Arts Picks: Retrospective: Edward Yang at Asian Film Archive, Monet Inside and Kampung Halloween

Retrospective: Edward Yang

Film buffs will want to make a beeline for Oldham Theatre, not just for the films but also for the memorabilia and marginalia of famed Taiwan New Wave film-maker Edward Yang. The Shanghai-born director died in 2007 at the age of 59 of colon cancer.

This exhibition is a necessarily condensed version of the sprawling A One And A Two: Edward Yang Retrospective held at Taipei Fine Arts Museum in 2023.

Fans can get up close to his script for Yi Yi: A One And A Two, his 2000 masterpiece centring on a single family’s travails which netted a host of awards, including the Best Director gong at the 53rd Cannes Film Festival. 

What will engage film fans, too, are Yang’s storyboards, which give insights into how the director, who trained as an engineer, planned his shoots and composed his visual storytelling. There are also old diaries and photographs from his youth, offering a peek into the budding film-maker’s mindset. 

And, of course, there are the beautifully restored films to watch in big-screen glory. Quite a few familiar favourites including Taipei Story (1985), A Brighter Summer Day (1991) and Yi Yi are already sold out. But there are still seats for other screenings. 

For hardcore fans, check out the supplementary film programme, running from Dec 14 to 29, which features four of the 10 films Yang chose as his favourites for a 1992 edition of British Film Institute’s Sight And Sound magazine.

The eclectic bunch runs the gamut from Russian great Andrei Tarkovsky’s Nostalghia (1983) to American film-maker David Lynch’s seminal neo-noir Blue Velvet (1986). 

Where: Oldham Theatre, 1 Canning Rise
MRT: City Hall
When: Till Dec 29; 10am to 9pm daily for the exhibition; various timings for screenings
Admission: Free and ticketed
Info:

asianfilmarchive.org/event-calendar/retrospective-edward-yang/#

Monet Inside

Consider this a more modest version of the blockbuster Vincent van Gogh immersive exhibition held at Resorts World Sentosa in 2023. 

The good news is that this location at Parkview Square in North Bridge Road is a lot easier to get to.

As the show title promises, this immersive experience takes viewers inside the works of famed Impressionist Claude Monet.

It kicks off with a leisurely 45-minute video that takes the uninitiated through Monet’s life story as narrated by his long-time friend and art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel. The script tactfully skirts around the real reason Monet’s father stopped supporting him – the pater disapproved when the artist married his model-mistress Camille Doncieux in order to legitimise his first child, Jean.

But this is not targeted at the art aficionado who is already familiar with the iconic painters of the French movement. Rather, it is for newbies who want a pretty Instagram moment and an easy 101 introduction to art. 

There are some charming moments where Monet’s landscapes come to life in 360 degrees, transporting one to Paris of the 1860s and the idyllic French countryside.

Woman With A Parasol, Facing Left (1886), in which Monet’s dynamic brush strokes capture his model Suzanne Hoschede in wind-blown splendour, and The Poppy Field Near Argenteuil (1873), which shows off his plein air Impressionist style, are tweaked with animation, but the master’s lilies need little gilding. 

Where: 3rd floor, Parkview Square, 600 North Bridge Road
MRT: Bugis
When:10am to 6pm daily, with additional slots on Saturdays at 7 and 8pm
Admission: $20 (adult), $32 (VIP tickets including merchandise)
Info:

groundseesaw.com/singapore-monet

Kampung Halloween

Art gets spooky at 42 Waterloo Street in keeping with the season. The inaugural Kampung Halloween festival brings together some 120 independent artists and practitioners, in fields ranging from design to puppetry, for collaborations and workshops. 

While some of the events are for industry players, there are also public events. These include the exhibition Our Ghosts, which invites visitors to explore regional spookies through original works, and They Walk Amongst Us, chilling live storytelling sessions about supernatural scares. 

Festival director Woo Yen Yen says: “This started as a bold experiment asking whether we can build a playful and collaborative festival where artists create works inspired by local and regional stories and folk knowledge.” 

So if you want your Halloween flavoured with home-grown ingredients, head over to this kampung. The event is organised by PlayPan in partnership with Arts Resource Hub. 

Where: 42 Waterloo Street
MRT: Bras Basah
When: Till Nov 3, various times
Admission: Free
Info:

www.instagram.com/p/DBnqsqiRMTu