Film Picks: Pierce preview and Q&A, Smile 2, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
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Pierce stars Liu Hsiu-fu (left) and Tsao Yu-ning
PHOTO: GOLDEN VILLAGE
Pierce special screening and Q&A
Singaporean film-maker Nelicia Low’s critically acclaimed Pierce will have a special preview at Golden Village Suntec City on Oct 30 before it officially opens in Singapore cinemas on Nov 7.
Written and directed by Low, the Chinese-language psychological thriller stars Taiwanese actor Liu Hsiu-fu as Zijie, a teenage fencer who reconnects with his brother Zihan (played by Taiwanese actor Tsao Yu-ning) after the latter ends a seven-year stint in juvenile prison for killing an opponent during a fencing match.
Zijie firmly believes Zihan is innocent and defies their mother’s intentions to ostracise his older brother. However, when Zijie witnesses Zihan’s rage, he starts to question whether his beloved brother may be a violent sociopath after all.
On July 3, the Singapore-Taiwan-Poland production held its world premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic, where Low, a former national fencer, won the Crystal Globe award for Best Director.
Low, Liu and Tsao will be conducting a question-and-answer session after the screening, where they will share their filming experience.
Where: Golden Village Suntec City, 03-373 Suntec City Mall, 3 Temasek Boulevard bit.ly/ReelTalkPierce
MRT: Esplanade/Promenade/City Hall
When: Oct 30, 7.30pm
Admission: $20
Info:
Smile 2 (M18)
127 minutes, now showing
★★★★☆
British actress Naomi Scott plays a troubled pop star in Smile 2.
PHOTO: UIP
Set some days after the events of Smile (2022), this standalone sequel finds pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) preparing for a major tour, her first after a car crash that killed her friend and nearly ended her life.
Burying her post-crash emotional and physical pain comes at a price: Skye sees people around her sporting an identical menacing grin.
The genre of horror has often been used to explore the effects of grief or depression, as seen in The Babadook (2014) or Hereditary (2018). Smile and its sequel also use horror to talk about trauma.
American writer-director Parker Finn borrows heavily from slasher films. There is a killer on the loose, except it lives inside its victims – causing them to harm others, or themselves, in spectacularly gruesome ways.
Scott (Aladdin, 2019; Charlie’s Angels, 2019) delivers a powerhouse performance as Skye, talented and beautiful but broken. The British actress’ hair-raising portrayal of what it means to be worked to death under the glare of spotlights is a reminder of every female artiste lost to drugs and suicide. – John Lui
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (NC16)
104 minutes, opens exclusively at The Projector on Oct 24
★★★★☆
American actor Christopher Reeve, famed for his Superman role, became a quadriplegic after a near-fatal equestrian accident in 1995.
PHOTO: HERB RITTS
This is a documentary on Christopher Reeve, the premier Superman of the 1978 to 1987 films, who redefined super-heroism as a quadriplegic after a near-fatal equestrian accident in 1995 paralysed him from the neck down.
Following the unimaginable tragedy, the American actor made his plight a national issue as one of the earliest advocates of stem-cell research, dedicated to curing spinal cord injuries under his Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation.
The heartrending bio-doc is candid about Reeve’s failings and struggles. A vast archive of home movies plays alongside intimate interviews with his three children, while his acting fraternity Glenn Close, Susan Sarandon and, especially, the late Robin Williams – Reeve’s best friend – add loving testimonials.
It is nevertheless Reeve’s own readings from his memoir that most clearly communicate his wit, charisma, drive and hard-learnt lessons of hope and endurance. The late actor’s inspiring legacy lives on in this emotional tribute. – Whang Yee Ling
