Be with Me (2005)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Eric Khoo

Writers:

Theresa Poh Lin Chan (inspiration)
Eric Khoo (screenplay)

Release Date:

8 September 2005 (Singapore)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

"Be with me" consists of three stories of love vs. solitude : 1)An aging, lonesome shopkeeper doesn't believe in life any more since his wife died...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Solitude | Food | Three Stories | Security Guard

Awards:

6 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Theresa Poh Lin Chan	...	Herself (segment "Meant To Be")
Chiew Sung Ching	...	Father (segment "Meant To Be")
Lawrence Yong	...	Son (segment "Meant To Be")
Leong Kooi Eng	...	Mother (segment "Meant To Be")
Elizabeth Choy	...	Herself (segment "Meant To Be")
Seet Keng Yew	...	Security Guard (segment "Finding Love")
Lynn Poh	...	Ann (segment "Finding Love")
Ng Sway Ah	...	Father (segment "Finding Love")
Poh Huat Lim	...	Brother (segment "Finding Love")
Sanwan Bin Rais	...	Security Supervisor (segment "Finding Love")
Toh Cheng Onn	...	Neighbor (segment "Finding Love")
Maximilan Wong	...	Neighbor's Son (segment "Finding Love")
Ezann Lee	...	Jackie (segment "So In Love")
Samantha Tan	...	Sam (segment "So In Love")
Jason Tan	...	Brian (segment "So In Love")

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

Singapore

Language:

Cantonese | English | Hokkien | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

France:U | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Argentina:13 | UK:12A | South Korea:12 | Singapore:M18

Filming Locations:

Singapore

Company:

Zhao Wei Films (I)

Trivia:

This film features a theater scene where two schoolgirls are watching a Japanese film. However, we merely hear the dialog but do not see the visual of the film that's supposed to be on the screen. In fact, it was the film's sound man who rounded up some Japanese friends and improvised it during post-production.

A Brave Effort

"The cinematic spectacle has its rules, its reliable methods for producing satisfactory products. But the reality that must be taken as a point of departure is dissatisfaction. The function of the cinema, whether dramatic or documentary, is to present a false and isolated coherence as a substitute for a communication and activity that are absent." Guy Debord Critique de la séparation (1961)

Eric Khoo's "Be With Me" will divide its audiences. For some, weaned on slick Hollywood mega productions and blockbusters, the film's deliberate measured pacing is likely to exasperate, while others, plugged into the hype from the Cannes Festival, are likely to ignore its flaws and sing its praises.

The truth probably lies somewhere in between.

Interwoven among its three vignettes on love/lost/yearning, "Finding Love", "Meant To Be" and "So In Love" is also the semi documentary – on Theresa Chan. Told largely through subtitles, the story on how she had managed to overcome life injustices after being deaf and blind will strike a chord with many viewers. The segment does however come across as being rather detached, causing some of the other segments to be less developed.

Ironically, the poignancy of the film is corroborated by its Singapore setting, where the denizens are constantly admonished to be productive and efficient, and its humanity for the most part, relegated to mega TV charity fund raising programs. That "Be With Me" was able to speak to the heart of the ordinary, the downtrodden, the destitute and the minorities there, may perhaps then be the best accolade one can accord the film.