This is a documentary about a famous Taiwanese director Li Hsing who directed many genres of movies.
Didn't know that the director was also involved in organising the Golden Horse Awards besides directing films! Learned a bit more about the director's personal life and a few more of his classic works through this documentary.
The story is based on the childhood memories of the director when her mother was about to give birth to another child.
Liked the nice countryside scenery and different sets of people ate together everytime! Not much of a plot but I learned a little bit of how people lived in the countryside then.
The online shorts consist of three films: "The Poem of Pakistan" is about a Pakistani rediscovering his roots while living in Hong Kong, 念念烟城 is about a teenager going back to his late father's hometown and "賴桑の黑色喜劇" is about an experienced actor showing the newbies how things are done.
Liked the nice poems in "The Poem of Pakistan", the farm full of tomatoes in "念念烟城" and the enthusiasm of the experienced actor in "賴桑の黑色喜劇".
The story is about how a young man who worked in a cinema at a small town befriended a strange couple.
Liked the folk song sang by the protagonist. The film was a bit abstract for me though.
The story is about a group of women working in a Turkish Bath in Tokyo, focusing on a love triangle relationship of one of the women.
The film felt a bit like a mix of "Streets of Shame" and "When a Woman Ascends the Stairs". The love triangle relationship was the strangest one that I have ever seen!
This is a documentary on a Japanese animation director, Satoshi Kon. He is well known for blurring the lines of dream and reality in his films.
It was great to hear that so many directors admired him and were influenced by him! Was pretty surprised to learn that the voice actress for Mimi in "Perfect Blue" was a former idol! Would love to catch "Paranoia Agent" if I have the chance!
This is a documentary of a Chinese literature scholar, Ms Yeh Chia-ying who taught in universities around the world.
Not really a fan of Chinese poetry but the film gave me a peek on the minds of literature scholars! I think writing poetry probably helps to exercise the brain as the protagonist looked very sharp despite her old age.
The story is about how a family coped with the father's terminal illness of liver cancer.
Liked how the film was told from the perspectives of the mother, the son and the father! Gave me a better understanding of what everybody was thinking about.
This is a documentary about the life of a Vietnamese woman who married a Taiwanese man to help her family escape poverty.
Liked how the film gave a balanced view of what everyone thought of the situation: the mother-in-law, the husband, the wife and the wife's family.
The short film showcase consisted of three films from Hong Kong: "The Bridge", "busydoingnothing" and "Eternal Sunshine". "The Bridge" is about a family who lives in different places such as Hong Kong, Hainan Island and Shenzhen but gathered for an ancestral ceremony. "busydoing nothing" is about a young woman working at a thrift shop. "Eternal Sunshine" is about how an old woman looked after his autistic son.
Liked the relaxed lifestyle at the countryside in "The Bridge", the interesting encounters at the shop in "busydoing nothing" and the heartwarming mother and son relationship in "Eternal Sunshine". Gained a glimpse on what are on the minds of Hong Kong people from these short films.
The story is about how three sisters from a small village longed to live in the city by becoming nannies to rich people's children.
Quite slow moving but I liked the nice mountain scenery and the love among the sisters! The husband turned out to be smarter than I had expected!
The story is about a woman's journey back to her hometown with her best friend.
Liked the theme of family love and rediscovering one's purpose in life!
The story is about the lives of people from different races in Malaysia. Some of them are participants of a Talentime show in school.
Liked the nice songs and how the director showed that it was possible to live harmoniously with each other although some could still be prejudiced against others!
This is a documentary about people with mental illness.
Gained an understanding of the clinic's daily operations and what the patients were going through! Most of them are just normal human beings like the rest of us. I especially liked the poetry by one of the patients towards the end!
The story is about a man who dreams of building a movie theatre together with a girl he met. He stole money from an influential guy and had to hide from him and his gang.
Liked how the film was divided into chapters with a paper drawing of what we might expect! It probably has some reference to the film "Le Samourai" so would want to check it out if I have the chance to see the similarities.
Wanted to watch some short films during the Singapore International Film Festival, so I picked the following 10 films as a bundle.
Liked the great acting by the female lead in "New Born", the dramatic twist in "Here is Not There", the little boy's efforts to bring the family together in "Rocketship" and the nice songs in "Nursery Rhymes".
Both "Sexy Sushi" and "Water Melon Please" were a little abstract and touched on some existential issues.
Learnt about the history of Uzbek films in "Her Five Lives" and appreciated Hou Hsiao Hsien's films better with "Casting a Spell to Alter Reality".
Liked the special effect to make the father figure fuzzy in "Judy Free" and the chit chat in "Sunrise in My Mind".
This is a story about a documentary director who covers scandals and what happens when she is about to be involved in one herself.
Liked the moral dilemmas presented in the film! Is it better to tell the truth and risk getting shamed by society or be burdened with having to tell lies the rest of your life and potentially harming others? Not really sure if the lead actress made the right choice in the end.
This is a story about an athlete who skis and her relationship with her coach and family.
Great acting by the lead actress! Realized it is not so easy to spot a possible offender as it may happen suddenly under specific circumstances.
This is a documentary on the sights and sounds in Singapore during its SG50 celebrations.
Liked the scenes with people from different religions and cultures! Learned more about people from all walks of life from the interviews!
The story is about a family trying to move on in their lives in their own ways.
The pace was a little slow at the start but I appreciated the film more after all the characters were introduced. Liked the nice family atmosphere of them eating together and the grandson showing off his dance! The old song that the grandfather listened to was quite nice too!
