philip Tan (cinematographer/ editor). The film took about 1 and a half months to complete from pre-production to post-production.


'Kissing Faces' revolves around the mind of a Karaoke Hostess who is leaving everything behind for a better life. The film bends the narrative form and experiments with generic images and wild lights.

Wesley Leon Aroozoo is currently in pre-production on his 8th short film entitled 'Mickey'. 'Kissing Faces' was his 7th short film.

+++++

'Awaiting a kiss. I close my eyes. Oblivious to everything around me'.



Grace (G): How did you come up with this title and your inspiration for Kissing Faces?
Wesley (W): The title 'Kissing Faces' came from my nonsensical observation of how when during a kiss, one closes his/her eyes and in this moment of being happy and loved, one is actually oblivious to everything else that is happening around us. (Because our eyes are closed). The inspiration for the film came from my obsession with the bright neon KTV lights that looks super obiang but I like it a lot. I imagined a girl dancing in front of the lights to the tune of George Gershwin’s summertime from The Carmen Opera.

G: Can you share what you're trying to portray in KF?
W: For the voice-over narration in the film, most of the lines are actually personal but they are universal, and so, when spoken through the karaoke hostess’s point of view, I think it still kind of works. In the film, I am trying to express what is going through the mind of someone who wants better and know it is wrong, but yet still goes ahead with it..


G: So did you have a personal experience?
W: Erm actually NO. (Laughs) I am quite easily satisfied in life. But the lines in the film are personal, just not the direction. I think… maybe it’s a personal experience... but I am too blur to realize. (Laughs)

G: Why did you choose that preferred KTV location? Because of the lightings or the style/treatment you'd like to have in KF?
W: My team mates and I went searching for suitable KTVs, those sleazy ones. But they kicked us out and they looked scary. So for some odd reason, the kind souls at *earth said sure. So, we just had to art d the place to look sleazy. But *earth by default actually looks quite sleazy. Okay, I take that back.


G: Have you made a film similar to KF?
W: Mmm... Structure and narrative wise… No. Style wise, I don't think so either. Maybe the closest I could link it to is my other film 'Love Me Yesterday' but that’s because they both had shots of night lights. I like night lights.

G: Would you say this is an experimental film?
W: I feel its 50% experimental.


G: Any challenges faced? Or interesting juicy accounts while filming KF?
W: Yup! When filming at the cemetery, the 3 fully charged camera batteries were 'not working' and the screen was filled with purply stroby lights. Some of the footage there was warped too. In fact the one used in the film, has a slight warp to it.

G: Did that 'slight warp' effect work into the film?
W: Mmm actually its hardly noticeable. I used the one with the slightest warpynesss.

Jeremy (J): I always wanted to ask u Wesley... How do you generate ideas for your films? I find them often very esoteric and unique in their perspective or style.
W: Aww thanks. It means a lot to me.


J: If I were to be a little more blunt, I could also call it -out-of-this-world! (laughs)
W: Usually, to generate ideas if they don't come by chance, I would lock myself up in my room for weeks and not go out with my friends - just me and my typewriter, thinking about stuffs. Usually, if I go through a bad moment, then I would be able to write something after that. So I am actually in some sick way very happy when someone makes me sad or something because I know its going to equal to me making a film and that makes me happy. For example, the script I just wrote, 'Mickey', came about from something similar. Yup :)

* changed to protect karaoke establishment's identity

Kissing Faces will premier at either the 6th Singapore Short Cuts (August) or the 5th Singapore Short Films Festival (September).

Red Dragonflies Buzz

This is 'Singapore'
All walks of life at Liao Jie Kai's shoot of 'Red Dragonflies', his feature film. The funeral band uncles were a jolly bunch.

Filmmakers! Time to Gather!

Old ('birds') and New ('birds') all together at the Babylon Theatre in Berlin for the Berlin Asian Hot Shots '09

Left to right : Me(Jeremy), Royston (Tan), Leon (Cheo), (Chen)Junbin, Wesley (L Aroozoo), Shaun (Koh)

Trip was made possible with the help of the SFC Overseas Travel Grant.

From (Tan) Pin Pin, Victric (Thng), Leonard (Lai) and (Tay) Bee Pin :

You must have heard by now that the SFC overseas travel grant has been cancelled and replaced with an Inspire grant that kicks in only if a director/producer has a "market" meeting set up overseas. A bunch of us met informally and decided that we would like to ask MDA/SFC to reconsider this decision to cancel the grant.

We feel that this cancellation is particularly harsh on the new generation of short filmmakers (Since there is hardly a market for short films) or filmmakers that aren’t making work for “markets”. It means filmmakers are unlikely to get to see their films seen before an unfamiliar audience, meet others like themselves, or travel to a strange land, all important for a filmmakers’ growth.

As we chatted, we realised that we could form ourselves into a group that could give feedback to MDA/SFC about their policies. This group could also be useful for MDA/SFC to consult with (we hope!) when they make changes to their schemes. Its also useful if they want to inform us of new events and meetings.

In short, there is a good reason for us to come together to help MDA help us and vice versa.
More importantly we could come together for networking and mutual support: Sharing crew info, intelligence on lenses, camera chips, censorship strategies, distribution strategies, supporting SIFF etc. Someone was suggesting organising drinks once a quarter. I suggested a talk on insurance coverage since most of us aren’t covered for accidents, being self-employed.

If any of this resonates with you, let's meet
Thurs 25 June, 7-9pm, Substation Theatre
Bring friends if you like, I don't have everyone's contacts

Discussion points
1 Do we have enough similiarities to be part of a collective which has common aims and objectives. What would they be?
2 Would we want to be consulted by MDA or represent "our" views to MDA?
3 What is the best way to do that ? (Options: form an indie film version of AIPRO, join AIPRO, or, as a loose collective seek out regular roundtables with SFC, form a yahoo/Facebook group etc etc, we can discuss different ways)
4 What issues would we like MDA to consider ?
5 Most importantly, what can we do to help ourselves and each other.
6 Finally, what is the best way to get them to reconsider their OTG decision!!!

See you!

Electric memories of Berlin in Jan 2009

'Love Laws' by Cheriyan Lydia Nathalia - The LaSalle Show '09

I had a funny thought that ‘Love Laws’ could be renamed ‘Love Claws’. This is an Indian version of Romeo and Juliet with more pain. ‘Love Laws’, the term refers to traditional Indian rules that govern love and marriage in Indian society. Once breached, get prepared to be ‘clawed’ (in some real-life cases, torched by relatives). The film runs along a very conventional narrative and a rather trite theme. This made the film very predictable. At its best, it appeared to be a relatively well-produced drama made for television – clear and bright visuals (none of that shadowy, atmospheric look); black and white characters; and idiot-proof establishment of the narrative.

Ammu Kochamma is a widow who is about to undergo another arranged marriage to a wealthier man. She lives under an iiron-fisted woman who appears to be her foster mother or guardian. One of the derived joys of watching such Cinderella stories is to see how malovelent the stepmothers can get. This one gets a 7 out of 10 from me for lack of creativity. Ammu (sound like a man’s name) is secretly in love with Velutha, a labourer-type man. In fact, they plan to flee. They devise a plan but are outsmarted by the people we love to hate. And in an almost closed-ended fashion, it drives home a rather dismal message about life – that we have to submit to the system.

For all the eye-popping, human-rights violating news we hear about injustices towards women and especially pertaining to marriages, this seems like just a scratch on the ice-berg. It deserves some credit for authenticity though. The team has certainly gone out of the way to make this (in India). Unless you tell me, the thing was staged somewhere ulu (remote) along the Singapore-Malaysia railway track. To add to its excellent production values, a cultural dance provided some spectacle (oh, those cylindrical boobies).

On a side note, I made an observation about the casting. I wonder if it is meant to reflect the caste system in India. The leads, or rather the eloping pair were darker-skinned than the villains – the stepmother and the ‘arranged’ husband. So unlike Cinderella, even when she transforms, she may never be highly regarded enough in her society.

'National Day' by He Shuming - The LaSalle Show '09

A foreign audience watching ‘National Day’ would be wondering what kind of a spectacle Singapore puts up annually to make NDP tickets such a family-binding issue. Wei, a young army boy returns home from the final NDP rehearsal with freebies to offer in place of unfavourable news that he has given away the free NDP tickets. It’s the 7th day after his father’s death anyway. For a typical Chinese family, they should be home to play host to his wandering spirit for the last time.

Like the film itself, home is mish-mash of issues. Everyone has their own sphere of thought about managing affairs and somehow everyone’s at a mentally independent age or state. Mum’s obviously the head of home affairs and will somehow get a near-final say. Wei, is at the cusp of adulthood and would wish to find his own way around things (he smells of apathy towards the army as well). Lam, his sister, tries very hard to control her evangelistic touch to family affairs but gets her say to her supposed husband in the bedroom. Her supposed husband, Joe, well, talks too much and impresses too little. If you put it all together, religion mixes with home affairs, politics (read: continuous blasting of NDP commentary from the TV), the supernatural (Mum’s spooky act of folding dad’s clothes and singing in Hainanese) and even the social (the NDP ticket issue).

In the middle of the film, it was easy to get lost and wonder where’s thrust in all this. Certainly, it reflected the director’s keen observation of life. I mean, there were those moments that tingled that sense of dejavu in me – Ma’s ‘quality testing’ of fruits in the kitchen and the random pocket Christian book strewn in Dad’s car compartment. Somehow, the interjecting of National Day Parade footages seemed more distracting than additive towards its thematic texture. Perhaps, because there are so many issues, little time was left to establish the significance of National Day to this family and how it poses an opposing pull of attention away from the issue of Dad’s passing. Or a juxtaposition.

Most of the film’s best portions can be found at the end when the direction is clear. All that murky understanding of what’s been happening resolves itself as the family members resolve their feelings towards his death individually. Particularly haunting is Ma’s little moment. Though bordering in the theatrical, it gives her something beyond how many local films would commonly portray a traditional mother.

'STAR' by Russel Adam Morton - The LaSalle Show '09

I bet there must be a thousand and one ways to tell this story. ‘STAR’ is a semi-fantastical story about a regular office worker who meets a stranger and discovers a ‘new’ side to himself. Aren’t all love stories like that? Well, this is not exactly a love story, it is more like an urban fairytale about ‘coming-out’ of our concrete confines. The film is very much a free-spirited stroll in the park without too much narrative confinement. This is also its Achilles heel because after repeated dancing and revelry, we already get the point of the importance of setting yourself free. At least it had a proper ending that closes the lid on the story’s development.

Keith is a regular office worker who drags his feet to work. Workplace is a ‘Orwellean’ office where the boss is on stand-by to catch latecomers. Keith who is late escapes the bosses’ surveillance. In the unusually cramped and restrained environment, Keith is suffocating and eventually sneaks his way out for some fresh air. This is when ‘Star’, a mysterious gypsy-like Indian girl bumps into him and proclaims her ‘love’ for him – an unconditional love that smells like its from another galaxy or dimension. So she takes Keith on a stroll down the Singapore River, like a tourist, doing touristy things like watching buskers, taking the bumboat and sitting on the ‘bungee’ swing thingey at Clarket Quay. So I have 2 interpretations here – the point of it is either to teach Keith to smell the roses that always been blooming in his own soil, so the makers of this film are pretty fresh to Singapore and still have a sense of novelty about these acitivities. I was watching the film in the middle of one of the hottest periods in Singapore and I wondered how sweaty the shoot must have been. I mean, I have never seen anyone dance to busking music like they did under the punishing afternoon sun!

A good 5 minutes could really be cut from the film because of the repetitiveness of the motifs. It was not long before my wide-eyed, innocent appreciation of this god-sent cheerleader turned sour. Either that, the film could explore the emotional and ideological shifts within Keith more to make its point clearer. Or tell us more about Star beyond her colorful rags…. Oops drapes. Incidentally, ‘STAR’ was a good respite from the other films that were droning in a common tone about family and its usual issues.

'Family Lies' by Jeannie Chua - The LaSalle Show '09

Very often, turning a screenplay into a film may not need too much dramatization to bring out the essence. A moment of silence, a short exchange of glances, a wordless utterance could do the job better for that is often how we operate in the comfort zone of family life. In order words, ‘Family Lies’, could have been more digestible if we let the characters speak for themselves more than their lines.

‘Family Lies’ is about how a father and son break down their mutual barriers over the father’s contraction of a disease. Chet, the son is the typical polished, dashing, idealistic gem of an young man you would usually see in telco ads where mum makes long distance calls to her precious son studying overseas. The Dad is physically typical but has a laughable streak in all that crankiness. Mother is just another concerned, tender-looking figure of comfort who has the unfortunate job of trying to bridge the two.

From the point of his return, he is concerned yet feels handicapped by the thorny state of communication between father and son. Over a quiet family dinner, little is exchanged except for what is necessary. Poor mothers, they always get stuck in between everyone else, trying to soften the blows. Then, a sudden stimulus is introduced – the family cat goes missing. It galvanizes the family into unified action. As expected, it gives father and son a chance to join hands. Before it slips into another family-themed cliché, the plot actually meanders to keep the audience’s minds busy.

Anyone who has a typically stubborn, old-fashioned, authoritative father would know how hard it is to remove his leopard spots. It thus needs more convincing of how the father could suddenly lower his crusty defences. Mum is also a bit of a surprise depending on whether she intentionally set up the two men in the house. It reminds me of TV ads in which mums always fish out magical household tricks. So in the end, it turns out that the cat came back and father and son buried some stray cat that died on their car journey. So dad, mum and son finish off happy and the audience finally gets to enjoy the jazz that’s been piped in right from the start – honestly an odd combination with the narrative.

Production Talk - 'HERE' by Ho Tzu Nyen

HERE is a made-in-Singapore film, produced by an international team, from Spain, Canada and Singapore. It is the debut feature film of Ho Tzu Nyen, who wrote and directed it. Set in a disused mental hospital in Singapore, HERE is a story about love and the love of fate.

The film was selected for the prestigious 41st Directors' Fortnight in Cannes, which took place in May 2009. It is the same festival which screened the first films of Jim Jarmush, Werner Herzog, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Nagisa Oshima and Martin Scorsese.


From the director:

"I first visited a mental asylum ten years ago. A close friend had been involuntarily incarcerated in a facility. As I walked with him towards the garden, we observed the other inmates, who were in turn observing us.

Since then, a few more friends have experienced difficulty in distinguishing reality from illusion. One of them confused the reel for the real, and believed his actions were being recorded by a mysterious device installed in his television set and his life broadcast for everyone to see.

More recently, I had the opportunity to visit a mental facility to prepare for a film I was planning to shoot. At the same time, I started researching on new advances in clinical treatments of mental illness. I came across a report of an experimental treatment involving the video recording of dysfunctional families who were later made to analyse their own behaviour and relationships. This idea filled me with both a sense of excitement and uneasiness.

In some way, HERE is a result of this ambiguity."

*****

Jeremy (J): Is your motivation for HERE more personal or more intellectual?
I mean it deviates from the usual 'mental disorder' story in a sense that it has an experiment and a filmmaker.
Tzu Nyen (TN): For me, there is no separation between the two. I don't know how to compartmentalize my thoughts. All these divisions - personal/intellectual, or emotional/intellectual.... However, what I am very keen to do is to avoid representing "mental illness" or people with "mental illness". I wanted very much to refrain from reproducing clichés, or stereotypes.


J: I have not watched HERE, could you explain how you avoid reproducing stereotypes?
TN: Maybe what I am more interested in doing is to create a film where the thought processes of the spectator can be disrupted, scrambled, and reassembled in new ways - For example, I did not wish any of my actors to act as mental patients.


J: There are so many characters in your cast list... how do they come into the picture? I know there is one main character though.
TN: Well, for me there are two main characters - one of them is probably the guy you are thinking is the main character. The other is the filmmaker that you have mentioned earlier.

J: How about the kleptomaniac?
TN: Ah...she is crucial to the film as well! I guess she is what you might call the female lead.
J: (laughs)
TN: All the characters are there in my film because they are all necessary.


J: On a side note, how did you get Dana Lam to be in your film? I recognized her face from AWARE.
TN: Dana is a good friend of mine, known her for a long time.

Grace (G): Is HERE more of a docufiction?
TN: I think Jean Luc Goddard once said that every good fiction film is a documentary and every good documentary is a fiction film. I feel like that too. HERE is very much a documentary of a cinematic game played with all my cast and crew. But it is also a story....


J: The experiment in the film seems to put the film out of a local context. Has this 'treatment' been done in Singapore? Or has it been done anywhere in the world?
TN: Well, there have been similar experiments in some progressive psychiatric practices - but then someone like Lars Von Trier says that for him, making a film is therapeutic - so for many people, making a film could be like this "experiment" of the videocure in my film.


J: I am guessing the film will generate a lot of different responses because of your motivation to 'reassemble' our thoughts about the subject. So I am interested to know how the audience felt in Cannes and what kind of response you are expecting in Singapore (will it be screened here?)
TN: I think I am interested in reassembling the spectator's thought processes in watching a film - not with regards to the subject of "mental illness". To put it in another way, I am interested in disrupting a spectator's normal frame of mind. About the audience reaction... Well, I think that so far the French critics have been very positive about the film.
We need to understand that not only are the French great cinema lovers, but there is also a strong tradition of anti-psychiatry in their history via important writers such as Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Felix Guattari, etc. So the film elicited very interesting responses from the cinema "angle" but also the question of "mental illness" and the ethics of "representing" it.
HERE will be screened at the Picturehouse on 25 June - so hope you can help me spread the news.


TN: Well, one of my favorite lines from the Gospel is when Christ says he was not sent down from heaven to bring peace. Rather he has come with a sword. He is here to divide - mother against son, brother against sister, etc… I think a good work of art - or at least a work of art that interests me is like that, either sent from heaven or sprung from hell, to divide. So I guess I am not expecting or asking for the work to be loved by everyone.





(A little digression)

J: Amazing Grace............... Sorry... noticed it in the trailer.
G: Yes, the song!
TN: That's a great song! Loved it since I was in primary school.
G: It’s kind of haunting.
J: I know.... plus those images, especially the one on the field with the people seated in a scattered fashion.
G: Exactly. They’ve got uniforms? They’re all wearing white.
TN: Yes - sort of uniforms, with small variations.


G: Did you face any challenges during production?
TN: I think every production has its own challenges - I am not sure if mine was special in anyway. But I think the greatest limitation was money. But which non-Hollywood film doesn't lack money? As Fellini said, "the film ends when the money runs out!"
G: So did this happen with you?
TN: It always happens that way! I wish I was Charlie Chaplin - who takes a year to make his film.


J: I have a question on production - How did u find that building?
TN: We checked out every abandoned hospital. And the location that we eventually selected was View Road Hospital - which used to be a real mental hospital. That’s too good to refuse.
J: Where is View Road?
TN: So I often think of the shooting of HERE as a way to summon the past. View Road is near Woodlands. In any case, I believed we filmed under very special conditions. The actions of the actors in the present are echoes of a possible real past. In this sense, HERE is a documentary; special conditions in a special location. View Road Hospital, I believe is now being reconstructed into a dormitory so HERE is the only extensive portrait of that magical place, charged with memories and energies.

HERE runs from 25 June-1 July 2009 at The Picturehouse, Cathay.

http://www.herethefilm.com/
http://www.thepicturehouse.com.sg/ (to buy tickets to the film, available online from 18 June)
http://www.quinzaine-realisateurs.com/films/14191/HERE.html (photos and interviews in Cannes 2009)