Still from 'Bird' by Kristen Ong
A director lends his set of
eyes and views to the audience, almost like a magician, making them believe in
a certain scheme of things that may not be universally true. A good director
makes this so convincing, whatever the form it may take, be it real or surreal.
For this, the jury for the 5th Singapore Short Film Awards must be
lauded for weaning off from the stack of entries, 5 very diverse films in terms
of directorial style and each a convincing one in its own right.
Essentially, it was a
competition between a film lecturer, a film writer/filmmaker/academic and 3
recently-graduated film students. But in no way could the merits of the
direction on each of the entries be compared on an apple-to-apple basis. They
were genetically different.
‘Bird’ by Kristen Ong, a film
student, was a sensitive performance-driven piece that has a nuanced and fluid
art-house tempo to it, with a penchant for pregnant pauses and poignant
accents. ‘Abang’ by Dzafirul Haniff, film graduate from NTU, while exhibiting
soap-worthy theatrics, is actually a confidently helmed drama that presents
some endearing brotherhood moments despite its quasi-TV form. Wu Ling Feng, a
graduate from the La Salle Putnam School of Film, takes a bold step in
directing an intense immigrant drama with ‘Tightrope’ that screams ‘serious
Chinese film’.
Daniel Hui, a filmmaker who
also is one of the driving forces behind filmmaking collective 13 Little
Pictures eschews traditional enactment with 2 narrated sequences that are
nonchalant yet undeniably arresting in ‘Animal Spirits’. Finally, Michael Kam,
a film lecturer, reprises his ‘brotherly-antics’ genre but with a rather
stylized and highly-punctuated approach in ‘Detour’.
When presented with such a
diversity, it becomes difficult to conclude if Dzafirul’s subliminal touch to
family drama is superior to Wu Ling Feng’s penetrative treatment of migrant
woes. Or if Daniel’s radical reinventing of narrative form is a bigger
achievement than Michael Kam’s spot-on effort in offering what short-films have
been traditionally defined to do – condense great stories with knowing where to
put a full stop.
It seems the judges have gone
for the safe choice this year by giving the award to Michael Kam. But if we
pushed the boundaries a little, there are streaks of geniuses the other
directors have displayed in their works. In ascending order of preference, I
share why I have ranked these films in the following ways (though ranking is so
wrong in theory).
Still from 'TIghtrope' by Wu Ling Feng
‘Tightrope’ is a film that
seeks a little adventure from conventional structure by following 2 migrant
characters vigilantly as they seek to survive in Singapore. The intimate
depiction of these characters is a discernible achievement in this film. For his
youth, Ling Feng is able to bring colour, depth and authenticity to the
characters, rather effortlessly. Where the film falls short is the looseness of
the plot and a tendency to indulge in the various encounters with strangers. In
fact, an alternative name for the film could be ‘Encounters’. What’s with the dallying with the flautist?
By the end of the film, the inability to control the story just suggests this
director, while adept at crafting situations and moments, needs to see the
forest apart from the trees.
Still from 'Detour' by Michael Kam
‘Detour’, a simple,
minimalistic film told in black and white, reflects the director’s mature
treatment of relationships and the shocks that could come between them. Two
young brothers (a recurring motif in Michael’s films) find a connecting point
in their relationship from a dark encounter with a stranger, also played
against the ignorance of their testy and ranting father. While the dynamics of
the set up is clever, the actual interplay seems stilted with conversational
flow being too clean. Perhaps, it might be a directorial decision to create
this stylized black and white world in a film about losing ‘innocence’. But the
choice of style in fact does little to bring immediacy or connection to the
events in the film. Interestingly, the minimalism with the acting and directing
is emblematic of some of a certain Eric Khoo- school of directing evident in
several local short films seen. Think heartlanders or commoners in normally
boisterous heartland situations but strangely trapped in a world of silence and
minimal dialogue.
Still from 'Abang' by Dzafirul Haniff
Dzafirul who directed ‘Abang’
clearly demonstrates a mature hand at handling drama point blank. Confrontation
seems to be a rare commodity in many of the more contemporary independent films
here. They either understate confrontation with symbolism or never give it its
full glory on screen. The brotherhood cum family drama in ‘Abang’ is
reminiscent of some of the good family soap seen on the big screen from
seasoned commercial filmmakers. The dialogue is natural, the delivery is
nuanced and the inter-reactions never too predictable. While Wu Ling Feng in
‘Tightrope’ also seems to have a good grasp of realistic dialogue, Dzafirul
displays a stronger footing in his craft from also being able move the
narrative along and not allow his characters to indulge in too much
navel-gazing.
Still from 'Animal Spirits' by Daniel Hui
The lines between a film and
an essay in Daniel Hui’s works are not always clear. His films, of late, seem
like visual essays where the sounds and images lead us to an argument or a
point. Without saying the style is fresh and a much-needed departure from the
confines of conventional narratives. What’s even more refreshing is the
presence of an unwavering voice with a fervent view about something. ‘Animal
Spirits’ embodies this, in a sense that the film is resolute and single-minded
in its journey to make a point. It throws up a series of questions along the
way. While many of these do not have an answer, the film is very clear in its
attempt to make a point with these questions. That’s a breath of fresh air. To
be exact, unbendable direction is a breath of fresh air. A concept like this in
‘Animal Spirits’ is ingenious. There are hits and misses in the way the
thoughts are being visually represented but none of these take the thunder away
from the very unique film ‘Animal Spirits’ has presented itself to be.
Innovative mechanics and
fresh ideas aside, nothing can take our attention off a film that is grounded
in the basics of good story, storytelling and heart. Also, good films seem to
have a certain heartbeat and rhythm to it that is hard to measure and
rationalize about. ‘Bird’ has this beguiling nature about it that makes its
understated nature so apt. This film is seamless in its grasp of rhythm and the
interplay between some opposites – the opposites of memory versus present,
tenderness versus tension and dialogue versus silence. These narrative and
visual undulations are so beautifully strung together, (and pardon me for
saying this), it makes you forget the narrative aberration of the love between
two girls. Kristen Ong, the director, displays what seems to be a balanced and
confident hand with details, vividly transporting in the character’s world but
never overly-indulging in sentimentality. In a way, this film demonstrates how
it is difficult to quantify or measure good directing. To put it in an abstract
way, a good director seems to be able to breathe in tandem with the situation
and its characters and I feel Kristen has demonstrated that in ‘Bird’, never
letting us see it flutter its wings but making us feel dreamily afloat.
The Best Director Award went to Michael Kam of 'Detour'.
Review by Jeremy Sing
The Best Director Award went to Michael Kam of 'Detour'.
Review by Jeremy Sing
Still from 'Bird' by Kristen Ong