The Dirty
Dozen
This year’s lineup at the 22nd Singapore
International Film Festival (SIFF) is as predictable as ever. But
there’s some good stuff. Ramesh William and
Terry Ong suss out 12 “hot” flicks that you
really shouldn’t miss.
Yawn. What promises to be a
festival with a difference (the appointment of new festival
directors in the form of young guns Yuni Hadi and Zhang Wenjie) has
unfortunately turned out to be another ho-hum affair. So we’re
looking forward to the inaugural Singapore Film Awards, a new
component of this year’s SIFF—where worthier local films like
Royston Tan’s 12 Lotus and Kelvin Tong’s Rule #1—are up for awards
in categories like Best Director and Best Film.
But the
overall lineup this year is uninspiring. Unlike in previous years
where the festival struck a decent balance between accessible
arthouse flicks, retrospectives and controversial content (who can
forget all the hoo-hah and controversy behind Nagisa Oshima’s In
the Realm of the Senses and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Salo in 2000 and
2001 respectively?), this year’s crop of films lacks excitement.
Still, 12 of these films that we will make an effort to watch this
year shouldn’t disappoint, simply because they deal with risque
subjects such as homosexuality, alienation, crime, rape and punk.
Here’s the lowdown:
Terry’s
Picks
Bastardy (Australia)
What it’s about: This intimate
documentary by Amiel Courtin-Wilson tells of 48 year-old, black and
homosexual actor Jack Charles, who recounts his life housebreaking,
going to jail and being homeless. Charles is also a well-regarded
actor who has an extensive body of work in Australian cinema,
theater and TV.
Why watch: Director
Courtin-Wilson’s keen sensibility has resulted in one of the most
touching documentaries this year.
When: Apr 19, 7:15pm; Guinness
Theatre.
Bill’s Mountain (USA)
What it’s about: Meet Bill Jackson,
your typical friendly neighbor who also happens to be an ex-hustler
who collects poisonous spiders, gets into fights and accidents, and
has a dark and seedy past growing up with a pedophile.
Why watch: Director Dyanne Asimow
spent 12 years working on this documentary project—a labor of love
that should be as compelling as it is real.
When: Apr 21, 7:15pm; Guinness
Theatre.
Boy (Philippines)
What it’s about: This sensitive
coming-of-age tale, from the director who brought us The Blossoming
of Maximo Oliveros, Aureus Solito, centers on a poor young poet who
meets another impoverished dancer in a gay nightclub. Needless to
say, they become friends and fall in love.
Why watch: This should be another
acute and entertaining study on sexual awakening, and Solito always
brings out the best from his young cast.
When: Apr 19, 11:30am; Apr 24,
7:15pm; Guinness Theatre.
Disgrace (Australia/South Africa)
What it’s about: After being forced
to resign to Eastern Cape Town, following a sexual molestation
accusation, Professor David Lurie (John Malkovich) reunites with
his estranged daughter. Their relationship is put to the test after
they become victims of a vicious attack.
Why watch: The always intriguing
Malkovich should bring depth and layers to the role of an unjustly
accused academic.
When: Apr 23, 9:15pm;
Cinematheque.
Jay (Philippines)
What it’s about: After a gay
schoolteacher Jay, gets stabbed to death in his apartment, an
ambitious TV producer, also by the name of Jay, moves into the late
victim’s home to document a “reality show” of sorts, retracing the
incident.
Why watch: This sensationalistic
film by director Francis Xavier Pasion should intrigue the voyeurs
in all of us.
When: Apr 16, 9:15pm;
Cinematheque.
Punksters and Youngsters (Finland)
What it’s about: Director Jouko
Aaltonen brings forth Finnish D-I-Y punk aesthetics—featuring the
who’s who in the scene such as girl band Creepy Crawlie and
legendary musician Andy McCoy.
Why watch: It is fun and
educational, even, to find out about punk culture beyond the
stereotypical London underground scene.
When: Apr 22, 7:15pm; The Screening
Room.
Ramesh’s
Picks
A Big Road (China/Singapore)
What it’s about: Local director
Alec Tok directs this set-in-Shanghai story about three women going
through various stages of life. One of the characters, Minjie finds
herself caught in a no-man’s land between life and
death.
Why watch: It’s an engaging tale
about transition, love, emotional neglect and the at-times
meaninglessness of life set against the one of the most bustling,
evolving metropolises of our time.
When: Apr 10, 7:15pm;
Cinematheque.
An Extraordinary Study of Human Degradation
(Sweden)
What it’s about: After getting
dumped by his girlfriend, director Patrik Eriksson documents his
new-found depressed state via a mobile phone camera. This 83-minute
effort is thus a record of that mental breakdown.
Why watch: Dive into a world of
boundless partying, Internet dating, masturbation and raw sexual
frustration.
When: Apr 16, 7:15pm; The Screening
Room.
Female Games (Singapore)
What it’s about: While on a
modeling assignment in Kuala Lumpur two Singapore models run into
trouble while dealing with a casting agent of questionable
character. They flee the city for the quieter charms of Penang,
where they begin to fall for each other.
Why watch: Touting itself as the
first Singaporean film to portray female homosexuality, Female
Games touches on intimacy and societal pressures; promising to be
an honest piece of filmmaking on a topic that is still taboo
here.
When: Apr 20, 7:15pm; Guinness
Theatre.
Promised Land (Israel/France)
What it’s about: Young Eastern
European women are smuggled into Israel under the cover of
darkness. Once there they are sold into a life of prostitution.
Israeli filmmaker delivers an honest, hard and grim picture of what
it’s like to be a modern-day slave.
Why watch: A stellar lineup of
international beauties comprising one-time Bond girl Rosamund Pike
and La Femme Nikita herself, Anne Parillaud.
When: Apr 18, 9:15pm; Lido
3.
Sex Is No Laughing Matter (Japan)
What it’s about: Mirume, a young
arts student, falls for his teacher and then later on develops
feelings for his classmate, En.
Why watch: Glamorous young Japanese
stars in roles oozing with sexual awkwardness.
When: Apr 25, 4:30pm;
Cinematheque.
The Wackness (USA)
What it’s about: Ben Kingsley plays
a therapist who is itching to get laid; while the film’s main
protagonist Luke, a drug-peddling college loafer, falls for
Kingsley’s stepdaughter.
Why watch: Ben Kingsley plays yet
another dirty old man type in a film that deals with struggling
with one’s own demons. Having Famke Janssen in a any film is always
a plus.
When: Apr 25, 7:15pm; Lido
1.
Cinema
Directory
Cinematheque, National Museum of Singapore, 93 Stamford Rd.,
6332-5642.
Guinness Theatre, The Substation, 45 Armenian St.,
6337-7535.
Lido,
350 Orchard Rd., 6738-0555.
The
Screening Room, The Arts House, 1 Old Parliament Lane,
6332-6900.
For ticketing details, log on to
www.filmfest.org.sg
i-s
magazine