This is a story about a young man who loved the sea and two women falling in love with him. One of them is a handicapped woman called Josee.
Liked how Josee modified the mermaid fairy tale to describe her situation in the library! A pretty apt film to watch shortly after the Paralympics games!
This is a documentary about a woman called Misha who recounted a fantastic childhood adventure to her neighbours and friends that later became a bestseller book.
Liked the interesting twists and turns in the documentary! The perspectives from the different experts and friends helped to shed light on the person the protagonist really was!
This movie is based on a Japanese manga Doraemon. Doraemon is a robot cat who has travelled from the future to be friends with Nobita to ensure he has found happiness before it can go back.
Was a little bit disturbed over the use of the giant egg gadget to win over Shizuka but I realized that it was meant to set up for what was to come next; Nobita to prove that he is worthy through his own merit. I was moved by his determination to be less dependent on Doraemon towards the end!
There were 12 winning films at the ciNE65 movie makers award 2021. They explore and express the Singapore Identity by telling us what Singapore means to us through film with "Stronger Together" as this year's theme.
Liked "Knock Knock!" the best as it shows the nasty and nice encounters of a hearing impaired delivery man! "Siti" comes in a close second as a heartwarming film that describes how the helper knew her employer much better than the employer's daughter and was treated as part of the family in the end. I also liked the light hearted "Ala-mask!", "Little Miss Mischief" and "Whirling Gears"!
This is a sequel to "The Diam Diam Era" and it is about how people grew up in Singapore during the 1980s seen through one extended family.
Thought the director didn't paint a very good picture of the opposition parties. Especially didn't like the supposedly English educated chairman. Glad that the cousins made up in the end!
The story is about how people grew up in Singapore during the 1980s seen through one extended family.
Liked the familiar old Singapore sights and sounds! Really brought back old memories! A little bit sad that the Xinyao singer was just a pretty vase with very little spoken lines.
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 story revolves around the wife, the daughters and the mistress of a man who died early in the film.
Liked how the film slowly revealed what happened in the past through flashbacks and casual conversations!
The story is about the lives of four middle aged men who were good friends since high school. They are in different jobs: a director, an insurance agent, a paper house maker and a temp worker.
Liked the voice over narration that gave the film a distinctive Taiwanese flavour through its language. Was a little bit surprised by the ending.
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 a movie company transitioned from silent films to sound films.
Learned about this film from the MIT Open Courseware, The Film Experience Course. Liked the nice songs and exciting dance choreography! The plot was interesting too! Didn't know there were so many technical challenges involved!
MIT OCW The Film Experience Lecture 12: The Musical (continued)
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 rich girl falling in love with a young man while running away from home.
Learned about this film from the MIT Open Courseware, The Film Experience Course. Liked the intense verbal exchanges between the couple and the adventures that they went through! Thought the director did a good job in creating an ending without the presence of the female lead!
MIT OCW The Film Experience Lecture 8: The Work of Movies; Capra & Hawks
The story is about a family touring Taiwan under unique circumstances. The grandmother is in a tour group while the couple and their child followed her around in a cab.
Liked how the film tried to explain how mainland Chinese, Hongkongers and Taiwanese have different ways of thinking due to their background! Didn't realise it was partly inspired by the director's own story until I checked out the reviews!
The story is about a train called "The General" that was stolen during the American civil war.
Learned about this film from the MIT Open Courseware, The Film Experience Course. Liked the nice storyline and the exciting stunts performed by Keaton! Was really surprised when he stuffed his girlfriend in the sack and got her to remove the carriage pin while in the sack! She was not just a beautiful vase as I had imagined!
This is an anthology of seven short films by seven different directors to celebrate SG50.
Liked the scary monster in "Cinema", the mischevious kids in "That Girl", the tense family relationship in "The Flame", the friendly neighbour in "Bunga Sayang", the quest to find out about one's past in "Pineapple Town", the nice voice over narration in "Parting" and the historical pictures of Singapore in "GPS".
The story is about the hopes and dreams of a group of young people who loved Xinyao.
Liked the nice music that went along with story very well! The plot on the other hand didn't really make sense towards the end but I thought it was still a good effort by the director who brought us back to Singapore in the 90s!
