FILMS/
SINGAPORE DREAMING
New Directors
Singapore, 2006, 105 minutes
SHOWTIMES
Sun, Apr 29 / 08:30 / Kabuki / SING29K
Fri, May 4 / 01:00 / Kabuki / SING04K
Sat, May 5 / 03:00 / Kabuki / SING05K
CREDITS
- dir
-
Colin Goh, Yen Yen Woo
- prod
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Colin Goh, Yen Yen Woo
- scr
-
Colin Goh, Yen Yen Woo
- cam
-
Martina Radwan
- editor
-
Rachel Kittner
- mus
-
Sydney Tan
- cast
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Richard Low, Alice Lim Cheng Peng, Serene Cheng, Yeo Yann Yann, Lim Yu-Beng, Dick Su
- source
-
Media Luna Entertainment, Hochstadenstrasse 1-3, 50674 Cologne, Germany FAX: +49-22-180-14-98-21 EMAIL: viviana@medialuna-entertainment.de
"It is life in its reality," remarks President S.R. Nathan on the depiction of his island nation in this celluloid delight. Indeed, the sympathetic somnambulists who populate this comic drama humanize the growing pains of a post-colonial state struggling to balance filial traditions against the seductions of global capitalism. Patriarch Loh Poh Huat daydreams of moving out of public housing and into one of the sleek, new condominium towers where he works evicting tenants who are delinquent with rent. With a son returning home with a coveted American diploma in hand, Loh is sure that a room with a view is within reach. Not so for hapless son-in-law, C.K., whose heart just isn’t in insurance sales as his pregnant wife had hoped, and who pines for his bygone days of indie-rock glory. Meanwhile, the three hardworking women who stand by their men soon realize that their own dreams have been woefully put on hold. When Loh unexpectedly wins the lottery, family members see their fortunes changing . . . until everything goes terribly wrong. As the siblings scramble to pick up the pieces, a scandalous secret, an elaborate Taoist funeral and a bold choice made by their misunderstood mother provide a familial wake-up call. Boasting an ensemble cast of the highest order, this comedy of errors recalls the early films of Ang Lee and the work of Taiwanese director Edward Yang. Singapore Dreaming is a quiet wonder that bodes well for another cinematic renaissance in the East.
—Michael Wilson
In Mandarin and Hokkien with English subtitles. Sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Wells Fargo. Presented in association with the Center for Asian American Media.