Gente De Bien

The opening film of the inaugural Columbian Film Festival in Singapore
A film by director Franco Lolli

The opening scene - mom is packing things in the living room and is carrying baby. Grandparents are in the room with mom. Lead actor, Eric, sits near the door with his dog, Lupe.

Mom and son on crowded public bus with the dog to meet the dad. Mom leaves son and dog in Dad's care.

The dad's place is tiny and messy. Imagine opening the door and that's it. Meet the bed. Dad works as a furniture repairman for Maria Isabel who is this really rich lecturer or teacher with two children.

There is great disparity between the rich and poor. This is evident in the streets outside the dad's place and that of Isabel and her friends.

I sympathise with Isabel as her kindness to both father and son is not repaid. Instead Eric makes things difficult for her e.g. throwing boyish tantrums and showing disobedience by refusing to eat his supper. Dad prefers to work elsewhere rather than at the summer cottage repairing furniture for Isabel's friends.

At the same time I can understand where the dad is coming from. He prefers not to be pitied. The one who gets hurt the most from this separation between parents is the child, Eric. He gets bullied by friends of his age, who call him names in childish ways. A scary thought is how these kids grow up to be adults someday and never outgrow this sort of bullying and power struggle.

Eric prefers home and the dad that he does not like to Isabel's fancy cottage, extravagant meals and Christmas presents.

As part of this growing up process, Eric makes a difficult decision of allowing his dog be put to sleep due to cancer.

This story is real in that there is no happy reunion showing the complexity of human relationships, there is a daily struggle to make ends meet, to fit in (for both father and son), and the facing of death.

There is nothing fancy or stylistic in the storytelling or moving picture which may explain the increase of film goers checking their mobiles constantly, which irritated even the likes of me.

My friend explained the gist of this film well, "It's about every life."

Pop Aye

By local filmmaker, Kirsten Tan, and the first Singaporean movie nominated for the Sundance Film Festival

An architect on a journey with his elephant encounters many different types of people
The effects of urbanisation on people and animals.
Regret and guilt.

The movie begins with a middle-aged man trying to hitchhike with his elephant. Later we find out that he has mistaken this elephant to be that of his childhood elephant, Popeye. He sold Popeye out to start a livelihood in Bangkok. Popeye was put down a few years ago as his leg was broken.

But first he appears to be sidelined at work. This unhappiness propels him to his childhood memories about his childhood elephant. He buys one who was being monetised.
This elephant is really cute and expressive. He can smile, make noises when he's sad, sheet and happy. Very cool.

The film pans back and forth between real time and what transpired before. We understand that the lead was thrown out of the house by his wife.
In his bid to travel to his childhood home, he meets a vagrant, policemen and a transvestite. The vagrant, though poor, willingly gives up his early possessions to him, and is kind. The lead gives him money to buy a scooter to fulfill the vagrant's childhood dreams and a phone.

The lead gets caught fire forged papers etc, but cleverly gets his policemen drunk and escapes with the help of a transvestite. She was very kind too and got him the keys to unlock his elephant. There is this jarring unkindness in the sex industry in Thailand.

Along the way they met the vagrant who met a fatal accident. Detouring again he cremated the vagrant and brings the ashes to his lover.

Finally they reach his childhood kampung, which lo and behold, is now a cement building with similar units like a HDB. His uncle sold the land to a developer, seeking himself out to the city. The city took his soul, no doubt.

Sadly he brings "Popeye" to an elephant sanctuary. Did he managed to redeem himself?

The movie closes with impending demolition of the first building which the lead character but. It is sad but seemingly inevitable.

Swipe Right

A play by Year 3 LaSalle acting students

Was filled with humour, localised context, and updated with contemporary culture and current knowledge.

About Tinder
The superficiality of using looks to determine love
Or maybe it is not about finding love
Though there were successes
Love at first sight. The click. The same frequency.
Putting up private details on dating apps
They never allow you to quit
It's about the data
And statistics
And understanding human behaviour

Pursuit of something
Finding that special someone or something
Even though it's theoretically, logically impossible
It could be a Yeti
Who is thy father
Definitely not a Pontianak
'Cos there are way too many buildings and concrete

The millennials
Emojis everywhere

The government
The constant train breakdowns
Will just be the new norm
The Underground protests
Uber drivers who is not interested in human contact or conversations
He is just an Uber driver

Poetry of mineral water bottles meeting in a lonkang
People stuck to their phones all the time
Controlled by machines without knowing

The Yeti who buys from Ta Bao
Bemoaning the lack of Singaporean myths (this just reminded me of Yishun Devil's Ring, and of course the cow going up HDB lift)

That starving and pain are a given of conceptual freelance artists

Exploring the tunnels of Singapore
Finding true love at the most unexpected places
That finding love is a journey and discover akin to a ride on the MRT
The funny, tacky, crude and sexy pick-up lines
Couples who make eyes at each other and say the most mushy things
Ah Beng Nathan Hartono
Ridiculous sounding surname To-to marrying a To to be a To To-to

It was good, at times insightful though some parts were a tad bit draggy.