'Mu Dan' by Lincoln Chia (FLARE 2009)

Imagine a film that could stir you up and make you lose your sense of a framework in terms of appreciating it. ‘Mu Dan’ is a audacious attempt by Lincoln to explore and even exploit what his actors have and where they will bring him (rather than the other way round). I guess this is why despite the fact that his characters are near-theatrical, I was in full suspension of disbelief. To be blunt, it’s like porn – we forgive all the inconsequential stories and dialogue. We just sway along.
I can imagine ‘Mu Dan’, with its subversion, is hidden somewhere in the fantasies of any imaginative director. But Lincoln has taken it a step further to play it out, in good taste though. A middle-aged mother is driven on the brink of loneliness and starts getting cranky. It does not help that her mildly rebellious son brings home his object of affection, a blonde-wigged Chinese girlfriend, to her disliking. This is where Lincoln defies the rules of behaviour and explores what we really want deep down inside as humans. After having a wig hurled at her by the enraged girlfriend, the mother makes a 180 degree turn, delighting the audience.
Not all have the magnetism of Li Xie, a seasoned stage actress. Actually, there is only one Li Xie. Slithery and seductive, the mother unleashes a new persona to the outside world……in that blonde wig. While Li Xie’s been anchor for the plot before this, now she actually drives it. Every action counts, it seems. They are performed with such intensity (and it felt like every muscle was clenched) that it was easy to read the nuances. They have been many ways local directors have justified camp (read : Hock Hiap Leong by Royston Tan) and in this case, Li Xie justifies it single-handedly. This is not to discredit Lincoln the director. After all, we did move away from Li Xie to the son’e girlfriend who is actually a lingerie model. In a single flutter of her glitter-dusted eyelids, she looks up at something, drawing my attention to uncanny parallel with the born-again mother, widening the reference in the film’s title.

'Respirator' by Michael Tay (FLARE 2009)

Michael shared that he has a penchant for telling stories that carry a fantastical component. In ‘Wet Seasons’, there was a moving skeleton, in ‘Respirator’, the titular object is the centre of the story. The ‘Respirator’ is a revolutionary medical device that can replace a heart. In Chinese, the word used is ‘Metal Heart’. I guess a more romantic sounding name in English would be ‘Respirator’. What I felt made both work is that the human issues interlocked with the fantastical devices are really what props up the drama.
In ‘Respirator’, a child is on the brink of death and the only way to save him is a heart transplant. A doctor pressures his ex-wife (who is the real mother) into doing the operation for guaranteed financial sustenance for an indefinite period. Poor helpless mum, her seeming lack of education about things traps her into a grotesquely complicated looking ‘respirator’. Never mind if I spotted the look of silver paint on cardboard, the issues were riveting (pardon the pun) and the characters throbbing with life. Careful casting paid off well. The mother is a bag of anxiety and her untrained and frail voice is subtly affecting. Boon, the boorish brother redefines ad-libbing with his choppy and crude speech.
I also like Respirator for its brave attempt at a neo-scifi genre, something very much out of reach for many short filmmakers due to budget reaons. In fact, it is not just a brave attempt but a very shrewd and smart attempt. After all, the actual device, at its cheapest could be a composition of materials from your DIY store sprayed with lots of silver paint. But Michael’s clearly milked a fair amount of drama out of it.

'Kitchen Quartet' by Nicole Woodford (FLARE 2009)

‘Kitchen Quartet’ is Nicole’s take on the 6 degrees of separation. The common element in the different stories is something close to the hearts of many Singaporeans – food. The film deserves some credit for adding a more uplifting touch to the usual working class survival issues. Apart from a happy ending, the film also has a slightly saturated look that perhaps serves to make the food in the film more appetizing!

Shu An, a young chef gets fired by the manager because an important food critic, in one of his moods, found the food difficult to stomach. The novelty of this cause-and-effect type of plot makes it easy to neglect the giving meat to the characters. But delightfully, in ‘Kitchen Quartet’, the four characters are as full-bodied in flavour as the hokkien mee that everyone seems to like! We could almost name this film Hokkien Mee too.

Through well-paced relevations on each character, we trace the all important connections between the characters. Food critic secretly likes Hokkien Mee but gets his maid to buy. His son discovers it and starts cooking it for his father. Meanwhile, Shu An tries to cook it for her Hokkien Mee hawker mum after knowing her mum will never grow to like haute cuisine. They finally converge when the critic openly brings his son to the stall. In between all that, personal contradictions and dilemmas are exposed, sometimes comically, sometimes, in a heartwarming way. The bottom line is ‘Kitchen Quartet’ never slips out of ‘major key’ while dealing with gritty, real-life ‘minor key’ issues.

'Promises in December' by Elgin Ho - FLARE 2009

There is something in practiced strokes of the taxi driver Alan’s cleaning motion or the sense of homeground surety in her Bahasa chatter on the phone that tells me Elgin understands his subjects well. In Elgin’s study of two characters who cross paths, he explores deeply both the behavioural and the contextual aspects of the characters.

In Alan, due attention is paid to poignant back story behind the chatty front of the taxi driver. Alan is seen to do much housework e.g. cooking despite already being the breadwinner. On the other hand, he has a wife who is obsessed with praying at temples, often in desperation. In this, Elgin shows how personal good-natured beliefs can bring a family apart. And instead of the usual Christian examples, this one is slightly different. While Raymond anchors the role fairly well (except for some moments reminiscent of his TV days), it is Janice Koh who surprises with her short but emotionally charged moments.

In Siti, due to the geographical barrier, most of her story has to be imagined. Actually this could be potentially more gripping if Elgin has left some doors half open. What we know about Siti’s own life in Indonesia is mostly from her accounts to the taxi driver as well her bits and pieces of information dropped here and there. In the final scene, we also get a glimpse(an imagined one?) of her living conditions in Indonesia. In terms of gaining proximity to her world, I personally felt her spoken moments in the taxi and even some moments of silence brought me further than actual re-enactment of her shanty town life. I also felt the first-hand sounds of the tsunami where a little implausible, almost adding nothing to my empathy for the character. Maybe the imagined is always more vivid than the actualization.

But in all, this film took on a very ambitious issue of the tsunami. Though not always easy to bring out what really cuts in such an epic event, Elgin has at least done a substantial amount of ground work.

My Underwear,My World-Danny Lim(Flare 2009)

My first impression to this film.Did the screenplayer used to did that in the past?
The boy seemed to remind me of the childhood memory where we used to catch Power Rangers on our Television in the past.

A comical film that foster the bond between the father and the son.
Because of the comical conversations they had and the 'underwear' kid reminds me of the Childhood memory of the director(in a way or another).
In the film, the father intend to try to close up with his son,but instead it fails.
(Sort of reminds me of a scene in Jack Neo's I not Stupid 2 where the father mentioned the same thing and the son was stunned).

I like the visuals presented in the screening.Great Animation and visuals presented.

Simply enjoyed this film and it leaves me a very deep impression of it.

Neighbourhood Ghost-Felice Tang(Flare 2009)

What will happened when a blind man meet a nerd along the street and the nerd bumped onto him by accident?

The Blind man assumed that he is dead in the car accident,but in reality he was survived and he assumed that he had a ghost kid following him behind him,but actually it was the nerd who is behind him at all times with his white cane and he wished to return the cane to him.He assumed that he can find his friend who did not say farewell to him and attempted to find the friend and give him a scolding.

Kitchen Quartet-Nicole Midori Woodford(FLARE 2009)

In this film, the food Critic tasted this particular promising female chef and gave a bad review on her unknowingly,which lead to her suspension from the Restaurant.

As such,the Female Chef forced to questioned her culinary skill,she re-examined her relationship with her mother,who is a Hokkien Mee seller,while the Critic's son is yearning to spend time with his father,and uses food to connect the relationship between him and his father.

Unexpectedly,after patronizing the stall for the past 20 years,the Critic mentioned that the plate of Hokkien Mee is the best ever he had ever patronised for the past 20 years.Unknowingly,the Critic commended to the Hokkien Mee Fryer,whom is the one who he gave a bad Review on in the High Class Restaurant.

Reem Abeidoh Damascus Syria

Reem Abeidoh lives in Damascus, Syria. Dimashq, also commonly known as al-Shām) is the capital and largest city of Syria. It is one of the the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.

It is where the first alphabet was conceived, where the first written musical note was discovered, and where wheat was first cultivated.

Syria’s rich and varied history has left lasting legacies, which are as diverse as they are remarkable. Syria will always surprise and delight. It is not necessary to travel all over the country to appreciate archaeology. There is enough in Damascus to keep you occupied for at least one holiday. After all, this is the world’s oldest inhabited city and is in itself a living museum.

The main appeal of Syria is its archaeological sites. Home to 39 civilizations over 16,000 years, Syria is a lost treasure awaiting rediscovery.

A short car journey outside Damascus is the ancient village of Maaloula, a mere 50 kilometers from the capital, which is one of only three places left in the world where the inhabitants still speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ.

Naadia Car Accident Lawyer picture

Its a very common misconception that all expats drive taxi’s in USA, UK and CA. Its true that people do odd jobs abroad but many of them are working in respectable positions like doctors, professors, engineers, lawyers. Such as Naadia, she is working as a car accident lawyer in San Diego.

Naadia is working in a top law firm and in a respectable position. Naadia says there are a number of documents that you will need prior to filing your claim, and there are also certain things that you must ensure you do before the case against the other side is commenced.

Prior to filing your claim it is vital that you have checked your insurance policy to ensure that you know the extent of your coverage. This will inform you as to whether or not the insurers will pay for a replacement vehicle, if necessary, whether they will pay your medical expenses (dependent on state laws), and the extent of the information you will need to disclose to them in relation to your employment and medical histories. Car accidents and automobile accidents are common occurrences in hectic streets, avenues, and highways. An estimated 5,000 people die as a result of car accidents and collisions in the United States every year.
Prior to becoming a car accident lawyer Naadia worked in National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). After looking at all these accidents she decided to make a career change.

We are proud of such ex pat girls those are true professionals. Thank you for your contribution.