The recent 6th Singapore Indie Documentary Fest at the Substation presented some new local documentaries and favourites like Lynn Lee and James Leong's The Great North Korean Picture Show. We review a couple of the docu shorts presented at the fest.
***
Everyone makes
mistakes. Some learn while some don't, some get away with a few but some get
punished permanently for one.
When Ruslan, a
man in his 40s, was released from the prison, he discovers that society is
generally not accepting of him. He makes ends meet by working on odd jobs and
finds himself living simply under a public flyover. Soon before long, he will
be forced to leave his makeshift home in order to pave way for upgrading works.
In this
12-minute documentary film, 'Ruslan' makes a stirring piece of reminder for
public to not turn a blind eye towards people who direly need another shot in
life. The subject lets audience into his private life of everyday struggles in
changing himself to be a better man. He harbours deep desires to be free from
unpleasant social pressure and stigma towards ex-convicts. His positivity, inner strength and new found
discipline in keeping a clean record, with guidance at Pertapis Halfway Home,
will tug audience's hearts to root for him, and others like him.
At one point in
the film, Ruslan shares a particular close shave incident when he offered his
place to a recovering drug addict friend who needed shelter for a few days.
Much later, he got a call from his friend hurrying him to throw away particles
of drug which was unknowingly hidden in a closet. Ruslan went completely
ballistic and felt betrayed by his friend whom he felt could have caused him to
be an accomplice for drug possession. Now, he is particularly cautious when helping out as such
unforeseen incidents could possibly charred his chances to regain public trust
and lead a normal life.
The power of any
good documentary lies in its subject. In this case, Sabrina Poon has hit home
run with the man of the title. Her gutsy selection of subject resembles a
curious mouse walking daintily in a lion's den.
Her work also exudes sincerity which probably what Ruslan must have
acknowledged from the start hence, the delivery and narration come across as
heartfelt. This can be seen when Ruslan does not seem to mind opening up old
wounds to a complete stranger and doing his regular walkabout or exercise
routine in front of the camera.
Sabrina is also
skillful in balancing between how she wants to tell the story and how Ruslan
wants to be portrayed. Albeit her first attempt in documentary making, she
delivered both the message and subject remarkably outstanding which keeps
audience wanting more.
Review by Haswani
