Voice Of Silence (PG13)
100 minutes/Now showing/4 stars
This black comedy with unexpectedly touching moments tells the story of Tae-In (Yoo Ah-In) and Chang-Bok (You Chea-Myung), who are "cleaners" - freelancers hired by thugs to get rid of evidence.
Their happy-go-lucky lives are disrupted when a gangster forces them to babysit an 11-year-old girl, Cho-Hee (Moon Seung-Ah). They find themselves in over their heads guarding a clever captive while reluctantly performing a dangerous caper.
Writer-director Hong Eui-Jeong's screenplay made the shortlists at the Venice Biennale College-Cinema and Sundance Screenwriters Lab. From the mute Tae-In to the crafty Cho-Hee, the memorable characters are woven into a story that grounds viewers in a vividly depicted South Korean countryside. You can almost smell the chicken farms.
Doctors Without Borders Film Festival
For the third time since 2017, the festival that highlights the work of the medical humanitarian organisation returns. This time, all three films featured are free and streaming online.
Each screening will be accompanied by a live post-screening discussion by a film-maker or medical volunteer.
One of the films is the documentary Restoring Dignity (PG13, 52 minutes), where French film-makers Claire Jeantet and Fabrice Caterini follow a visiting international team in Nigeria as they perform the reconstructive surgery on noma survivors, while also looking at those who yearn to be picked for the life-changing procedure.
Noma is a fatal infection of the mouth that plagues sub-Saharan Africa. About one in 10 of sufferers survive but have to cope with facial disfigurement.
When: Nov 6 to 8
Admission: Free with registration
Info: Doctors Without Borders Film Festival website
French Film Festival
There will be 37 films screened this year, the largest selection ever in this long-running yearly event. Some of the films will be available for online viewing.
The opening film, the drama-comedy Mama Weed (PG13, 104 minutes, 2020), stars Oscar-nominated actress Isabelle Huppert in the title role of the French-Arabic translator who goes from working for the police to becoming a drug lord. It is based on the 2017 novel The Godmother by Hannelore Cayre.
Where: Shaw Theatres Lido, Shaw Theatres Paya Lebar Quarter, Alliance Francaise, Gardens by the Bay, The Projector
When: Nov 6 to 22
Admission: $10 to $15 for cinema screenings; from $4.99 for online screenings
