[TIFF 2009 Review] Rain Dogs

[This review is pulled forward from the archive to coincide with the film’s screening at this year’s TIFF.]

Growing Pains

The FOCUS: First Cuts project seemed to have stalled into making the local screenings despite last year's fanfare during the project launch, and it's probably because of the lacklustre box office sales that seemed to add to the reluctance. Rain Dogs (and the other remaining movie My Mother is a Belly Dancer) were given new lease of life at the local halls in a one-off weekend screening, which allowed me to view this movie which have been making waves at major film festivals overseas.

Maybe I did not get the appeal of the movie, as I found it difficult to seek that iota of connection with Rain Dogs. Perhaps I haven't been the kampong boy nor experienced the type of life that the protagonist led. What I do see though, are two separate stories telling the life of Tung, in the first where he's in KL with his brother, and the story dwells on the excellent brotherly love between the two boys, while the second, his exodus from home into the solace of relatives, where he experiences puppy love and somehow finds strength in character, a departure from his relatively whimsical earlier self.

Directed by Ho Yuhang, Rain Dogs tells of Tung's development from boy to man, and maybe, just maybe, his innate search for a father figure in his life. We see that his brother served as the person he admires, and one who takes care of him, while in the later stages, it becomes his uncle, and even more interestingly, the suggestion of Tung being the big brother whom his nephew looks up to. And I thought while Tung develops his bravado, he still retained a certain gawky demeanour, which is actually true of anyone coming of age.

Given the two disparate settings of the movie before and after the opening credits, it allowed for some contrast between the city and the smaller town, with the city being portrayed as dangerous - gangsters, pimps and their broads stalking their next prey, snooker parlour gangsters, and even the blatant corruption amongst white collar workers. The small towns on the other hand, provides opportunity for growth, family bonding, and even a whiff of romance in the air.

There are plenty of picturesque scenes in the movie which allows for some quiet contemplation, and some touching moments too where and when characters connect. If you keep your eyes peeled at the minutest of details, you will probably break out into a smile or two. One of my favourite scenes involved a beer can, which I thought was very subtle, and I actually burst out laughing, much to the puzzlement of the rest. Also, I would like to highlight that the movie is almost devoid of songs save for one, which in my opinion, epitomizes my general feeling towards watching the movie.

Fans of Yasmin Ahmad will also relish seeing their favourite director in front of the camera rather than behind it. Playing the aunt of Tung, she speaks Cantonese quite flawlessly in her role, and yes, she can act too you know? In case you're not aware, Yuhang has also starred in Yasmin's movie - Rabun.

Rain Dogs may not be everyone's cup of tea, but this is just as diverse as the FOCUS: First Cuts project sets itself out to be.

[TIFF 2009 Stage Appearance] Sideways (サイドウェイズ)

LtoR: Fumiyo Kohinata, Cellin Gluck, Rinko Kikuchi

Sideways is the Japanese remake of the Hollywood film of the same name, and going by the synopsis and character make up, it does seem a somewhat faithful adaptation, until the guests for today's stage appearance dispelled that assumption.

Here are cast members Fumiyo Kohinata and Rinko Kikuchi to tell you more during the stage appearance, with Cellin Gluck providing that surprise drop in halfway into the proceedings as well!

In Japanese, with English translation:


Part 1 of 3


Part 2 of 3


Part 3 of 3: Everyone pitching for their film!

[TIFF 2009 Review] Road, Movie (Asian Premiere)

Let There Be Cinema

Road movies as a genre is something I've always enjoyed, because it's a journey of self-realization for the characters involved, of setting off on the less beaten path, of challenging oneself and the absorption of experience through what life decides to throw at you. But only if you're willing to be that sponge, otherwise you're in for one miserable time unless you learn what's essentially to wing it and take things on the chin.

For Vishnu (Abhay Deol), he's troubled with his life heading nowhere, and that his family business, Atma Hair Oil, isn't as lucrative as his dad had envisioned. He decides to take a 6 day road trip by driving on behalf of his uncle, a rickety 1942 beat up truck which had seen better days, one that his uncle is proud of in being the ultimate travelling cinema, complete with two 35mm projectors, a large white sheet to be used as a screen, and a library of classic films from both Bollywood and Hollywood.

But of course Vishnu's plan isn't to become a travelling cinema operator, nor to sell bottles of Atma Hair Oil which his dad had thrust upon him to do so. It's a matter of escape and hopefully through the journey to discover his destiny, and little does he know that the episodes that he's going to encounter, would alter his heartless temperament, sour attitude, and that general feeling of being lost in the crowd.

In essence, it's a film about friendship gained through life's experiences and in finding happiness with friends and the situations we find ourselves in. For Vishnu's case, it's befriending (and this guy takes an extremely long time to warm up to people) a smart-arse kid (Mohammed Faisal Usmani) whom he grudgingly accepted to hitchhike from a pit stop for tea, a mechanic and general technician Om (Sathish Kaushik) who actually bails Vishnu out from countless of technical situations no thanks to the condition of the truck, and a gypsy girl (Tannishta Chatterjee) who's part of a tribe on a journey of her own to look for precious water, with whom he falls in love with.

And the incidents that writer-director Dev Benegal crafted was wonderfully varied, which ensured that you're kept engaged throughout this odyssey, from a run in with corrupt cops, to a hilarious episode with a gang of bandits who had monopolized the area's water supply. Bear in mind that everything brought along on a road trip has a use in the film, and I was chuckling at how that object became something that was useful in this barter situation.

Then there's the plot element of being a cinema paradiso, after all what good does it serve if you're travelling with a library of films, but not screening it to anyone? Doing so for the local populace allows the audiences to catch glimpses of some classic Indian films, and I always felt that these scenes just highlighted what power films can bring to audiences, especially positive ones that will always draw a smile, no matter when they're played.

If there's life lessons that can be taken away from this film, that will be a very key message passed on which called for learning to be with less, in being contented with what life has dished out to you, otherwise you'll be in for a very miserable, unhappy time. For anything else, there's always hair oil and a good head massage to set things right.

[TIFF 2009 Review] Staten Island (International Premiere)

Vantage Point

Written and directed by James DeMonaco, this is one quirky crime caper that tells of 3 individuals in a non-linear fashion, which brings to mind something like at attempt at Pulp Fiction especially with its hilarious inter-titles used as character introductions, breaking up the narrative into a before-and-after a pivotal opening where a mobster violently interrogates a small time crook because the latter had done something terrible to the former's mom.

You know that's plenty of black comedy going for the film with its documentary introduction, which explains in general just what Staten Island is all about in socio-geographic terms, where we're told that it's basically a crime burrough with the highest concentration of gangsters and mob killings, with areas named after famous kill grounds. It set the stage for what's to come as a theme, where it's about failure and the results that stem from such failure.

Vincent D'nofrio plays Parmie, a mafioso type who sets goals constantly to achieve for vanity reasons, such as his world record breaking attempt at being a man capable of holding his breath underwater for 9 minutes. But in fact it's quite a shrewd skill, especially when an assassination attempt proved on hindsight that this is is of value to anyone who knows they're on someone else's hit list. He sets yet another more ambitious plan, and that's to start a bloodbath with rival gangs in order to take control over Staten Island's underworld, a plan that brings about hesitation from his crew. Unfortunately he becomes disillusioned by a keen betrayal, and in an about turn sets another goal which tangents his character off quite a bit, and that's to become a tree hugger.

In another story, there's Ethan Hawke's Sully, a not too bright young man who's obsessed at the end of his working shift to get rid of that stinky smell no thanks to being in the waste business. His wife Maria (Julianne Nicholson) wants to have a baby, and Sully is adamant for an embryonic gene modification program in order to ensure that his kid is born a genius and not succumb to the flaws of his own genes. The price of 50 grand proves to be a stumbling block, until he carries out a hack job of a robbery attempt with his pals, that see him having to flee for his life before the mobsters come knocking.

Then there's possible the best character portrayal of the lot in Seymour Cassel's role as Jasper, an old, deaf man working at the grocer shop where everyone congregates for a brief scene (love that French love toss by the way). He emotes wonders through his facial expression, and with a kind face like that, it only makes you wonder the tremendous amount of pressure and hate at what he's been assisting with, to finally cause him to snap and take matters into his own hands. The violence depicted was shocking, yet superbly executed by the filmmakers in being unflinching, real and brutal, and will likely stick with you for a while after you leave the theatres.

It's not exactly feel good, but Staten Island has its own little charms and quirks at every turn, and it's a fair delight to be amongst the strong competition in the official selection of the Tokyo International Film Festival.

[TIFF 2009 Press Conference] Ten Winters (Dieci Inverni)

LtoR: Valerio Mieli, (translator), Michele Riodino, Uliana Kovalev

Ten Winters, one of the films in competition in the main programme of this year's TIFF, saw its writer-director Valerio Mieli, actor Michele Riodino and Producer Uliana Kovalev in action during the press conference for the film.

In Japanese, Italian and English:


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Part 2 of 4


Part 3 of 4


Part 4 of 4


You can read my review of Ten Winters here.

[TIFF 2009 Q&A] Ten Winters (Dieci Inverni)

LtoR: Uliana Kovalev, Michele Riodino, Valerio Mieli
Ten Winters, one of the films in competition in the main programme of this year's TIFF, saw its writer-director Valerio Mieli, actor Michele Riodino and Producer Uliana Kovalev grace the post-screening for a Q&A discussion with the audience.

In Japanese, Italian and English:


Part 1 of 4


Part 2 of 4


Part 3 of 4


Part 4 of 4


You can read my review of Ten Winters here.

[TIFFCOM 2009 Review] The Great Pilgrim

I suppose many are extremely familiar with the Journey to the West story, the one with many a mythological character included chronicling the quest for scriptures as undertaken by the monk Tripitaka, alongside his famous disciples Sun Wukong, Pigsy and Sandy and that dragon prince who was to be their steed. With different media adaptation, one of my favourites was a made in China television series which I watched as a kid, enthralled by tales of how the entourage battled evil demons every step of the way, enticed by the prospect of eternal life by devouring the flesh of the monk.

That story is made famous by the author Wu Cheng'en, which is a romanticized tale of the arduous journey by the monk Xuan Zang in his quest for knowledge. In this documentary directed by Jin Tiemu, The Great Pilgrim retraces the route and incidents (with demons of a different sort of course) that the monk had encountered over his 19 year return journey to obtain thousands of Sanskrit scriptures, in order to quench the desire of studies he had found to be wanting from missing books, and incorrect translations.

Painstakingly made with visual effects to recreate the 600 AD era, the value this film brought to the table, is chiefly the footage of many actual archeological sites now left standing, places that for the ordinary Joe would be difficult to pay a visit to, and those that Xuan Zang had reportedly been to, made pit stops at, or have encountered significant events in his journey, such as with Qu Wentai, an emperor who had assisted through the provision of an entourage and supplies, and with whom he became sworn brothers with. Meticulously researched, the details covered by the film is based on two books, one which is Xuan Zang's personal recorded history of his quest, and the other a biography written by two of his disciples.

Key scenes got reenacted by actors, Wang Xinyuan playing the titular monk with extreme grace, as he battles plenty of natural elements and overcome unfortunate incidents along the silk road in a period where the dynasty is under constant threat of war. There's this Zen like feel throughout the film that made it unfold with remarkable understatement that doesn't go over the top in trumpeting the achievements of a monk who had brought about a massive evolution to the religion in the country, who not only made that physical quest westwards, but who dedicated the next phase of his life translating those scriptures as well.

If you want to learm more about the monk that you've known through the Journey to the West story, and are interested to find more out about the actual journey, then undoubtedly this would be the go-to film. Cross your fingers that this would somehow find its way to the apt Buddhist Film Festival in Singapore too.

[TIFF 2009 Review] Push

[This review is pulled forward from the archive to coincide with the film’s screening at this year’s TIFF.]

Peeking Around Corners

Push is one of those movies that gives you the deja-vu feeling that it's a quick hack job, because from the trailer alone, images of X-men as well as Star Wars come racing through your mind, what with talk about being born with special powers akin to being a mutant wanted by government agents, as well as in execution of those abilities as fluidly like a Jedi Knight would, with mind-tricks, Force Push and a prophecy to fulfil.

It takes place in today's world, where some folks get to be born with powers that The Division (aka the Dark Side) classifies into broad terms like Pushers, Movers, Watchers, Sniffs, Shadows, Shifters, Wipers and Bleeders. Naturally there are good and bad guys within those classes, and The Division are a select few who have government backing to operate like Nazis and conduct experiments to make them all stronger, for weaponization (yes, the DNA of the USA is to weaponize everything). The good guys though are not organized and are forever on the run from The Division, until a few of them decide to band together and fight for their rights.

At least that would be a tad more interesting. Instead, we get a grouping of half-past-six heroes who have idled their potential and not honed it to perfection. Chris Evans' Nick Gant is a drifter who spends his time trying to hone his powers to win in illegal street gambling. He's a mover, and one day gets found out by Dakota Fanning's Watcher just because she sees him in her hallucinatory state from the impressionistic pictures she constantly draws on a sketch pad. A lotus prophecy (it's set in Hong Kong you see) tells this second-generation power couple to band together in their common quest to find Kira Hudson (Camilla Belle), a one time ex-flame of Nick's, and a mysterious briefcase, where by their powers and artifacts combine, they can bring down The Division, kinda like a solo shot in the dark to blow up the Death Star.

Only that the promise doesn't actually get delivered because Push decided to dwell a lot on the bickering and planning stage, while leaving the intended finale either forgotten conveniently, or set aside for a straight to DVD sequel. So what makes this interesting? Apparently I got my kicks out of watching the characters here struggle with their Cantonese. And as an action movie, it sure does have its moments, especially with that street-fighter enhanced fistfight between Nick Gant and what could possibly be The Division's most powerful Mover/Grunt Victor (Neil Jackson).

Djimon Hounsou plays the meanest badass in the movie with Push powers, able to command the weakest of minds (read: supporting characters) to do his bidding. His Henry Carver came across as a poor man's Samuel L. Jackson, and only SLJ can do what SLJ does best - be a mofo. Camilla Belle got wasted here as a damsel in distress, exhibiting some surprise moves once in a while (and even that had implanted doubts), but generally nothing more than a flower vase.

Dakota Fanning isn't new to the action movie genre since she had her firm grounding learning from Tom Cruise on how to run with fear (thanks to War of the Worlds). I admire the now teenager in trying to put into good use her acting chops here, but the filmmakers decided to make her Cassie Holmes suffer a bad hair day throughout. Also, this film had exposed one of her flaws - while she's a good actress and all, she cannot play intoxicated (teenage drinking to boost powers, hooray). Her drunkenness was one of the most unconvincing I've seen put on screen, and she too nearly wanted to break into laughter at her inability.

Filmed entirely in Hong Kong, I caught glimpse from the end credits that Johnnie To and Milkyway got credited for the production. I guess if you want to film Hong Kong in a certain style, there's only the current Hot Property to turn to for consultation. Also, DOP Peter Sova had some very obvious use of the fish-eye lens that seem to mimic that of Christopher Doyle's in Fallen Angels. Most of the Chinese characters here are pretty weak, and not to mention unintentionally hilarious as well, with their shout-down powers of Pop Boy 1 (Chi Kwan Fung) and 2 (Jacky Heung) and a far superior Watcher (Lu Lu) trying to gain a one up against The Division through triad-styled turf wars.

The plot might seem a little muddled as it tried hard to sound intelligent, and there are some illogical moments with characters popping up and about, coupled with some really tired and uninspiring lines and unclear character motivation. Not that it was not entertaining, it actually is. However, it's a movie purely for escapism purposes, this might just be a quick fix to your X-men addiction, if you look too much into it that you see the glaring loopholes that is.

[TIFF 2009 Review] Our Brief Eternity (World Premiere)

What Gives?

The premise of this independent film by Takuya Fukushima is interesting to say the least, because it is based on something quite contemporary, and that's how prevalent and widespread a pandemic virus can reach to infect mass populations, especially in dense cities like Tokyo. The virus is of course fiction, which sends its victims into a fainting spell, and when awakened, lose part of their long term memory permanently, especially that of whom they hold most dear. In some aspects this might resemble that of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, except that this is a case of being non-voluntary with its contraction.

We're first introduced to Teru (Kouta Kusano), a professional bum who spends the bulk of his time wandering the streets, or be found indoors drinking with his buddies, idling time away. He soon chances upon his ex flame Mio (Romi), who doesn't find him familiar. Undeterred, he continues to pursue and jog her memory, and in time, they're both reliving their romance all over again. Until the virus hits Teru at the film's mid-way point, and it's the building up of a relationship from the start in one full circle. It's almost like a tale of two similar halves, where what gets primarily done for Mio, gets mirrored the same for Teru when the virus hits him.

There are other subplots as well, such as a researcher who appears to dispense good advice, and the no-good friends of Teru who get a needless act in the way of the main narrative. What seemed more poignant though is how the problem laid not with the virus, but how one would feel in the aftermath of the infection, be it from the victim's point of view, or from the caregiver wishing for continued recognition, and the exasperation that comes from having to repeat the same set of steps for memory rejuvenation in reclaiming those precious, lost memories for that someone special.

What's also peculiar is how, besides lending itself as a plot element, the focus seemed to be on the macro-aspects of the virus effect on society and the world, such as terrorism. Inter-titles are used to explain in significant detail what the current state of affairs in this fictional world is, though I do not see any parallels that can be drawn from these faux pas incidents, other than how it reflects upon the state of the relationship between Teru and Mio.

It's art-house fare through and through, that has great potential in its premise, but somehow let down by the relatively weak story.

[TIFF 2009 Tribute] Yasmin Ahmad

LtoR: Ho Yuhang, Orked Ahmad, Pete Teo
As part of the tribute programme to Yasmin Ahmad, TIFF's 2 public screenings of Talentime came with a back to back screening of a total of 5 commercials that the director had made. The hall used for this screening also held some significance, as it was the same hall that saw Sepet being screened at TIFF. I think most, if not all of the commercials can be found online, and if possible I'll post some links to them.

Otherwise, in order of the screening, they are:

1. One of Yasmin's earlier commercials where she provided a voice-over toward the end, this one is made for Malaysia's 41st birthday, in encouraging Malaysians not to be ashamed of going local. The commercial follows the adventures of a man who is shy of his Malaysian made shoes, and wondered if his wearing of the shoes instead of branded overseas ones, would enable him to snag the girl of his dreams, to great surprise of course.

2. This one had shades of the Red Shoes commercial (made for Singapore) that could be found in it, just a bit. A single father brings up his daughter (starring Sharifah Amani in the later stages) that talked about how the reward system she had grown accustomed to for various achievements, paled in contrast to the value of doing things for the pure love of, seen in a village where a young man tenderly cares for his aged, blind father. One of her famed Hari Raya ads made for Petronas.

3. Starring the other half of her Sepet duo, this commercial for Petronas' Lunar New Year greeting stars Ng Choo Seong as a son reminiscing the good old days with his late father, and the things he regretted doing, or not doing for him. For sons like myself, this commercial always strike a raw nerve with me each time I watch it, because it is so true, and only Yasmin has the knack of capturing life's essence such as the ones shown in this commercial.

4. The fourth commercial screened is Tan Hong Ming In Love, which needs no introduction as I believe this is one of the most watched commercials in the past year, and had won numerous commercial awards.

5. And the last commercial screened was the latest one she did for the Singapore Government's Ministry for Community, Youth and Sports, the Eulogy short which had made its rounds in the cinemas as well as television sets islandwide.

Pete Teo also performed the song Blue, and shared that while he and Yasmin are great friends, she has never seen him perform live, and dedicated the performance to her.

Yuhang, Orked Ahmad (Yasmin's sister) and Pete Teo then paid tribute to the director who had left us, sharing some little known personal anecdotes with the audience. Moderating this session is TIFF Winds of Asia-Middle East programmer Kenji Ishizaka, translated by Matsushita Yumi.


Part 1 of 3


Part 2 of 3


Part 3 of 3

[TIFF 2009 Review] Talentime

Love

I actually had some notes down on how I would like to approach this, but everything got thrown out the window, especially since watching it for the first time on a big screen, and together with a sell out crowd in Tokyo who didn't shy away from letting their emotions show. I joined them too with teary eyes, and we rang out loud applause after the end credits had rolled off the screen.

To be frank I won't be writing a review per se. I had shared my previous reviews of Yasmin's films with the director herself, and after watching an advance closed door preview of the film just after it was completed, as usual she would ask what I (and the rest who attended) had thought about it. I told her honestly how I felt (I loved it in case you're wondering), and which scenes moved me, but I think it wasn't enough, as she texted me later that night to ask again what I thought about it. I felt she wanted to read what I had to say, and I told her I wanted to watch it on the big screen before I write something. Besides I wouldn't want to be the first one off the blocks, especially since it's still very much fresh from the oven. That was a decision I'm regretting, not about publishing something ahead, but rather not being able for her to read what I felt about Talentime.

I suppose the best way to begin this, would be an anecdote with regards to the film, about missed opportunity and family, themes that tie in with Talentime itself. Of course this is based on fond memories, so please allow me to indulge in some length though I strive to give as accurate an account as possible. After Muallaf, Yasmin was much involved with projects on both sides of the Causeway, being commissioned as we now know by the Singapore government's Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports to do a series of three commercials, two of which have been made and aired, and one which will probably not see the light of day since it's not made yet. My friend Shaiful had always wanted Yasmin to grace one of his theatre group's performances, and he got his wish. The stars aligned with the Madame being in town and available to watch one of his productions.

Yours truly became the escort-designate to ensure Yasmin would not get lost since the play's in a neighbourhood community club in the East, and for the first time, I stepped into Hotel 81 at Joo Chiat where she was staying at. In her Singapore forays, Yasmin had stayed in hotels like The Intercontinental and Fullerton, sponsored by various organizers, to places like Hotel 81 which she just adores, not so much because of what goes on behind closed doors, but for the character of the location, being near a coffeeshop just around the corner that served some food she enjoyed (I can't remember what it was unfortunately), and a mosque nearby as well. Not to mention the availability of free wi-fi too!

Anyway when we were at Shaiful's play, we were whispering back and forth who's who and who's a good looker, but there was this actor who caught her eye. He's not one of the leads, neither was he the best looking of the lot. But his performance captured her attention, and he has what Yasmin always had her radar on for – Charisma. You could see that she was onto something, and was kept mesmerized each time this boy came on stage. By the end of the performance, and frankly by the end of the night after supper with Shaiful's extended family and friends from around the neighbourhood (he's itu macham like the Godfather of the area you see), Yasmin's mind was set – she was going to incorporate a new character into her Talentime, and would like to cast this boy in that role. You could see how, like a child with a new toy, her mind's set alight with ideas and that eagerness to set things in motion.

The boy's name is Hafiz, whose diminutive size betrays his older age of not more than 18, and those who have watched Talentime, would know exactly which character this is. Naturally Shaiful and I were thrilled, because here we have a director whom we admire, crafting a role specifically for a friend, and to have him act in it as well. To think that there will not be an audition necessary, and a walk-in / specifically crafted role in a Yasmin Ahmad film! In Yasmin's next visit many weeks later, she already had the story down to a pat, and was sharing details of it with another group of friends just after a retrospect screening of her films.

Unfortunately, things did not work out as intended for Hafiz, suffice to say that there was possibly some advisors with the lack of foresight, and Singapore's focus on academics did play a part – it was A Levels year, and the prelims would be around the corner after the scheduled shoot in August, not to mention some time for prior rehearsals. But imagine as an actor the opportunity so missed, especially when you think about it now. Nonetheless like the adage, the show must go on, and so the role was probably tweaked a little, and recast with Mukhsin (Mohd Shafie Naswip) himself taking on the role of Hafiz, and the rest is history.

With the exception of Rabun and perhaps Gubra as well, all of Yasmin Ahmad's film has featured children and teenagers in leads, besides the never ending focus on family. Her stories always try to champion a harmonious multi-racial, multi-cultural society, that there will always be differences, but there should be nothing from stopping everyone from living together with tolerance and genuine love. It is also as if hope for tolerance and change lie in the future generations, and that we should always learn from children, such as Tan Hong Ming and Umi Qazrina, as seen in her now famous commercial Tan Hong Ming in Love.

Talentime is no exception to that setting, and personally, I feel it's her most powerful film amongst the lot, squarely aiming at the jaw of the issues of intolerance and unjustifiable hate and jealousy at hand, so much so that she shared when she had screened the film to some officials in Malaysia, there was a near plea to have the film released almost immediately, citing that it was something that everyone needed to see without hesitation. Which of course came as a surprise since her earlier works had always been met with fierce and unsound criticisms from within, though embraced everywhere else.

I'm sure a Talentime contest is something that folks from my generation would have grown up with in school, and of course the more commercial version of the same would be akin to those television idol series with plenty of pomp which send cash registers ringing. There isn't an outright winner here though, since it's a performance by individuals carefully selected and rehearsed for the big day, and drawing from a multi-racial, multi-talented pool of students, it goes to show how when everyone is in concert together and contributing to their strengths, there's going to be some fireworks on display with a force to be reckoned with. The performances here, from Melur's (Pamela Chong) piano piece ballad, to Hafiz's original guitar compositions, to an Indian dancer performing to O Re Piya, to Kahoe's (Howard Hon Kahoe) mastery of the Chinese erhu, again plays to Yasmin's beliefs of strength in diversity, not adversary. I can't find another person not moved in the final performance piece with an amalgamation of instruments that led to something really beautiful.

Fans will likely see many familiar faces in Talentime, with the return of actors such as Harith Iskandar, Tan Mei Ling, Adibah Noor, and Encik Anuar as well in a role that's purely for comedic purposes, one who farts audibly when nervous. Unseen too is Shariah Amani who now goes behind the camera as 3rd assistant director. While the familiars anchor the film and lent it some weight, it's the fresh faced newcomers who stepped up and delivered, such as Pamela Chong, and especially the duo of Mahesh Jugal Kishor and Jaclyn Victor who play the Indian brother and sister Mahesh and Bhavani respectively. Mahesh was chosen amongst a number of hopefuls to play the boy who fell in love with the mixed-lineage Melur, and it's not hard to see why, because of those soulful eyes that he possesses, and the gentleness he brings to the role, though cheeky at times.

And romantic love always has its role in the director's story, and we're reminded to always follow what our heart tells us, and not what society expects of us through the imposition of unjustifiable norms based on prejudice and hearsay. The other staple of course, as a Muslim, she never misses the opportunity to clear up misconceptions about the religion, and straightens out the differences between religion, custom and tradition, which is extremely easy to get mixed up with, and to allow misinformation to flow. They may come as fleeting moments in scenes, but they undoubtedly will just grab your attention, like a piece of enlightenment whizzing you by that you pick up, and remember.

Yasmin also tackles the role of family like an old hand, expanding her repertoire to include no less than 3 families, each with its distinctness and unique story angle to bring to the film, and it's no wonder that Talentime is the longest in runtime amongst all her films. Heartstrings get tugged at, when we journey with Hafiz and his bedridden, sick mom whom he visits everyday in the hospital, while juggling schoolwork, jealous reactions from peers, and a talent contest. With Kahoe, there's a brief exploration into what has made him so competitive, and Mahesh's family in which transforms itself from close-knit to near disintegration when tragedy struck.

Talentime is all these, and a lot more. I'm sure you would find an angle that you'd connect with, and feel for it genuinely.

The final shots of Talentime are, when I see it now with tears, like the end of the road, with lights being switched off from the stage and classrooms, the end of a journey as it is. Thank you dearest Kak Min for the movies you have made, the tragic comedy that is life that you have so wonderfully captured and shared through your films. You will always be sorely missed by your fans, and film fans both present and in the future when they become fans after watching your films. I'm pretty sure of that.

[TIFFCOM 2009 Review] Snow Prince (スノープリンス)

Nice Doggie
The gods made winter so that we do not forget each other's warmth

And with that comes a slow moving tale about a poor boy, his pet dog and his dreams. It may be easy to market this as a “dog” movie, since the pet named Chibi happens to be extremely adorable with is all white fur coat with a singular patch of brown, and every camera angle just screams “cute”, but other than gracing the scene each time its owner is on it, this film, written by Kundo Koyama (who did Departures), tells of a more touching tale of youthful friendship in the 30s.

Directed by Joji Matsuoka, there's an air of familiarity with the plot design to have the current day characters flash back to scenes past based on curiosity, here thanks to a manuscript which an elderly Sayo Arima (Keiko Kishi) received one day, triggering the story to her daughter of her own childhood, and the good friend in Sota Harada (Shintaro Morimoto), with what looks like a very early crush on a boy living in poverty with his grandfather (Katsuo Nakamura).

Sayo (the younger version played by Marino Kuwajima) is the only firm friend of Sota who truly believes in his talent for painting, and because of his inability to pay school fees, Sota has to drop out. But of course that doesn't mean that the young kids' friendship stops there, as they frequently hang out together, much to the detriment of Sayo's father (Teruyuki Kagawa) who looks down on the boy based on his family background (or lack thereof), preferring his daughter to befriend those of a higher class, harbouring hopes that she will one day be married to a rich scion.

That's basically it, as the film plods on in constant reminder of how poor Sota is, of how he had been thrust with the shortest stick that life has to offer, and basicallow hard his life is. Despite all these, he's been brought up like a true gentleman, to take things as they come on the chin, with a purity of heart that bears no grudge and holds no hatred. Simply put, Sota's the fantasy kid every parent would probably dream of, and one whom will likely excel in school with an opportunity given.

The cast does a great job though in this nostalgic drama, from Rei Dan as Sayo's more understanding mom in direct contrast to how Kagawa played the father role. Arthouse film fans will not miss Tadanobu Asano's presence as a clown from a travelling circus, the only other true friend that Sota has who piles on the encouragement for his little friend. Shintaro Morimoto and Marino Kuwajima were both outstanding as the young friends, and my bets are on Shitaro with his natural charisma in making plenty of impact which I hope will carry on in his career. Chiba the dog also looked a little lost in being in a film that's not focused entirely on dogs since he would be a shoo—in favourite to star in one of the many genre animal pictures that get made by the dozen.

If anything, there's a reminder in the film that's especially poignant to us now, and that's to be contented with life no matter how difficult life may seem. Wonderfully shot with its beautiful production sets recreated for Japan of old, unless you've become a fan to the tales that Kundo Koyama will spin after Departures, then this would be something right up your alley with a tale of reminiscence and nostalgia of a young first love.

[TIFFCOM 2009 Review] King of Thorn (いばらの王)

Around the Corner of the Eye

Based on the science fiction manga series of the same name, this film had recently made its world premiere at the 42nd Sitges International Film Festival, though my personal interests in the film stemmed from the extremely spectacular trailer available at the official movie website, and that this is a Sunrise production, whose Freedom series I had enjoyed tremendously. If you have any reservations about not having read the manga and worry about not being able to follow the proceedings without much confusion, especially since it's science fiction with its fair share of fictional terminology created, fret not, as this interpretation found balance in inducting new converts, as well as having enough in its ammo to wow those already familiar through its brilliant animated visuals.

Directed by Kazuyoshi Katayama (who helmed Appleseed), the film opens in New York where we witness a suicide, except that the female victim's body disintegrated like concrete hitting the groun from great heights. It is 12 December 2012 which is a date that's getting infamy for its end-of-the-world significance (that films are jumping into the bandwagon), and in this story, it marked the emergency of a global pandemic virus known as Medusa (curiously subtitled as Medousa though, despite the former way of spelling in the trailer, and the direct reference to the powers of the Greek mythological creature), which turns people into stone, for which there is no cure, and fatality stands at 100% after a period of gestation within the human body. The world is now in utter chaos and crisis, marking the genesis of humanity's end.

The solution is simple, and that is to utilize cryogenics to save the lives of some 160 selected people by slowing down the development of the virus within, so that when they awaken in the future, hopefully either mankind has found a cure, or that the virus had lived past its shelf life. Of course there's always a catch here, and that's the Venus Gate corporation that is offering this service, comes with some shady ownership under the directions of a cult-like group. I've got to admit the first thing that came to mind was the equivalent of the Umbrella Corp. from the Resident Evil series, and with the trailer showcasing some monsters and all as well.

But the apprehension doesn't just stop there. The facility housing the 160, known as Noah's Ark, is a high tech, maximum security facility which is totally controlled by a computer system called ALICE, which monitors everything from environmental factors, to the individual's DNA. Well, one's alarm bells may be ringing about not wanting another HAL-related story again, what more with mutated monsters and such, but let me assure you that the end-result is nothing like what you would imagine given knowledge of those reference films. Park them aside, and not let them bother you too much when the main action starts.

And that's with a bang, through the multiple, rapid gunfire of soldiers. Everything's clean and pristine before the cryogenic process began, and the subjects awaken to an environment in disarray, where large stalks of thorny vines pepper the landscape, and if that's not enough, hybrid, blood-lusting monsters who just cannot wait to feast, providing a bloody natural selection into a survival fellowship of 7 who had managed to escape the initial bloodbath – a cop, a kid, a nurse, a tattooed hard man, a senator, an engineer, and the school girl Kasumi, whose point of view we adopt for the most parts in trying to figure out how long they've slept, what exactly is going on, and for herself, what had happened to her twin sister Shizuku, who wasn't amongst the 160 chosen for the project.

Everything gets unravelled in due course which allows you to guess their true intent along the way, especially the motivations and purpose of a select few so key to their present situation, who are not always who they seem to be, so judge a book by its cover at your own peril. We also get to learn more about the virulent disease (and man's perverse ambition of weaponizing everything), and the narrative's pretty impressive to pace the jamming of so much information into the story, without the feeling of it being too overwhelming.

Although there are slight changes from the manga story, these actually do not mar the enjoyment of the refreshed plot (purists will always be purists, so fret not), and I especially liked how the analogy to the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale got tied up so closely with this. If there's a slight complaint, then it's the incessant "waking up" moments that Kasumi experiences, which tends to throw you off course if you're not paying close attention to.

And yes, this film dabbles plenty in the perennial question of what dreams, fantasies and reality really are, and how sometimes through mimicry they all seem to resemble one another at different points. This allows some wildly creative visuals and monster designs set to wow, with action sequences that are high imaginative and fantastical, especially in its building up toward its crescendo, which is nothing stopping short of amazing.

King of Thorn will be released some time in 2010, and for those who can't wait, you can probably pick up the manga, though be warned not to, especially if you want to be surprised when the story addresses everything, which includes all twists and turns.

[TIFF 2009 Review] Drag Me To Hell

[This review is pulled forward from the archive to coincide with the film’s screening at this year’s TIFF.]

Girl Fights Back

This film sucks a lot. As if the mouth tends to get in the way and having stuff shoved deep into it, be it the chin or even an entire arm socked right into it. Or at least that's one of the images that got is now permanently scarred in my head. With its copious amounts of drool salivating out from mouths, extremely wet slobbering and dribbling from lips, Drag Me to Hell is erm, deliciously frightening yet funny at the same time, thanks to Sam Raimi going back to his horror roots and delivering one thrilling ride with an old school flavour to it.

Raimi has shown that he has that flair of combining shock-horror techniques, and I mean really shock-horror with the usual bag of tricks of noises building up to beating crescendos, light and shadow play, and a multitude of boo-worthy moments with in-your-face nightmarish imagery, he also has this touch of humour thrown into it all, many times causing you to scream and yet laugh at the same time at the silliness of it.

In between the scary episodes which were very well designed, there's this theme of self-preservation running strongly throughout. I guess anyone in the right mind, if they have to go to the underworld, would do so only if dragged there, because there's this innate need within us that automatically kicks in for self-preservation or during the advancement of self-interest.

What I enjoyed about Drag's protagonist Christine Brown, is how a tough-as-nails cookie she is. I had wondered how it would have played out if Ellen Page had not left the project, but Alison Lohman, for all her daintiness, proved to be no pushover either as she really exhibited plenty of spunk and found some inner strength to sock it to her opponents when it mattered. You'll find yourself rooting for her as she sometimes turn the table around and emerge victorious, but soon enough you'll understand that the evil forces that lurks in dark corners may prove to be a little challenging for a mere mortal, especially since it comes in the form of a real battering ram.

One of the better things here is how the trailer didn't spoil everything for you, leaving some room for a lot more surprises up the filmmakers' sleeves, such as the car park scene so prominently featured in the trailer, having a lot more to do in the film with the set up of the hex, that made you root a lot more for Christine. Then the special visual effects in this film didn't disappoint. Without going over the top or overly reliant on computer generated imagery, it's a visual extravaganza beautifully crafted for this roller-coaster of a ride. However on the whole, the story got pretty predictable fairly quickly, and the ending was somewhat akin to waiting for that one big practical joke to deliver its expected punchline before calling it quits. Still fun though, watching it play out as intended.

Hollywood horror churned out more misses than hits with all its lacklustre remakes, more often than not of the Asian horror films, but Sam Raimi has shown the way that there's still some glimmer of hope in the genre by Hollywood if they'd stopped their reliance of adapting from others, and rely a little on their own ingenuity to thrill and entertain. OK Sam, could you get back to work on Spidey 4 now?

[TIFF 2009 Review] The Cove

[This review is pulled forward from the archive to coincide with the film’s screening at this year’s TIFF.]

Murder Ground

It saddens me to watch The Cove, because unless your heart is made of stone, it's unlikely not to become unaffected by it, when it shows how evil man can be. It also boggles the mind when you mull over whether the perpetrators know exactly what they're doing in committing such atrocities, that extinction of species boil down to those who are indifferent, inhumane, and corrupted by the smell of profits that highlights Man's propensity for destruction. To claim superiority over another by explanation of the preservation of culture, is bullshit at best, and it just shows how consciously ignorant we can sometimes get due to either lack of understanding, or just simply refusing to change incorrect mindsets.

I'm sure many of us will agree that dolphins are very beautiful water-based mammals, and the lucky few who have gotten to chance upon them in their natural habitat will attest to the fact that it's awe-inspiring to have seen them in action. From time to time we read about the heroic nature of our mammal counterparts in saving human lives, so what would warrant such untold cruelties toward those blessed by Nature with a smile and an extremely gentle, docile nature, or cursed as the filmmakers would say, because they are unable to project outwardly their feelings of pain, sadness and betrayal by humankind?

Director Louie Psihoyos had crafted an incredible documentary which isn't just another save-this-species film, or just another wildlife conservation flick. Somehow, The Cove stands above those that I've seen which have run along those lines, in that it contains footages that the team had managed to wrangle out in a quest for the truth. It contains scenes of murder most foul, which will start again in the month of September, unless people around the world make some noise beyond puppet worldwide organizations fueled by corrupt bureaucrats bent on smug thinking that half-baked nonsensical answers can keep the truth under wraps.

What also added that emotional weight to the film, is the inclusion of Richard O'Barry, who could be infamously credited with sparking the interest in dolphin-aquariums and shows around the world, simply because of his involvement in the Flipper television series, where he had responsibility in capturing and training 5 dolphins used for that successful series, and henceforth spawned an industry of sorts where dolphins are captured en masse by confusing them and leading them into man-made traps, then allowing trainers around the world to come and choose those with potential. Think of it like the slave trade which we have abhorred, but now transferred to the animal kingdom, with a murderous act of slaughtering thousands of those which don't make the theme-park cut. Who are we to decide those that cannot entertain, only deserves to be chopped up in cold blood for the supermarkets?

O'Barry is now an activist set on releasing every dolphin in captivity, but only because of a personal, profound loss of a dolphin in his arms that have jolted him into action. He's quite forthright in his interviews, and his transformation as explained is nothing less than heart-wrenching. His crusade led him to Taiji, Japan, which is the source of the trade, with over-zealous Japanese fishermen bordering on counter-surveillance, muscling in on local police influence, to try and keep O'Barry at bay from interrupting their profitable trade, and of course putting a dampener on O'Barry's search for redemption.

Most of the film then centered on the filmmakers and their assembling of a few good men and women with specific skill sets, such as free-diving and prop-making, acoustics experts to covert camera operations, in an attempt to expose the truth from The Cove, an area designed by natural geography and exploited by the fishermen to perform their most heinous acts. It's akin to a heist movie with intense preparation work and danger lurking around every corner, but the images obtained are nothing less than shocking – the indiscriminate slaughter without remorse and plenty of laughter, a very affecting sea waters filled with red from the bloodbath, and frenetic cries for help and unsuccessful flight from death. It'll make the most stoic of men, shed tears.

The film also had touched upon another aspect of how Man is offending Nature through our polluting ways, but Psihoyos deftly included that portion in because it's also related, but never letting it detract its focus from the main story. While dolphin meat doesn't appeal, being slyly packaged as something else is nothing less than cheating. Also, the high levels of mercury found in the meat not only endangers whoever is putting it on their dinner plate, but just emphasizes the entire polluted food chain with the fact that we are the #1 pollutants on this planet, and poisoning of marine life, or rapid consumption of food from the sea, is something that will impact us in time to come very soon, unless we wake up.

One of the world's most intelligent creatures getting slaughtered indiscriminately, and you can do something about it. Undoubtedly as a film this is very well made, and have received countless of accolades, but if audiences were to stop at this point then nothing will change and everything will be lost, starting from the efforts from the activists. This film is set to break into my top films of the year as well, but even that rings hollow.

What we can do, at the very least, is to vote with our wallet. Make some noise, talk about it, spread the word and get people go watch the film, and take affirmative action. With demand and attendances to sea-world-like or dolphin theme parks come crashing down because we choose not to patronize them, then demand for dolphins to perform at these locations will no longer be viable.

A couple of reminders - don't walk out of the cinema hall during the end credits, because there's one more scene at the end. And do visit the following sites:
Official Movie Website
TakePart
to see what else you can do to help.

[TIFF 2009 Review] Go Find a Psychic! (曲がれ！スプーン) (World Premiere)

I Can Do It!

Admit it, at some point in our lives we would have wondered what it'll be like if we were to suddenly possess some extraordinary powers, or when watching how some could bend spoons using ESP, tried to do so ourselves by willing it. Or call upon some predictive cognitive powers to buy into some lucky lottery numbers. Of course most of us are unsuccessful at this, otherwise we'll be looking at a major leap in our evolution already.

Go Find a Psychic! is essentially the story of one such believer in ESPs, psychics and the likes, having to witness a meteor fall smack into the ocean, and from then on stirred her interest and curiosity into things unexplained, from UFOs to the ability to bend spoons especially. Masami Nagasawa plays Yone Sakurai, a girl who grows up under such circumstances, only to find herself working at a television station whose programme "Are You a Psychic?" has so far garnered no success in getting real psychics to demonstrate their powers during the show, but had instead attracted plenty of bogus scams all out for their 5 minutes of fame. Desperate, she gets sent on a personal crusade to weed out the wheat from the chaff, which interests her because of the potential in getting to find out, and know about the real deal.

Based on a stage play, the film is predominantly set inside a cafe in the Kagawa Prefecture which the owner had called "Cafe Kinesis", in an effort to gather psychics to a common ground where they can befriend one another, exchange notes and basically let loose their powers away from prying eyes. Think of it as Professor Charles Xavier's humble abode for the X-Men, and you get the drift on what this cafe is used for. Not before long we're introduced to the characters with psychic abilities, such as Ide (Junya Kawashima) who can control electronics, Kawaoka (Masashi Suwa) who can manipulate matter to a certain degree, Kakei (Haruki Nakagawa) with X-Ray eyes, Shiina (Osamu Tsuji) with telepathic powers through touch, and Koyama (Hiroki Miyake) with the ability to stop time for 5 seconds.

Not too powerful abilities you may add, but this group piles on the laughter with their earnest ways, and down to earth characters. They do have a code of conduct which they religiously enforce, and one thing's for sure it's never to flout their powers in front of non-psychics, lest they be treated as test lab subjects. The bulk of the film centers in one Christmas Eve, where Kanda (Hideto Iwai) gatecrashes into the jolly party, and mistakenly got passed off as a new psychic recruit. Without powers, he is in awe at what he had witnessed, and the group now had to fight fire and Kanda's intent to make them public, since this empty vessel has the potential, and has shown, to be making the most noise.

As Kanda had used Cafe Kinesis as a meeting point with Yone to audition for her show, the group finds themselves in more trouble and comedy ensues in their attempts to keep their abilities under wraps, while making Kanda their punching bag as punishment for his intent. A subplot proved to be useful here as it put the group into a dilemma on how to use their abilities to save a life, but yet had to continue to keep them shielded from the unwanted limelight. As the film progressed it became more touching as it dealt with how sad it must be when one is to witness your personal beliefs being ridiculed and so far been proven to be nothing but shams, and the last act will likely bring a tear to your eye, being set in a season of goodwill amongst man.

This delightful comedy directed by Katsuyuki Motohiro works precisely because of the excellent chemistry amongst all the cast involved, turning in fine performances and great comic timing in delivering what would probably be potential for mass mainstream success.

[TIFFCOM 2009 Review] No More Cry!!!

Brotherly Love

This is a tale of two brothers who can't be any different, separated when Yuta Yamagishi (Sadao Abe playing the grown up version) followed their father when he walked out on their mom, with the other but still an unborn child. Being an irresponsible parent, Yuta got abandoned with a restaurant owner, whose ham cutlet with 40 year old special sauce is all the rage, who accepted Yuta as his own and groomed him to inherit his iconic family business as the next Yama Chan, and if not for his fat daughter Tetsuko complete with table manners made fun of, would have Yuta marry her to really become part of the family.

The younger brother Yusuke (played by Eita of April Bride fame) knows of his brother's existence, but for obvious reasons does not know what had happened to him. An unsuccessful comedian, his fortunes started to pick up when he met Daisuke, and together formed the popular TV comedic duo, the Kinjo Brothers with Yusuke's popularity gaining from his depiction of the Romantic half, and Daisuke being the Academic half, essentially the brains behind the duo's meteoric rise and funny jokes.

The truth is No More Cry!!! over-extended itself with its slice of life depiction, throwing in plenty of ingredients into the pot to make it one bloated pic that needed trimming to its sub plots. Not that they're not interesting, but they just pile on with little direction to where it wanted the audience to head towards, with attempts at making this a comedic drama with wild family moments. Get this for a sense of plot diversity under one movie, with everything from a whimsical narrative on the Yamagishi boys' respective tales of growing up, to romance, to the need for family, to secret lives, and culminating with a focus on environmental protection even! Not to forget the virtues of cooking ham cutlets under dangerously high cholesterol levels no thanks to chunks of melted pork lard oil in a steaming pot.

I would enjoy this more had it focused on its story about the Yamagishi brothers' quest to search for each other, and their reconciliation efforts which calls for the putting aside of material wealth and fame, for something more lasting which is family ties. In fact, family ties is one of the important running themes in the film, where the boys have been forced to live and create new families with complete strangers, and question which life one would want, that of celebrity, or one more sincere with family. Examined too is the dilemma that Yusuke goes through, in not wanting to abandon his Kinjo Brother for Yuta, which would mean the disbanding of their successful group as he's the more charismatic of the duo, something he deems unfair since he owed his huge break to Daisuke.

The narrative shifts from various points of view taking over the narration, such as from Yusuke to Tetsuko (Yuko Takeuchi), now transformed to a pretty lass and single mother to two kids, and takes on dimensions involving family conflict in attempts to reconcile, through comedy and drama. Unfortunately though some of the comedy happen to fall flat on its face because it just tried too hard to be funny, much like Yuta's character in being the ultimate people pleaser, but there are some notable moments which provide for some genuine mirth, especially the quirky, flashback ones.

Eita paled in comparison to Sadao Abe's presence on screen, though of course it could be also due to Abe's Yuta having more screen time and the focus placed squarely on him for the most parts. There's a wide spectrum of emotions that he had to tackle, and it stemmed from the dreams and sadness that are hiding behind and deep down a clown's permanent, plastic smile. He's probably the one main reason to watch this film, and also for another role depiction which should be kept under wraps as a surprise. Yuko Takeuchi also excelled as the demure yet stern protector of Yuta's feelings, and watch her unleash some fury against those she dislikes, particularly at Yusuke with whom she has to compete for attention.

No More Cry!!! aims to be a crowd pleaser with its fingers firmly put in many offerings for an audience, but ultimately tanked itself for its overly long and melodramatic, sappy spoils of a finale that didn't prove to be the icing on the cake and stayed well past its welcome.

[TIFFCOM 2009 Review] Duel For Love (斗爱)

A Star is Born

There's something about dance flicks that never seem to go out of fashion, and can easily find themselves in the cinemas of various countries. Just ballroom dancing alone I can rattle offhand (good or bad) films from Japan, Korea, and Singapore even, with our Dance of the Dragon. Duel for Love is China's addition to the ballroom dance genre, and if you think you've seen one too many that always deal with romantic love between the dancers, jealous rivalry and such, well this film while it has those elements, gets delivered quite differently.

It's based itself on the adage that in a long river, it is the waters at the back that pushes the waves in front, meaning it takes those with experience to make way and to support the younger generation forward in their pursuits. That is exactly what this film is all about, where one has to realize that we cannot always go on at the highest level all the time, and there will be a juncture where we need to step aside, and help others fulfill their dreams and potential.

Directed by Zhang Ting, Duel For Love is quite unlike what its title suggested, which in the very first glance one might think of position usurp and a very ugly, formulaic romantic tale built in. Even the first act of the film may seem to suggest that, but thankfully its approach left quite the bit of much needed fresh air to a rather tired genre formula. We start off with a showpiece demonstrating what actors Zhong Han Liang and Ai Dai can do as world ballroom dancing champs Chu Shinan and Li Li, and as sensual as you can get, the two show some very differently body language when out of the dance floor, a reflection of their current frosty, testy relations. As far as ballroom dancing lore goes, this spells disaster which will impact their performance soon enough.

A needless car crash introduces them to Xiao Man (Sun Tian Li Zi), a village girl who has left for the city in search of a proper dance school to pursuit her interests in the area, and as Fate would have it, put her in the way of Shinan who is in need of a partner since Li Li has to battle, quite reluctantly, her alcohol addiction by checking into AA. An eager beaver, Xiao Man knows she has probably the best dance coach and showcases her dedication through a rudimentary training montage, but it is Shinan's temperament in coaching that she has to endure, given his volatile nature when he's zoned into the sport.

The usual formula would dictate that not only Xiao Man will usurp Li Li's position has Shinan's dance partner, but as his romantic interest as well, and thankfully this is not the story of the film. It instead focuses on the individual characters and the personal demons they have to battle. For Shinan, his only love here is the love for the sport, which led to his self-centered behaviour who only cares for his personal glory, trophies, appearances and reputation as a champion, even at the expense of others. His pursuit of success and excellence comes with little emotional investment in others, and in short, a jerk. His long suffering partner Li Li had turned to the bottle in part due to this labourious, torturous training regime she has to go through as his partner, staying in it because of her unrequited love for a man who cannot see beyond his achievements.

And Xiao Man's the glue that instead of coming in between the couple, becomes the catalyst to wake everyone up through her curiosity. Her role is strictly that of a protege waiting for her break, and I thought all the trio had danced rather convincingly (OK, so I'm no dancer nor coach) to make the film believable, where the filmmakers can afford longer takes and wider shots, compared to our local effort which had to cheat using quick edits. If there was any gripe, then it's the frequently used fade-to-blacks for scene transitions, which does get to you after a while, and also Sun Tian Li Zi's solo dance piece in a club (complete with gaudy, silvery costume) that seemed a little out of place for the feel of the film.

Even without a big-bang finale that is almost a requisite crescendo for such films, Duel for Love does join the genre as a dance film with something different on offer.

[TIFF 2009 Review] At the End of Daybreak (心魔)

Careful

After watching this film, I'm convinced that Ho Yuhang is creating some exciting Malaysian cinema that should be paid attention to. I cannot attest to having seen all his movies made thus far, but At The End of Daybreak is something that leaps at you, grabs your attention and makes it hard to shake off. It builds up superbly from a seemingly morose introduction where we follow the misadventures of Tuck Chai (Chui Tien You looking like a mature version of Ng Choo Seong's Jason from Yasmin Ahmad's Sepet) and a young girl Ying, to a crescendo as their irresponsible actions soon spiral into something beyond either of their control.

The introduction is not for the squeamish, as Yuhang firmly roots the camera, and the audience in watching Tuck Chai get rid of vermin through the pouring of boiling water on a rat confined in a cage. It's something of a premonition of things to come where a trapped creature can find no escape from the consequence that follow, with the Chinese title probably more apt in summarizing what it's going to be all about – that devil of a guilt conscious stemming from the heart.

To be honest, and no disrespect, there were some shades of Sepet's Jason in Tuck Chai, with his love for his alcoholic mom (played by Wai Ying Hong) being the relationship centerpiece of the film, having his dad walk out of the family to be with his mother's sister because of money. Staying with his mom isn't without problems. On one hand he gets frustrated with his mom's drinking patterns, and on the other cannot deny his protective, filial duties to ensure that she gets home safely after each drinking binge, only to finally let loose toward the end which some would think of it as violent, but I'd call it tough love instead.

So what does he do in his spare time to release his pent up frustrations? He gets hooked up with the underaged girl Ying (Ng Meng Hui), where they meet at a hotel for frequent trysts. Ng plays Ying with alarming nonchalance, whose falling grades are a result of truants, and is of really foul character, gossiping about others, stealing, and basically an indifferent attitude adopted without display of common courtesy. I suppose Tuck Chai would have thought that someone like her would be easy come easy go, until of course the shit hits the fan and they have to face the consequences from parents.

Yuhang had lined the parents and families up for comparison and parallels, where the broken family seemed to be genuinely closer knit with the single mom being self-sacrificing, than the complete family which is all successful gloss on the surface, hiding their greed and dishonorable behaviour within. Wai Ying Hong as the single mother having to bring up a son on her own, showed great emotional depth in having to grapple with shame, the bottle, and telling jokes (seriously, I cracked up). The chemistry between Wai and Chui Tien You was excellent as well, especially in the many scenes where Tuck Chai orders his mom, almost like a given too in attitude, to beg for leniency on his behalf, something a little out of character, but only goes to show his bleak desperation in not knowing what to do and who to turn to. If there's one lesson to take away from this, to paraphrase one of the characters, it's to solve one's own problems and to eat one's own shit, especially something which the consequences are known, but yet one continued to pursue.

As a Malaysian film, the beauty comes from the languages that get incorporated into it, with the mix-mash of languages coming off as poetry to the ears, reflective of the multi-racial society that Malaysia is. I cannot imagine should something like this be filmed in Singapore, how much restrictive and less genuine the film would feel in its dialogues, and I think its something that our filmmakers here have to unfortunately grapple with, which as a result more than always make our films pass off as coming from a homogeneous society instead of our inherent richness in diversity. Food for thought to whoever's reading this with control, to watch this film and see what I mean, since a moving picture is worth more than a thousand words.

Then there are the cameo appearances which were fun to spot to provide that lift in the film's darkest hour. I think that's Yeo Yann Yann in a very short appearance in the thick of the night, but Yasmin Ahmad's role is something that you won't miss, given the very close up of her cheery face, chewing on a banana, looking pregnant, and making a comment on undies. Yasmin had a more serious role in Yuhang's earlier film Rain Dogs, but I believe she's more or less herself in his jovial, short stint here.

At the End of Daybreak sizzles, especially when things start to pick up pace heading toward an explosive, shocking finale. Definitely a recommend on my list should you have the chance to watch it.

[TIFF 2009 Review] Muallaf (The Convert)

[This review is pulled forward from the archive to coincide with the film’s screening at this year’s TIFF.]

Reaching Out

Yasmin Ahmad's Muallaf finally hits the screens, and it scores a number of firsts from her filmography thus far. For starters, it's a departure from the Orked storyline which the last three (or four if you count Rabun) had centered around, and quite amazingly, it's predominantly in the English language. Save for the return of Sharifah Amani in one of the lead roles, and supporting roles with Tan Mei Ling and even Ho Yuhang, we see new faces here, with leads Brian Yap and Sharifah Amani's real sister Sharifah Aleysha also in this film as her onscreen one.

But first let's get the “controversies” out of the way. I guess by now the issue of Sharifah Amani's hair would have died down, and frankly this was generally lost in the audience here, except of course for its impact and relevance to the story. The other one would be its title which may allude to something about religious conversion, but the movie is about anything but that, even though some may find it near impossible not to dwell upon the issue of religion that were kept at arms length here, taking into account the title and connotations to its meaning.

As I gradually find richness in the Chinese language (I confess I disliked it as a subject in school) I thought the Chinese title of 《改心》, which literally translates to a “change of heart” was a more accurate depiction of what the story would be about. As with the themes of Yasmin's films, it's about the human condition and humanity, and the Family never being far behind. With Sepet, we had Orked's and Jason's family being in the thick of the action, and this continues into Gubra alongside the stories of the families in the muezzin's kampung. With Mukhsin, the neighbour's and the titular character's broken home got the spotlight, and a sneak preview of Talentime and synopsis of Wasurenagusa reaffirm that Family continues to play an important part in “a yasmin ahmad film”.

In Muallaf, the sisters Rohani (Sharifah Amani) and Rohana (Sharifah Aleysha) epitomizes forgiveness and are a nuclear family of sorts. They're left to their own devices after escaping from their father (played by Dato' Razali Rahim) and their stepmother (singer Ning Baizurah with big hair), and live in a big haunted house by the grace of their deceased mother's friend. They meet Brian (Brian Yap) a schoolteacher who has his own traumatizing skeletons in his closet and what he perceives were mind games by his mom in Penang (played by Tan Mei Ling), and through his attraction to the peaceful loving ways of the sisters, form a friendship with them.

But of course there are moments which require some getting used to. The girls, in the director's own words, are weird, especially when Rohana begins to spout numbers and phrases, which to the character's own admission, she doesn't know what they actually mean and isn't aware that she gets on other people's nerves. So to some, the dialogue may be heavy or distant, unreal even, but it might just provide that spark of interest to go refer to some of the verses and quoted numbers, ranging from the Quran to the Bible and the Tao Te Ching, amongst others, to find out what they really mean, and in context whether they fit the scene.

Muallaf obviously centers on Brian, and Yasmin crafted quite a character here, with his stingy and calculative ways dictating how he leads life, and in summary the Chinese title more or less symbolizes the change that this person will undergo. Not religious of course (though some may disagree), but more significantly, changes to his attitude. Something which I believe most of us would have experienced from time to time, and even I am guilty of it, the treatment to our folks and the callousness in brushing them aside because we think they're naggy and getting in the way.

Unlike the films in the Orked Trilogy, I felt this one had a more uplifting finale full of hope. Those who have seen those films will likely understand what I mean. Instead of an ending that will move you to tears (at least I felt that way), like that in Sepet, Gubra (minus the end coda), and Mukhsin even, Muallaf concluded on a rather positive note that made me break out in a smile and cheer the protagonist on. Despite of course some scenes being a little choppy, and having things left open ended, and the sisters being devoid of screen time and stuck to quick resolutions instead.

It does seem like a serious film if not for Yasmin's signature sense of humour, and even then the laugh-out-loud moments got toned down a little in the limited moments where funny scenes do get injected. Look out too for Yeo Yann Yann as Cindy the bar girl, and Ho Yuhang as a private investigator continuing a dog joke, and in fact, I thought that Yuhang has some of the more colourful characters in Yasmin's film, from the neighbour in Rabun, to the repo-man in Mukhsin.

For those who have the preconceived notion that Yasmin's films only revolves around the Orked character, well this film has broken that mold, and looking at the lineup of her films including this one, they may be set in different countries, or may even feature some of her regular actors, but one thing's for sure - they come from the same storyteller's heart, with stories that capture the essence of human issues that you and I see, hear or probably experience personally from time to time, because that's this thing called life. Go watch Muallaf, need I say more?


Related Links
- Muallaf On Location Report.