Colin Goh and Woo Yen Yen

One of the nice things about being back in New York is the movies. Singapore’s improved tremendously, but New York is just insane, and after 8 months away, we’re playing catchup.

One thing I find about making movies is that not only do I not have the time to watch very many other movies, I’m also not generally in the mood. I guess it’s like cooking - somehow if you cook, your appetite actually decreases at makan-time.

So anyway, we’ve been hitting the cinemas again, and also ramping up our Netflix dosage.

Here’s a roundup of the flicks we’ve been catching:

The Science of Sleep: Michel Gondry’s latest, whose title proved in my case to be prophetic. Starring Gael Garcia Bernal as a young man whose line between reality and fantasy is blurred, I found it a complete mess. I’m sure all the Ngee Ann film school kids would wet their pants at the stop motion stuff fantasy sequences, but it just seemed like a replay of the old Peter Gabriel ‘Sledgehammer’ music video to me. The narrative was incomprehensible, the characters thinly conceived, and after a while, the pretentiousness drove me into my own dream sequence. I really, really loved Gondry’s first film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but I’m now beginning to think that its genius is more attributable to scriptwriter Charlie Kaufman. Here’s a lesson: no matter how visually talented a director, a mediocre script cannot be saved.

Army of Shadows, the French resistance thriller by Jean Pierre Melville that has all the critics in New York calling it the best foreign film of the year (New York Film Critics Circle), if not the best film of the year (Manohla Dargis of the New York Times and Premiere Magazine), even though it was made in 1968, and has only now gotten its US release. Yes, moments of it were sublime and masterful, but I found the 140 minute film’s pacing a little dated, and most of the characters rather monochromatic (except for Simone Signoret’s Mathilde, who was excellent). I’m told by the Wife that I dozed off during one of the most exciting action sequences. Oh well. Maybe it’s age. Maybe it’s moving from the cold into a warm, darkened room… who knows?

Flannel Pajamas: made by legendary indie film distributor and all-around generous person Jeff Lipsky (who also gave us some of the best advice we’ve ever gotten about filmmaking; Jeff was the one who suggested we apply to San Sebastian), this very small, intimate film about the deterioration of a love affair was also shot by our cinematographer on Singapore Dreaming, Martina Radwan, and scored by our sound designer Paul Hsu. There are some painfully real and sensitive moments in the film that anyone who’s been in a real relationship (not just some hormonal flash-in-the-pan) will relate to. The sheer unknowability of relationships was depicted in a very authentic way, although in the context of a narrative film, that made the story somewhat frustrating. Acting-wise, Julianne Nicholson (Law and Order: Criminal Intent)’s performance as the female lead was superb - vulnerable, mixed up and very believable. However, I felt Justin Kirk (Angels in America) was less convincing and at points seemed to be going through the motions.

The Queen: Great performance by Helen Mirren, but I must say I found the whole Diana thing to be somewhat thin subject matter for an entire feature. Didn’t sleep, though.

Pan’s Labyrinth: the darling of the moment, and very expert filmmaking. But I’m kind of lukewarm about it. I can see what Guillermo del Toro is trying to do - juxtaposing the dread/comfort of fantasy against the horror/safety of real life, but I just wasn’t very moved for some reason. Somehow I found the conceit of his intentions a wee bit obvious, and I felt like I wanted more out of everything. Guess it can’t have been that bad if I was left wanting more!

Children of Men: Superb. Go and see! And what balls to kill of a Hollywood A-list cast member so early. Michael Caine is the man!

Land of Plenty: Wim Wenders’ digital video of a young missionary (the excellent Michelle Williams) who comes back to America to reconcile with her emotionally-scarred Vietnam vet uncle. Very restrained and mature. Unfortunately, the vagaries of the film industry will not make this film more accessible to those who really need to take on board the messages of the film.

Sorry, Haters: Really cool, nasty indie flick with a great psycho performance by Robin Wright Penn. The ending takes your breath away! Unfortunately, the digital shooting and content will limit its audience.

Sweet Land: a nice, gentle film about grandma’s difficult journey to America. Sweet and thoughtful, but not especially groundbreaking. Some of the period details were also a little too contemporary. Highlight of the screening was Alan Cumming, who executive produced the film, turning up to urge us to vote for it in the Indie Spirit Awards! Yen had a wee chat with him after the show.

Red Doors: I’m beginning to get very irritated by Asian-American cinema, since every film seems to trot out the same issues in the same way. The “why can’t they accept I like white guys” hand-wringing, the pity for Mom being trapped by her Chinese culture, etc. All very Joy Luck Club, Saving Face, Face, ad nauseam. Red Doors tried some new twists, but fell back into the pit anyway. Maybe it was real and autobiographical to the director/writer, but for some reason, I felt the treatment of the whole Asian culture thing to be simplistic. But maybe I’ve seen one too many of these flicks. One personal, nitpicky gripe for me: the mahjong scene set up. It was so wrong - do American-born Chinese families really stack their tiles like that?

The Motel: Now here’s an Asian-American film that didn’t fall into the pit. Well, it fell into a different pit: the quirky indie movie a la “You, Me and Everyone We Know” and “Ghost World” pit. It’s not the same in content, but the styles and pacing are strikingly similar. After seeing enough of these films (which are all enjoyable, don’t get me wrong), you can almost predict how each scene winds up. But I really liked the film overall.

The Illusionist: Clever little confection with the ever-dependable Ed Norton and Paul Giamatti. But a tad too Hollywood for my tastes.

Man Push Cart: Amazing, amazing, amazing filmmaking by Ramin Bahrani, about a Pakistani rock star stranded in Manhattan, selling bagels and coffee. It’s Bahrani’s first film too, but so perfect, it fills me with the deepest envy. The cinematography is stunning - who knew the quotidian push cart could look so gorgeous?

Notes on a Scandal: What a surprise. The most enjoyable film of the past few months for me. I love Judi Dench. I love Cate Blanchett. I didn’t expect to love Notes on a Scandal, thinking it was a dour, depressing piece about unrequited desire, hypocritical bourgeois bohemians, etc, etc. Instead, Patrick Marber (one of my favourite playwrights and columnists of all time) turned in a wicked, tongue in cheek and totally acidic script. Even at the film’s darkest moments, you can’t help but grin, feeling both pain, contempt, empathy and ridiculousness. Now that takes something. Full marks!

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