23RD ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL
Part military comedy, part buddy drama, Zero Motivation (M18, 2014, 97 minutes) follows two women army conscripts posted to a remote base. Zohar (Dana Ivgy, right) and Daffi (Nelly Tagar, left) spend their days complaining about the pointlessness of their adminstrative jobs and plotting a way out.
The military-themed absurdism of Catch 22 (1970) meets female coming-of-age movie in this acclaimed debut feature of writer-director Talya Lavie.
Zero is among the six woman- centred films in this year's edition of the festival.
WHERE: Golden Village VivoCity MRT: HarbourFront WHEN: Till Oct 27 ADMISSION: Tickets at $9 INFO: Bookings and schedules at gv.com.sg
UNDER THE SKIN (R21)
108 minutes, 3.5/5 stars
The Projector is reviving this under-appreciated horror-meets- sci-fi work, screened here last year, min time for Halloween.
A nameless alien assumes the form of an attractive woman (Scarlett Johansson, photo). She drives around Glasgow and the Scottish Highlands in a van, inviting men into the vehicle. Fellow aliens riding motorcycles watch over her as she goes about her mission.
English director Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast, 2000), noted for his music video and advertising work, knows how to make an arresting image. The sci-fi set design (to say too much would spoil the fun) is a piece of minimalist futurism in which space and time dissolve.
WHERE: The Projector, Golden Mile Tower, Beach Road WHEN: Oct 29, 8.30pm ADMISSION: Entry by donation INFO: theprojector.sg
SCUMSCOPE
"Singapore's first alternative film festival" is how the Scum Cinema group, fans of all things weird, describe this event. They might be overstating it, but it is hard not to be intrigued by their choices. Next week has the Damnationland anthology (2014), a collection of creepy tales made by film-makers in Maine in the United States, as part of an annual festival in the state. A doublebill screening today has Basket Case (R21, 1982, 90 minutes) - it has nudity, gore and a story about a murderous mutant that lives in a basket (what more could you want for Halloween?) - and Without Warning (NC16, 1980, 90 minutes), a teenagers- in-peril wilderness drama with an alien invasion that stars Martin Landau and Jack Palance.
WHERE: The Arts House Screening Room & The Projector, Golden Mile Tower, Beach Road WHEN: Today for the doublebill and Oct 29 for Damnationland. Various times. INFO: Details, ticket prices and bookings at scumcinema.com
12TH SINGAPORE SHORT CUTS
Film-maker Shane Lim's November (photo) is about young adults, but the story is tougher and more raw than most products aimed at any demographic.
A boy and girl are at a clinic and one of them tests positive for a sexually transmitted disease. Lim gets terrific performances from his actors in this look at what it means to grow up quickly.
November is one of the short films showcased in this event that has been a springboard for many of Singapore's top film talents.
WHERE: Gallery Theatre, basement, National Museum of Singapore, 93 Stamford Road MRT: Bras Basah WHEN: Tomorrow& Sun, Oct 31 & Nov 1 ADMISSION: Free INFO: Tickets can be collected at the museum's Visitor Services Counter a week before each weekend's screenings. Limited to four tickets a person on a first-come, first-served basis. Go to www.nationalmuseum.sg
