Monday, March 15, 2004

Singapore International Film Fest 2004

The schedule & listings are out! Ruth and i have listed some of our choices to watch for the upcoming Singapore International Film Festival 2004. From April 17th to May 1st, film from every genre and corners of the world showcase their stories for us to see. This is an opportunity that should be taken up as a majority of these films will not be shown in the local cinemas.

So if you're interested go have a look at the listings and synopsis at Film Fest website. Ruth and i would also like to invite those who are interested in the following few films below to come and catch it with us. *smile* So anyone interested?

......................................... ::::::::::::::::::::::::::: .......................................

Parasite Dolls - 17th Apr (Sat) @ 4.15pm
Tokyo in A.D. 2034 is a veritable dystopia in which technological advances have enabled the creation of ëBoomersí ñ entities that utterly resemble their human counterparts, but have been created for the sole purpose of doing those laborious jobs bourgeois humans refuse to undertake. Unsurprisingly, a subculture of Boomers in terrorism and prostitution has flourished under the hands of miscreant humans. An anti-terrorist team called A.D. Police create special task unit Branch to tackle the rampant urban problem. However, the out-of-control Boomers pose less of a threat than the puppet-masters behind the scenes.
Directors : Yoshinaga Naoyuki, Nakazawa Kazuto (Japan, 2002)
Duration : 85 minutes
Rating : NC-16


The Day I Will Never Forget -18th April (Sun) @ 7pm
Documentary filmmaker Kim Longinotto turns her attention to Kenya at a key cultural transition period when the practice of female genital mutilation (or female circumcision) is being questioned and reversed. Longinottoís non-intrusive camera offers a powerful avenue for women to speak at times candidly, almost nonchalantly about the inexplicable necessity of sustaining the practice. These voices are contrasted with young girls and an increasingly more vocal community of women who are questioning the validity of unquestioned and irreversible tradition, including Nurse Fardhosa whose work is seen as a pioneering effort to gradually counsel men and women to give up the practice.
Director : Kim Longinotto (UK, 2002)
Duration : 92 minutes
Rating : NC-16

This is got to see simply because i wrote my first thesis paper in polytechnic on this topic. So i always have an interest in this topic and i urge people, esp. you ladies to go watch this and realise how much abuse and torture some women in this world have to go thru. This barbaric practice still goes on today in a world where what we need most is peace and humane sanity.


Kiss of Life - 25th Apr (Sun) @ 4.15pm
Helen lives in London with her aging father and two children, not quite coping with the role of a caretaker, all the more anxious as her husband John is an aid-worker in Bosnia. On her way to school with her children one morning, she is killed in a car accident. Meanwhile, John is unaware of his wifeís death and is slowly journeying home through a devastated war-torn landscape Balkan landscape. Released into an ephemeral world between life and death, Helen must make peace with her husband John before she can properly depart.
Director : Emily Young (UK, 2003)
Duration : 87 minutes
Rating : PG

I definitely see myself crying in this movie.... romance, war, love, death ... all the ingredients of a cry-fest, making me feeling a sense of longing and sadness...


Father and Son / Otets i Syn - 30th Apr (Fri) @ 7pm
Suffused with a warm glow in an indeterminate setting (shot in Lisbon), Sokurovís film is less linear narrative and more a poetic eulogy for the transcendental bond that unites father and son. The second in his ëFamily Trilogyí, which began with Mother and Son (1996), Father and Son reaches intimately into the heart of a relatively young fatherís love for his 20-year old son who resembles and reminds him of his dead wife. Living together in an apartment, few can penetrate this sealed off world (not even the sonís girlfriend). Allies, yet enemies, loyally bound to each other by love yet torn apart by precisely that bond, Sokurovís film bears a decidedly religious, spiritual tone. The film won the FIPRESCI Prize at Cannes International Film Festival.
(To be screened with My Body. )
Director : Alexander Sokurov (Russia, 2003)
Duration : 84 minutes

......................................... ::::::::::::::::::::::::::: .......................................

Singaporean Men's Woes?

Right, i was flipping through the afternoon edition of Streats during lunch while waiting for my food to be served and i came upon this lil piece of write up by a Mr. Seah Leong Khai. He noted that "local women [are] marrying Caucasians [men at] an alarming [rate]".

True, Mr. Seah it is a rising trend but please tell me something i don't already know.

He attributes this rising trend to the factors of (and i quote): -

1. "Caucasian men usually hold senior positions at work, earn more money and probably live in condominiums and drive big cars;

2. The local women believe that Caucasian men treat women with more respect than local men do, and

3. To earn the right to live and take citizenship in their husbands' home countries (in which case there is little point in offering SIngapore citizenship to these women's children).
"

Well, Mr. Seah, to your point 1 that is a given fact. If must say so, i think that statement hints a bit of a case of sour grapes.

To your point 2, all i can say personally is that i am pleasantly surprise

- when a man would hold the door for me.

- when i get into the MRT and he, instead of almost pushing me away, offers me the empty seat instead.

- when i voice out my opinions of a fair equal share of a relationship entailing him to share the household chores (and i really mean sharing) and i share the financial burden and does not look at me think i am one crazy women and give me a pathetic statement of "You're intimidating and too aggressive."

In general, i say Singaporean men maybe be family oriented and able to give their children a "complete life" but how many men in Singapore are willing to move out of their parents home, rent an apartment and live a life of indenpendance??? How many men out there would willingly help out with the household chores at home??? How many men would willingly stay at home and be Mr. Mom if his wife earns a much higher salary than he does?

In Singapore, most men stay in the comfort of their parents home till the day they get married. Their mom or sisters are the one doing the household chores, they are not expected to do anything but study hard, get a good paying job, and spread their 'seeds of love' to carry on the family name. That's it. That is ALL they are required to do. They don't have to worry about having to allocate time to do the household chores like washing the dishes after dinner, the don't have to worry about having to mop and sweep the floor. Like i said ALL they are required to do is to basically have a family and carry on the family name and be the good boy. It's a very very asian culture which will have to be changed.

As for Mr. Mom, i stand up and give you a standing ovation to those who choose to be the one to stay home to look after the kids and everyday household chore and task. But to a man he is the embarrassment of the male gender. In my dad's words "Ta Men Dui Jing Nan Ren De Lian" (loosely translated - They are a disgrace to us men.). And i always tell me dad, that is one husband i would love to have!

I am not saying that i want to have my husband stay at home to do all the chores and look after the kids while i am out working and being the sole financial income earner. All i am saying is that the Singaporean men, generally lack in - a sense of independance, a sense of being gentlemenly, a sense of living life with a lil bit of spice and adventure. If i were to put it so bluntly, i would label them "Mama's lil boy" (awwwww..... pftftftftftf!).

Yes, i want a family oriented man, i want him to be committed to me and the kids. But i also don't want a dull and boring dud who does not know a sense of adventure in life. All he knows is bring home the pay check, have dinner, then plops his ass down in front of the tv with the excuse that he is tired from the day's work. Riiiiight. Like i am not tired? That i didn't have a rough day at work? Just because i am a woman doesn't mean i don't face the same things that you might face at work. But nooooo, we're expected to look after the kids, make sure they're fed, that they're doing their homework, that they're prepared for the next day of school, etc. etc.. By the time it is the end of the nite, i would have been so exhausted that i don't even have time to spend to myself to read the papers or magazine or watch tv.

It's not always about the 5Cs ... REALLY it ISN'T. In Singapore, you don't need to own a car. If you have it it's fine if you don't have it it isn't worth paying thru your nose for one. To me, a car in Singapore is not a necesscity, it is a luxury. You don't need to have a condo cos staying in a HDB 4 or 5 room is good enough. Sides the new condos are soooooo soooooo cramped due to the land scarce so it's not that big a deal anyways.

All i can say is, i'm not a girl who needs to be treated like a weakling and to be fussed over. I am independent and i expect to be respected and treated as an equal.

Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Am i a "kid-dult"?

Let me just say this in response to all the commotion when it comes to the government's effort to raise the number of child births each year :

I'M NOT READY.

Not because i am a "kid-dult".

Not because both my parents are still working and they have told me explicitly they don't want my money (least not yet).

Not because i don't handle my own utility and expense bills. (I handle every single one of my own bills which includes mobile, adsl, insurance, and two of my family's extra bills for entertainment.)

Not because i am very comfortable staying with the family with roof, food, warmth and love.

But simply because i am not ready. I don't think the government wants more dysfunctional families here in Singapore. And i am not about to bring a kid into this world to potentially suffer (if i have one now) cos i am not finally and emotionally ready or able.

Trust me it is not that i don't like kids. ALL my friends can vouch for the puddle of mush i turn into when a young toddler waddling like a duck at the early stages of learning how to walk or in the arms of the parents googling away. I even go to the point of stopping the conversation in a snap of the finger when my eyes spy a baby or kid around me and my friends will be left and abandoned in no time at all. But going all goo goo ga ga over babies and kids is different from having one or two or more of your own 24/7 for the rest of your life.

Right now, i have plans to work toward getting a stable career and relationship before i even think about bringing another life into this world. The world is a cruel place, bringing a life into this world just because i can now enjoy more benefit is just plain wrong.

Kudos for the government for encouraging the people in Singapore to have more kids, but then again it's high time the mom was given a longer maternity leave. Though whether or not it takes off well is another thing. After all how many employers we know in Singapore are known to understand and give their female employees adequate maternity leave with a decent wage package.

Also, don't make it a women's thing when it comes to pregnancy and giving birth. So only females and females alone have the physical capabilities. But glares from me from those men who even think to suggest that women go thru a BMT style of regime to psycho us to have more kids. OI! Fricking wake up, men! Having a kid is no more your responsibilty than a woman's. If you want to enjoy what your dad had in his days, make a time travelling machine and go back and enjoy for all i care. Cos nowadays, there is no way in hell my husband can push all the responsibility on me. No way will my husband (like my dad) comes home from work, shower, have dinner, thanks the me and plops himself in front of the tv. Then expects me to cook, clean, wash up after him and look after the kids. Nuh uh. Share. Share. Share.

Then again, that's what the general population of the men here love to do - make women feel inadequate.

Monday, March 08, 2004

Of tall tales and the big fish ...

Ever had one movie that wasn't a big award winning film like the LOTR trilogy or the Matrix trilogy but it touched you which very few movies can?

(Which by the way, LOTR was good but to sweep all 11 catagories it was nominated in... way too many awards for the last installment.)

Well for me, Big Fish was that one movie even though many wouldn't agree with me. It was really touching. All i knew about the movie before, was from the trailers i caught. I wanted to watch it because it looked like a fun movie to catch and just sit back and relax. Most of it's a fairy tale about life.

The star-studded cast with the likes of Danny Devito ("The Penguin"), Steve Bucemi (Guy gone crazy on the asteriod in "Ammergeddon"), Alison Lohman (fantastic young actress in "White Oleander" & "Matchstick Men"), Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter, Albert Finney and Ewan MrGregor ("Moulin Rouge" fame), made such a unbelievable-believable, fantasy-real life story that you have to pinch yourself at times to just say to yourself some of this can't be true. *smile*

Personally, the movie to me is about life (duh...) more importantly though it is about how someone sees his life and even if it is a lil unbelievable at times doesn't mean it isn't true. The part that made me gasps and then go "awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww", melt and turn into a puddle of mush was when young Ed Bloom was standing in a miniature field of sunkissed daffodils just so he could win over young Sandra Templeton (Alison Lohman).

(By the way did anyone notice how Alison Lohman strongly resembled a younger Jessica Lange????)

The part i love most - when Edward Bloom was carried down to the river by his son and everyone of his friends were there to see him off. That's when you know you've really truly lived your life. That's how i want to go when Death comes knocking at my door.

I don't care what people think of Ewan McGregor but i think he gave a good performance in his role of the younger Edward Bloom.

(And i will give credit when credit is due, just like i said Orlando Bloom was stiff, very stiff in "Pirates of the Carribean".)

McGregor's portayal of the younger Ed Bloom was just right to make his character believable yet still have you question which part of the stories were true and which parts were for real. And Ed Bloom lying in bed being sick and dying does something what i think we all do at some points in our lives. (If you don't agree, then i guess i will speak for myself then.) I don't think there is anyone in this world who does not tell a lil tall tale just to make the story or incident a lil bit more interesting? And i am sure there are parents who do that. To me, it adds more life, more colour and vibrancy into ones boring everyday mundane life, esp. when i live in a city where at times my life goes in a clockwork routine : get out of bed - get dressed - get to work - look forward to lunch time - look forward to end of the day - go home - watch tv. And i see alot of raised hands and nodding heads on this one.

Funny, amusing, heartwarming and a whole lot of fun. This is one movie i want to take my sis to and hopefully she see how live can be as interesting as you want it to be.



A man tells so many stories,
that he becomes the stories.
They live on after him,
and in that way he becomes immortal.