Sell Like Hot Cakes
Yoga Lin
Never mind the English album title, which is as bald-faced a statement as it gets. The Chinese title Jin Ri Ying Ye Zhong, Open For Business Today, is less in-your-face, referring to Taiwanese singer Yoga Lin’s return to the music scene after completing his military service last year.
There is a sense of him starting things on a clean slate on opening track Let It Die. “Let the world be destroyed/ Let everything turn to ash, all absurdities end/Let me be destroyed,” he sings.
In other words, this is not quite business as usual for Lin.
There is the surprise of his first Cantonese track, the ballad Worse Comes To Worst, and he does a good job with Wyman Wong’s incisive lyrics: “When everything is bad and you can still be happy, that’s a sublime state.”
He also hints at greater maturity in Spoiled Innocence when he laments: “Do you know the cruellest thing you’ve done/Is to cruelly turn me into a man overnight?”
Some things do not change, though, and there is nothing wrong with that – Lin’s evocative pipes are in fine form and his penchant for musical adventure continues to be given free rein.
And so we get the catchy uptempo rock of Unshakeable Rascals, the loungy jazz of Courage To Remember You and the elegiac ballad Tiny Part Of You, which he composed.
Good to have Lin back in business. And, who knows, the album may just sell like hot cakes.
(ST)
Saturday, June 25, 2016
Perhat Khaliq & Qetiq
The O.P.E.N.
Victoria Theatre/Thursday
Uighur singer Perhat Khaliq is perhaps best known for coming in second in the 2014 season of the reality singing contest The Voice Of China. His spare, emotional rendition of the Mandarin karaoke favourite Why Are You Willing To Let Me Suffer became a new classic cover version.
Known for his raspy, shredded vocals and raw emotional delivery, he may have broken into the mainstream performing in Chinese, but his concert was to showcase the rich, soulful rock music from his people, the Uighurs, one of the ethnic minority groups living in Xinjiang, China.
In his 75-minute set, he only performed Why and one other Mandarin song, Gift. The rest were in Uighur, with English and Chinese surtitles provided for the lyrics.
Dressed in black and sporting a shaved head, Perhat had a compelling stage presence.
Audiences may know little about Uighur life, but he painted a vivid, moving picture of its geographical contours and culture. Without a shred of artifice, he sang songs about working folk, the tenderness of women and the pain of love.
His parents were steel factory workers, and Ishchi was a bluesy ode to the woes of the labour class.
On Tush Naxshisi, he lamented: “The roads of Atush are cruel.” On Shukri Didim, he sang of his love for his late parents and his gratitude for all that he had been given in life.
Other tracks allude to Xinjiang province’s vast and beautiful landscape. At one point, he evoked “the blue sky above, the silent plateau” and you could imagine that his was a voice burnished by fierce desert winds and nourished by bright blue skies.
He was joined by his wife Pazilet Tursun on several numbers and on Tarim, their voices, one sweet and one weathered, were entwined to moving effect.
His band, Qetiq, entertained with their musical virtuosity as they added a sheen of contemporary rock to traditional Uighur and Kazakh music.
There was a country Western hillbilly vibe to some of the material, including the rollicking Qara Jorgha, which seemed to mimic the steady galloping of a horse with its rhythmic beat.
The band members were multi- talented. The keyboardist interpreted for Perhat when he spoke in Uighur and the drummer, in an entertaining extended solo, made his way around the stage and drummed on random surfaces as though he was a runaway member of the percussion show Stomp.
It did not matter that one did not understand the Uighur language, Perhat’s magnetic voice and the peerless music-making were enough to cast a spell.
(ST)
The O.P.E.N.
Victoria Theatre/Thursday
Uighur singer Perhat Khaliq is perhaps best known for coming in second in the 2014 season of the reality singing contest The Voice Of China. His spare, emotional rendition of the Mandarin karaoke favourite Why Are You Willing To Let Me Suffer became a new classic cover version.
Known for his raspy, shredded vocals and raw emotional delivery, he may have broken into the mainstream performing in Chinese, but his concert was to showcase the rich, soulful rock music from his people, the Uighurs, one of the ethnic minority groups living in Xinjiang, China.
In his 75-minute set, he only performed Why and one other Mandarin song, Gift. The rest were in Uighur, with English and Chinese surtitles provided for the lyrics.
Dressed in black and sporting a shaved head, Perhat had a compelling stage presence.
Audiences may know little about Uighur life, but he painted a vivid, moving picture of its geographical contours and culture. Without a shred of artifice, he sang songs about working folk, the tenderness of women and the pain of love.
His parents were steel factory workers, and Ishchi was a bluesy ode to the woes of the labour class.
On Tush Naxshisi, he lamented: “The roads of Atush are cruel.” On Shukri Didim, he sang of his love for his late parents and his gratitude for all that he had been given in life.
Other tracks allude to Xinjiang province’s vast and beautiful landscape. At one point, he evoked “the blue sky above, the silent plateau” and you could imagine that his was a voice burnished by fierce desert winds and nourished by bright blue skies.
He was joined by his wife Pazilet Tursun on several numbers and on Tarim, their voices, one sweet and one weathered, were entwined to moving effect.
His band, Qetiq, entertained with their musical virtuosity as they added a sheen of contemporary rock to traditional Uighur and Kazakh music.
There was a country Western hillbilly vibe to some of the material, including the rollicking Qara Jorgha, which seemed to mimic the steady galloping of a horse with its rhythmic beat.
The band members were multi- talented. The keyboardist interpreted for Perhat when he spoke in Uighur and the drummer, in an entertaining extended solo, made his way around the stage and drummed on random surfaces as though he was a runaway member of the percussion show Stomp.
It did not matter that one did not understand the Uighur language, Perhat’s magnetic voice and the peerless music-making were enough to cast a spell.
(ST)
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
beGin
Gin Lee
Thanks to the size of the China market, the focus of most artists is on Mandopop rather than Cantopop nowadays.
Malaysian Gin Lee has gone against the flow. She moved to Hong Kong after her 2009 Mandarin debut, One & Only, and is putting out Cantonese works.
Actually, this could be a smart way to stand out from other artists. She might have taken part in Taiwan’s Super Idol, Hong Kong’s The Voice and The Voice Of China, but televised reality contests seem to be a rite of passage for most singers out there.
Lee’s soothing pipes sound at home in Cantonese and shine in mid-tempo tracks that offer comfort and encouragement.
She sings on the glistening opening number Aura: “Those who can still trust after having promises to them broken/Will forever have a halo on their heads, even if they’re hurt inside.”
There is a warm tenderness on heartbreak ballad Pair, in which words are repeated in a reference to the song title – as though to suggest that even if couples cannot stay together, some things can.
Also included here are Mandarin versions of Aura and the melancholic A Man Living On The Moon, but I remain partial to the more lyrical Cantonese versions.
(ST)
Gin Lee
Thanks to the size of the China market, the focus of most artists is on Mandopop rather than Cantopop nowadays.
Malaysian Gin Lee has gone against the flow. She moved to Hong Kong after her 2009 Mandarin debut, One & Only, and is putting out Cantonese works.
Actually, this could be a smart way to stand out from other artists. She might have taken part in Taiwan’s Super Idol, Hong Kong’s The Voice and The Voice Of China, but televised reality contests seem to be a rite of passage for most singers out there.
Lee’s soothing pipes sound at home in Cantonese and shine in mid-tempo tracks that offer comfort and encouragement.
She sings on the glistening opening number Aura: “Those who can still trust after having promises to them broken/Will forever have a halo on their heads, even if they’re hurt inside.”
There is a warm tenderness on heartbreak ballad Pair, in which words are repeated in a reference to the song title – as though to suggest that even if couples cannot stay together, some things can.
Also included here are Mandarin versions of Aura and the melancholic A Man Living On The Moon, but I remain partial to the more lyrical Cantonese versions.
(ST)
Monday, June 20, 2016
Tay Kewei “Chi” Concert
Esplanade Concert Hall/Last Friday
Local singer-songwriter Tay Kewei finally got to scratch her seven-year itch.
Her last ticketed show was at the 250-seater Esplanade Recital Hall in 2009 and this time round, she performed for a crowd of more than 750 at the larger Concert Hall venue. The concert organiser released around 900 tickets for the show.
“Chi” means seven in Chinese and she also wrote a song for the occasion, Qi Nian Zhi Yang (Seven- Year Oxygen), a title which puns on seven-year itch in Mandarin.
Sporting strawberry-streaked blonde hair and wearing a white and black body-hugging outfit, she said to her fans: “Music has been my oxygen and it has been a pillar in my life.”
This was the introduction to the song, but due to a technical hitch, Tay had to move on to the next number instead.
To her credit, she slipped into the ballad Ke Bu Ke Yi (Can I) without skipping a beat.
Her warm and honeyed vocals were in good form, but the accompanying music sometimes threatened to overwhelm them.
It could have been that she had changed into a comfortable get-up of T-shirt and jeans or maybe because she did not have to compete with the band, but she was at her most relaxed during the acoustic segment.
And it showed in her voice as she covered Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop This Feeling and even sang a snatch of the Korean theme song in the hit drama Descendants Of The Sun, You Are My Everything.
Mostly though, the concert was a showcase for her own material as well as her versatility as an artist. She sang in Mandarin, English, Japanese and Korean and played the erhu, guitar, ukelele and piano.
No wonder she quipped at one point: “I’m a little busy tonight.”
Her megawatt smile made it clear that she was happy to be on stage again and her special guests shared in her joy.
Her music teacher father, Tay Soon Dee, played the mellifluous dizi while Kewei played the melancholic erhu on Liu Lian (Recall Fondly); she sang with singeractress Bonnie Loo on Zhuan Shen Wei Xiao (Turn Back & Smile), the title track of Tay’s 2014 album; and she duetted with her husband, singer Alfred Sim, on their special song, Yi Ai Wei Hao (Proud Of Love), a title combining Chinese characters from both their names.
When she finally managed to perform the upbeat Qi Nian Zhi Yang towards the end of her two-hour- long gig, her fans waved their lit phones in support. At last, their itch had been scratched as well.
(ST)
Esplanade Concert Hall/Last Friday
Local singer-songwriter Tay Kewei finally got to scratch her seven-year itch.
Her last ticketed show was at the 250-seater Esplanade Recital Hall in 2009 and this time round, she performed for a crowd of more than 750 at the larger Concert Hall venue. The concert organiser released around 900 tickets for the show.
“Chi” means seven in Chinese and she also wrote a song for the occasion, Qi Nian Zhi Yang (Seven- Year Oxygen), a title which puns on seven-year itch in Mandarin.
Sporting strawberry-streaked blonde hair and wearing a white and black body-hugging outfit, she said to her fans: “Music has been my oxygen and it has been a pillar in my life.”
This was the introduction to the song, but due to a technical hitch, Tay had to move on to the next number instead.
To her credit, she slipped into the ballad Ke Bu Ke Yi (Can I) without skipping a beat.
Her warm and honeyed vocals were in good form, but the accompanying music sometimes threatened to overwhelm them.
It could have been that she had changed into a comfortable get-up of T-shirt and jeans or maybe because she did not have to compete with the band, but she was at her most relaxed during the acoustic segment.
And it showed in her voice as she covered Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop This Feeling and even sang a snatch of the Korean theme song in the hit drama Descendants Of The Sun, You Are My Everything.
Mostly though, the concert was a showcase for her own material as well as her versatility as an artist. She sang in Mandarin, English, Japanese and Korean and played the erhu, guitar, ukelele and piano.
No wonder she quipped at one point: “I’m a little busy tonight.”
Her megawatt smile made it clear that she was happy to be on stage again and her special guests shared in her joy.
Her music teacher father, Tay Soon Dee, played the mellifluous dizi while Kewei played the melancholic erhu on Liu Lian (Recall Fondly); she sang with singeractress Bonnie Loo on Zhuan Shen Wei Xiao (Turn Back & Smile), the title track of Tay’s 2014 album; and she duetted with her husband, singer Alfred Sim, on their special song, Yi Ai Wei Hao (Proud Of Love), a title combining Chinese characters from both their names.
When she finally managed to perform the upbeat Qi Nian Zhi Yang towards the end of her two-hour- long gig, her fans waved their lit phones in support. At last, their itch had been scratched as well.
(ST)
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Love Storm
Jess Lee
Drama is good when it comes to music. Malaysian singer Jess Lee’s previous album featured Cliff To Heaven, a roller-coaster ride of a track which soared and plunged to thrilling effect.
There is an attempt to capture the turbulent emotions of that stronger hit with Snowstorm. She seems to be throwing caution to the wind as she sings: “Your love is like a snowstorm/I don’t mind losing everything.”
The ballads here, such as Chain Of Love and Nostalgia, leave a deeper impression than the faster- paced, more light-hearted tracks.
It has to be said, though, that listening to Lee on disc does not quite do her stunning pipes justice.
I still remember her powerhouse performance of Cliff To Heaven at the Singapore Hit Awards in 2014, one which stood out impressively from the pack.
It is not for nothing that she was the winner of the seventh season of singing competition One Million Star (2010 to 2011). Hopefully, she will get to hold her own gig here soon and sing up a storm.
(ST)
Jess Lee
Drama is good when it comes to music. Malaysian singer Jess Lee’s previous album featured Cliff To Heaven, a roller-coaster ride of a track which soared and plunged to thrilling effect.
There is an attempt to capture the turbulent emotions of that stronger hit with Snowstorm. She seems to be throwing caution to the wind as she sings: “Your love is like a snowstorm/I don’t mind losing everything.”
The ballads here, such as Chain Of Love and Nostalgia, leave a deeper impression than the faster- paced, more light-hearted tracks.
It has to be said, though, that listening to Lee on disc does not quite do her stunning pipes justice.
I still remember her powerhouse performance of Cliff To Heaven at the Singapore Hit Awards in 2014, one which stood out impressively from the pack.
It is not for nothing that she was the winner of the seventh season of singing competition One Million Star (2010 to 2011). Hopefully, she will get to hold her own gig here soon and sing up a storm.
(ST)
Now You See Me 2
Jon M. Chu
The story: At the end of Now You See Me (2013), ex-magician Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) has been framed and placed behind bars by a group of illusionists calling themselves the Four Horsemen. In this sequel, Bradley is out for vengeance while the gang of four (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco and Lizzy Caplan) get entangled with a tech magnate Walter Mabry (Daniel Radcliffe) with a hidden agenda. The fifth Horseman, Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo), has his cover as an FBI agent blown.
There is quite a bit of plot to get through and a huge cast of characters to get to know. Still, Now You See Me 2 is a zippy sequel that will please fans of the original magic- trick-flick-meets-crime-caper as it manages to up the ante on the illusion set pieces.
Even though you know that you are watching visual movie effects for some of the more outlandish tricks, director Jon M. Chu (G.I. Joe: Retaliation, 2013) pulls off scenes with verve and a great deal of energy.
Take, for example, an extended sequence involving a single playing card, which the Four Horsemen have to keep hidden from sight from security personnel as it gets passed from member to another like a hot potato, always on the cusp of being discovered.
Then there are the illusions performed in public, which feed off the excitement of the watching audience onscreen, while the audience offscreen tries to figure out where it is all headed.
Adding to the fun is the starstudded cast, which includes reliable veterans Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine and well regarded actors Mark Ruffalo and Jesse Eisenberg.
Lizzy Caplan (Masters Of Sex, 2013 to present) takes over from the pregnant Isla Fisher as the sole female member of the Horsemen and her new character – who once pulled a hat out of a rabbit – makes the moves on the good-looking rake played by Dave Franco.
And Daniel Radcliffe wants you to forget about the boy wizard Harry Potter by going for a villainous turn, though Walter Mabry is more petulant than sinister.
Having the action partly set in Macau means an opportunity to add some diversity to the cast.
Unfortunately, Mandopop superstar Jay Chou’s role – he works in an old-fashioned magic shop in the territory – is tiny and he seems to be smirking as he delivers his lines.
The other casting decision that does not quite work is having Woody Harrelson play twins. This seems to have been done for laughs but, mostly, it strikes a false note and the over-acting by Harrelson is a distraction.
There are things that do not make sense about the plot as well, but one is happy to go along for the ride when a film has been executed with flair and flourish.
(ST)
Jon M. Chu
The story: At the end of Now You See Me (2013), ex-magician Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) has been framed and placed behind bars by a group of illusionists calling themselves the Four Horsemen. In this sequel, Bradley is out for vengeance while the gang of four (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco and Lizzy Caplan) get entangled with a tech magnate Walter Mabry (Daniel Radcliffe) with a hidden agenda. The fifth Horseman, Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo), has his cover as an FBI agent blown.
There is quite a bit of plot to get through and a huge cast of characters to get to know. Still, Now You See Me 2 is a zippy sequel that will please fans of the original magic- trick-flick-meets-crime-caper as it manages to up the ante on the illusion set pieces.
Even though you know that you are watching visual movie effects for some of the more outlandish tricks, director Jon M. Chu (G.I. Joe: Retaliation, 2013) pulls off scenes with verve and a great deal of energy.
Take, for example, an extended sequence involving a single playing card, which the Four Horsemen have to keep hidden from sight from security personnel as it gets passed from member to another like a hot potato, always on the cusp of being discovered.
Then there are the illusions performed in public, which feed off the excitement of the watching audience onscreen, while the audience offscreen tries to figure out where it is all headed.
Adding to the fun is the starstudded cast, which includes reliable veterans Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine and well regarded actors Mark Ruffalo and Jesse Eisenberg.
Lizzy Caplan (Masters Of Sex, 2013 to present) takes over from the pregnant Isla Fisher as the sole female member of the Horsemen and her new character – who once pulled a hat out of a rabbit – makes the moves on the good-looking rake played by Dave Franco.
And Daniel Radcliffe wants you to forget about the boy wizard Harry Potter by going for a villainous turn, though Walter Mabry is more petulant than sinister.
Having the action partly set in Macau means an opportunity to add some diversity to the cast.
Unfortunately, Mandopop superstar Jay Chou’s role – he works in an old-fashioned magic shop in the territory – is tiny and he seems to be smirking as he delivers his lines.
The other casting decision that does not quite work is having Woody Harrelson play twins. This seems to have been done for laughs but, mostly, it strikes a false note and the over-acting by Harrelson is a distraction.
There are things that do not make sense about the plot as well, but one is happy to go along for the ride when a film has been executed with flair and flourish.
(ST)
Wednesday, June 08, 2016
Queen's Way
Queen Wei
With a cascading piano accompaniment and Taiwanese singer-songwriter Queen Wei’s tender and bright voice evoking the mystery and grandeur of nature, Wood is an opening breath of fresh air.
She sings: “The legends of the forest/Have been praised in song by us/The rights and wrongs of humankind/Are casually picked up by him”.
On her second solo album after Foolish (2008), the Season 2 alumna of singing competition One Million Star takes the less travelled path, though not as idiosyncratic as the one forged by her elder sister, Waa.
There is a definite sense of fun here. On the track O, she puns: “Oh oh oh oh oh, give me an ou (something random)”. And Bubble Dream bubbles up with a kind of quirky naivete when she sings in English for the chorus: “Oh my bubble dream/All the bad things have been washed away”.
Even when the material is more conventional, Wei’s pipes breathe life into ballads such as Forever and First Love. It suggests a compelling musical journey ahead whichever way she turns.
(ST)
Queen Wei
With a cascading piano accompaniment and Taiwanese singer-songwriter Queen Wei’s tender and bright voice evoking the mystery and grandeur of nature, Wood is an opening breath of fresh air.
She sings: “The legends of the forest/Have been praised in song by us/The rights and wrongs of humankind/Are casually picked up by him”.
On her second solo album after Foolish (2008), the Season 2 alumna of singing competition One Million Star takes the less travelled path, though not as idiosyncratic as the one forged by her elder sister, Waa.
There is a definite sense of fun here. On the track O, she puns: “Oh oh oh oh oh, give me an ou (something random)”. And Bubble Dream bubbles up with a kind of quirky naivete when she sings in English for the chorus: “Oh my bubble dream/All the bad things have been washed away”.
Even when the material is more conventional, Wei’s pipes breathe life into ballads such as Forever and First Love. It suggests a compelling musical journey ahead whichever way she turns.
(ST)
Doraemon The Movie: Nobita And The Birth of Japan 2016
Shinnosuke Yakuwa
The story: Grade school pupil Nobita (Megumi Ohara) runs away from home to Japan 70,000 years ago with the help of his trusty robot cat from the future, Doraemon (Wasabi Mizuta). He encounters prehistoric caveboy Kukuru (Ryoko Shiraishi) and, with his friends, has to help save the Hikari tribe from the evil machinations of the mysterious and powerful Gigazombie (Yoshitada Otsuka).
Stand By Me Doraemon in 2014 was a tearjerker 3D flick embraced by both audiences and critics. It was the second-highest grossing local film for the year in Japan and it also won the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year.
With its above-average production values, it was clearly not a run-of-the-mill entry in the longrunning franchise of big-screen outings, which stretch all the way back to 1980.
Doraemon films are pretty much an annual staple in Japan and are as comforting as a bowl of ochazuke (Japanese-style porridge). The characters are familiar as they have remained unchanged since the manga series made its debut in 1969, from lazy, klutzy but good-hearted Nobita to Doraemon with his endless supply of fascinating gadgets.
There is a certain homespun feel to the animation as well – 2D and not overly complicated. Indeed, there are weekly anime series now with more detailed artwork than in the Doraemon movies.
Still, there is no denying their appeal and Birth Of Japan 2016, a remake of the 1989 hit instalment, topped the box office in Japan for three weeks.
While the manga and anime stories tend to revolve around home and school life, the feature films have Nobita et al tackling all sorts of outlandish adventures. Here, there are trips to prehistoric Japan and a powerful villain messing around with the space-time continuum.
It is always fun to see what new gadgets have been dreamed up and how they are used and misused, and a definite highlight here is Doraemon pretending to be a witch doctor – Dorazombie – complete with nose ring and facepaint markings.
There is not much surprise to how things end, but the point is to have Doraemon and Nobita stick around for another adventure next year.
(ST)
Shinnosuke Yakuwa
The story: Grade school pupil Nobita (Megumi Ohara) runs away from home to Japan 70,000 years ago with the help of his trusty robot cat from the future, Doraemon (Wasabi Mizuta). He encounters prehistoric caveboy Kukuru (Ryoko Shiraishi) and, with his friends, has to help save the Hikari tribe from the evil machinations of the mysterious and powerful Gigazombie (Yoshitada Otsuka).
Stand By Me Doraemon in 2014 was a tearjerker 3D flick embraced by both audiences and critics. It was the second-highest grossing local film for the year in Japan and it also won the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year.
With its above-average production values, it was clearly not a run-of-the-mill entry in the longrunning franchise of big-screen outings, which stretch all the way back to 1980.
Doraemon films are pretty much an annual staple in Japan and are as comforting as a bowl of ochazuke (Japanese-style porridge). The characters are familiar as they have remained unchanged since the manga series made its debut in 1969, from lazy, klutzy but good-hearted Nobita to Doraemon with his endless supply of fascinating gadgets.
There is a certain homespun feel to the animation as well – 2D and not overly complicated. Indeed, there are weekly anime series now with more detailed artwork than in the Doraemon movies.
Still, there is no denying their appeal and Birth Of Japan 2016, a remake of the 1989 hit instalment, topped the box office in Japan for three weeks.
While the manga and anime stories tend to revolve around home and school life, the feature films have Nobita et al tackling all sorts of outlandish adventures. Here, there are trips to prehistoric Japan and a powerful villain messing around with the space-time continuum.
It is always fun to see what new gadgets have been dreamed up and how they are used and misused, and a definite highlight here is Doraemon pretending to be a witch doctor – Dorazombie – complete with nose ring and facepaint markings.
There is not much surprise to how things end, but the point is to have Doraemon and Nobita stick around for another adventure next year.
(ST)
Wednesday, June 01, 2016
Distance
Xin Yukun, Tan Shijie, Sivaroj Kongsakul
The story: The movie comprises three separate stories linked by leading man Chen Bo-lin and the theme of physical and emotional separation. The Son, by China’s Xin Yukun, is about a businessman coming across his long-estranged father (Paul Chun) on a work trip to Guangxi. The Lake, by Singapore’s Tan Shijie, is about the meeting of two childhood friends many years later, when one of them (Yo Yang) has been sentenced to death in Singapore. The Goodbye, by Thailand’s Sivaroj Kongsakul, reunites a young academic with his former professor (Jiang Wenli) in Bangkok.
The most famous film-maker associated with this omnibus project is not credited as a director. Instead, Anthony Chen, who won international acclaim for his family drama Ilo Ilo (2013), takes on executive producer and scriptwriting duties here, giving the reins to three up-and-coming film-makers.
While it may be impossible to tease apart his influence on the works, the quiet observation and degree of sensitivity in tackling the material recalls Ilo Ilo.
Furthermore, a sense of restraint – sometimes intriguing, sometimes frustrating – pervades all three segments.
The Lake is the strongest entry, colouring an idyllic friendship with shades of foreboding as people whisper and a father broods. Young actors Cheng Huan-lin and Wei Han-ding are also naturals as the younger versions of Yo Yang and Chen Bo-lin – one confident and proud and the other wavering and conflicted as undercurrents pull them in different directions.
The Son juxtaposes Chen’s relationship with his estranged father with a momentous decision in his life. Unfortunately, there are one too many chance encounters in a story set not in a village, but in a bustling Chinese city. Even Chen’s chauffeur exclaims at one point: “See someone you know again?”
While The Goodbye leaves ellipses in the relationship between the one-time teacher and student, played by wellregarded actress Jiang Wenli and Chen, it overcompensates by spelling out the themes of closeness and distance in lectures the latter gives. Having Thai actress Pat (Chayanit Chansangavej) as a university student who develops a crush on Chen as a device to echo the past also feels a little too, well, pat.
The cast put in strong performances. Soulful leading man Chen Bo-lin – whose credits include coming-of-age drama Blue Gate Crossing (2002) and hit romance series In Time With You (2011) – is consistently watchable as he wrestles with a gamut of emotions brought on by various revelations.
Veteran Hong Kong actor Paul Chun is both pathetic and sympathetic as the long-missing dad in The Son.
What the movie leaves you with is a sense of the things – love, hate, pain – that neither time nor distance can erase completely.
(ST)
Xin Yukun, Tan Shijie, Sivaroj Kongsakul
The story: The movie comprises three separate stories linked by leading man Chen Bo-lin and the theme of physical and emotional separation. The Son, by China’s Xin Yukun, is about a businessman coming across his long-estranged father (Paul Chun) on a work trip to Guangxi. The Lake, by Singapore’s Tan Shijie, is about the meeting of two childhood friends many years later, when one of them (Yo Yang) has been sentenced to death in Singapore. The Goodbye, by Thailand’s Sivaroj Kongsakul, reunites a young academic with his former professor (Jiang Wenli) in Bangkok.
The most famous film-maker associated with this omnibus project is not credited as a director. Instead, Anthony Chen, who won international acclaim for his family drama Ilo Ilo (2013), takes on executive producer and scriptwriting duties here, giving the reins to three up-and-coming film-makers.
While it may be impossible to tease apart his influence on the works, the quiet observation and degree of sensitivity in tackling the material recalls Ilo Ilo.
Furthermore, a sense of restraint – sometimes intriguing, sometimes frustrating – pervades all three segments.
The Lake is the strongest entry, colouring an idyllic friendship with shades of foreboding as people whisper and a father broods. Young actors Cheng Huan-lin and Wei Han-ding are also naturals as the younger versions of Yo Yang and Chen Bo-lin – one confident and proud and the other wavering and conflicted as undercurrents pull them in different directions.
The Son juxtaposes Chen’s relationship with his estranged father with a momentous decision in his life. Unfortunately, there are one too many chance encounters in a story set not in a village, but in a bustling Chinese city. Even Chen’s chauffeur exclaims at one point: “See someone you know again?”
While The Goodbye leaves ellipses in the relationship between the one-time teacher and student, played by wellregarded actress Jiang Wenli and Chen, it overcompensates by spelling out the themes of closeness and distance in lectures the latter gives. Having Thai actress Pat (Chayanit Chansangavej) as a university student who develops a crush on Chen as a device to echo the past also feels a little too, well, pat.
The cast put in strong performances. Soulful leading man Chen Bo-lin – whose credits include coming-of-age drama Blue Gate Crossing (2002) and hit romance series In Time With You (2011) – is consistently watchable as he wrestles with a gamut of emotions brought on by various revelations.
Veteran Hong Kong actor Paul Chun is both pathetic and sympathetic as the long-missing dad in The Son.
What the movie leaves you with is a sense of the things – love, hate, pain – that neither time nor distance can erase completely.
(ST)
MICappella Reloaded
MICappella
Local vocal band MICappella want to shake things up with their new album. They kick things off with the one-two punch of One Of These Days and Never Be Defeated, practically daring you not to groove to the rhythm and tight vocal work.
On Never Be Defeated, they are defiant: “Why should I be the same, following the designated direction.” And so they have upended the conventional idea of a cappella groups as cover acts and, inspired by the likes of Pentatonix, come up with an album of original material to follow up on their debut disc, Here We Go (2013).
There is a good mix of material here, mostly in Mandarin with three English tracks and a variety of genres from love ballads to energetic pick-me-ups.
Hunger Games, taking its cue from the popular books and movies, zeroes in on the competitive nature of the world we live in and adds a gothic spin with its vocal arrangement.
On the most choral track, the gospel-tinged Hello Again, six voices harmonise in a touching ballad about living well for the sake of those who have left us.
The lone cover here, of JJ Lin’s gorgeous ballad If Only, is not needed – the original material stands well enough on its own.
(ST)
MICappella
Local vocal band MICappella want to shake things up with their new album. They kick things off with the one-two punch of One Of These Days and Never Be Defeated, practically daring you not to groove to the rhythm and tight vocal work.
On Never Be Defeated, they are defiant: “Why should I be the same, following the designated direction.” And so they have upended the conventional idea of a cappella groups as cover acts and, inspired by the likes of Pentatonix, come up with an album of original material to follow up on their debut disc, Here We Go (2013).
There is a good mix of material here, mostly in Mandarin with three English tracks and a variety of genres from love ballads to energetic pick-me-ups.
Hunger Games, taking its cue from the popular books and movies, zeroes in on the competitive nature of the world we live in and adds a gothic spin with its vocal arrangement.
On the most choral track, the gospel-tinged Hello Again, six voices harmonise in a touching ballad about living well for the sake of those who have left us.
The lone cover here, of JJ Lin’s gorgeous ballad If Only, is not needed – the original material stands well enough on its own.
(ST)
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