Be with Me in Perth

Please pardon the lateness of this post. I just never got around to writing it.

Harry Lee wants to go migrate to Perth. It's utopia to him, in comparison to his shitty life here, where he's overlooked by everyone. It's his only dream.

But he will never get there. It's a dream, and that's all it is.

People of his social strata aren't allowed to have their dreams come true, you know. It would go against the very grain of society. No, they have to toil their lives away in small, inconsequential jobs. And then they get to die. They can dream all they want, but they'll never get there.

Neither will Angry Boy Lee. He just gets to vent his frustrations more than other people do. If he doesn't like you, he'll simply smash your face in, quick and easy. But at least he doesn't stab you in the back.

The government says they try their best to help the less privileged. Do they really try to reach out to these people? Perhaps it's easier to simply pretend they don't exist.

But the people who made Perth see them. And what's more, they've dug in deep and exposed the very souls of these folks. It's raw, it's intense, and it's really fucking good. Lim Kay Tong is brilliant as Harry, showing sides of himself I doubt many have seen before. And Sunny Pang as Angry Boy turns in a wonderful performance as well.

And what about that other Singapore movie that's been hogging most of the limelight recently? Eric Khoo's Cannes Directors' Fortnight opener that garnered a standing ovation, Be With Me?

The Old Storekeeper is deeply troubled by the loss of his wife. The Fat Security Guard pines after a beautiful woman. The Pretty Lesbian Teenager can't get over her lover moving on. And weaving in and out through it all, is the true story of deaf and blind Theresa Chan.

Much ado has been made about how moving and inspiring Theresa's story is. Me, I can't manage to feel that much about it. Sure, it's told simply and told well, no doubt. I guess I'm just a bastard after all. But the story that really did get me was the Old Storekeeper's. It's heartbreaking in its simplicity, that's for sure.

The Lesbian Teenager's story was well (and very aptly) expressed in the use of SMSes and internet messaging. However, you never felt that there was anything more to it than pure puppy love. The Fat Security Guard's story ends on a nice ironic and bittersweet note, but it doesn't pack as much emotional truth as the Old Storekeeper's story, and hence was kinda ho-hum. Great editing between the segments though.

Basically, we need love, we yearn for it, and we can't deal with its loss. That's basically the point. I like that. Simple, nice and effective.

While Be With Me is a good movie, I didn't feel it was great. It was mannered and classy, whereas Perth stripped away all facades and lay bare the raw, trembling souls of its characters.

If you ask me which I prefer, I'd have to pick Perth, if only for the kick in the balls it gives you.

And call me a masochist, but when I'm at the movies, I like being kicked in the balls.