The Dirty Dozen
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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
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