UTTER 2014
The slate of films adapted from Singapore short stories returns this year, as part of the pre-festival programme of the Singapore Writers Festival.
The four short films are That Loving Feeling (directed by Wee Li Lin, based on Gopal Baratham's Homecoming), Tin Kosong (directed by Sanif Olek, from Tin Kosong by Muhammad Salihin Sulaiman), At Your Doorstep (directed by Don Aravind, inspired by Peaks by Kamaladevi Aravindhan) and Going Home (directed by Kenny Tan, inspired by Going Home by Lin Jin).
They will be screened together on two dates at GV VivoCity.
To kick off the screenings, tomorrow at 3pm at library@esplanade, there will be a talk by directors Tan, Sanif and Aravind, on how they adapted the stories.
Where: Golden Village VivoCity MRT: HarbourFront When: July 30, 7 - 9pm, Aug 3, 4 - 6pm Admission: $10 from gv.com.sg Info: Go to fb.com/SinemaOldSchool for details
John Lui
22ND ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL
This year's edition once again shows why Israeli cinema is so alive and relevant. The seven films in the line-up cover a range of timely, provocative issues as well as the spectrum of genres.
Highlights include The Wonders (2013, NC16, 112 minutes), which screens on July 31 at 7.15pm.
An official selection at last year's Toronto International Film Festival, it is a comedy-thriller about graffiti artist Ariel who, in trying to win back an ex-girlfriend, falls down a rabbit-hole of cults, a powerful religious leader, the supernatural and a pushy private detective. Cinemascope magazine called it "a delight".
Organised by the Embassy of Israel, Singapore.
Where: The Cathay, 2 Handy Road MRT: Dhoby Ghaut When: July 30 - Aug 5, various times Admission: $10 Info: For a schedule & bookings, go to cathay.com.sg
John Lui
BEGIN AGAIN (NC16)
104 minutes
*** 1/2
Dan (Mark Ruffalo) is a washed-up music producer who gets fired from the label he set up. Gretta (Keira Knightley) is a songwriter nursing the wounds of a break-up with singer boyfriend Dave (Maroon 5's Adam Levine). They both get a second chance when Dan produces her album guerilla-style in and around New York City.
For all the doubters out there, take note: Knightley can sing. The film begins in a small pub in the East Village, where a reluctant Gretta gets up on stage to perform a song she wrote. She is defensively hunched over her guitar as, around her, conversation continues to flow and ebb. And then she begins to sing. It is a pivotal scene and Knightley nails it, from the mix of vulnerability and defiance to her very credible singing voice.
While Gretta and Dan share a connection, one is grateful writer-director John Carney (Once, 2007) never shoehorns a romance into the proceedings. Unlike the drama-turned- unconvincing romance Words And Pictures (2014), Begin Again recognises that life is rarely that neat.
Boon Chan
CORIOLANUS (NC16)
This most martial of Shakepeare's plays is dressed up in modern clothes in this 2011 movie adaptation, directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes in the title role. Gerard Butler plays Aufidius, the mortal enemy-turned-ally.
Fiennes' 124-minute contemporary update of the story general who played with politics but who had scant regard for either the rulers or the ruled found favour with critics, who found the work visceral and politically relevant. Presented as part of The Arts House's But Is The Book Better? series.
Where: The Arts House, 1 Old Parliament Lane MRT: Raffles Place When: Tue, 7.30pm Admission: Free by online registration Info: Go to theartshouse.com.sg for details
John Lui
