Film and TV Picks: Sifa's Singular Screens, Archifest, Korean crime thriller Train

One work that is available only at the Oldham Theatre is the drama This Is Not A Burial, It's A Resurrection. PHOTO: MEMENTO FILMS, ASIAN FILM ARCHIVE

SINGULAR SCREENS

Since 2018, this film component of the Singapore International Festival Of The Arts has showcased bold films from all over the world.

This year, viewers can watch all seven films, curated by the Asian Film Archive, at the Oldham Theatre. Selected films can be streamed on demand via Sistic Live Stream.

One work that is available only at the Oldham Theatre is the drama This Is Not A Burial, It's A Resurrection (rating TBA, 120 minutes, screens Sept 26, 4pm and Oct 2, 8pm), from Lesotho, a nation nestled within South Africa.

Mantoa (Mary Twala Mhlongo) is a widow who has just lost her son - and last remaining child - in a mining accident in South Africa. Losing the will to live, she prepares for her funeral when news comes that her village will be buried under a new dam. Her spirit is re-awakened as she gets ready to fight the construction.

WHERE: Oldham Theatre, 1 Canning Rise and Sistic Live Stream

WHEN: Till Oct 11

ADMISSION: $12 for Oldham Theatre screenings, $8 for on-demand video. Bundles are available

INFO: sifa.sg/programmes/film/singular-screens-sifa-v2020

ARCHIFEST

This annual sampling of films that deal with architecture is presented by independent cinema The Projector, with screenings in the theatre and via its streaming portal Projector Plus portal.

The programme includes the American documentary The World Before Your Feet. PHOTO: COURTESY OF GREENWICH ENTERTAINMENT, THE PROJECTOR

The programme includes the American documentary The World Before Your Feet (rating TBA, 95 minutes, Sept 26 to Oct 10 at The Projector). Former engineer Matt Green quit his job and gave up his possessions and apartment six years ago to fulfil a dream: To walk every part of New York City's 12,800km of roads and paths.

The film follows Green's walkabouts, resulting in a work that critics have hailed as an inspiring look at a city through the eyes - and feet - of an intrepid hiker.

WHERE: The Projector, level 5 Golden Mile Tower, 6001 Beach Road and The Projector Plus portal

WHEN: Sept 25 to Oct 30

ADMISSION: $13.50

INFO: theprojector.sg

TRAIN

Viu / 3.5 stars

In this crime thriller with a science-fiction twist, South Korean actor Yoon Shi-yoon is Seo Do-won, a cop whose hard-edged attitude might have come from his painful past: his father, assumed to be the murderer in a robbery case, was found dead soon after by the roadside.

The murder victim's daughter, Han Seo-kyung (Kyung Soo-jin), grows up alongside Do-won under the care of Oh Mi-sook (Lee Hang-na). Twelve years later, Seo-kyung is a prosecutor, and Mi-sook a police chief and Do-won's boss.

The trio are faced with a puzzling case: several sets of skeletons are discovered at a disused train station, and they are linked to the old robbery-murder.

The whopper in the tale is then dropped on us: a train links two parallel worlds and by taking it, Do-won is able to cross over.

From science-fiction to mystery to romance, Train packs quite a lot in. But at 12 episodes, it is more of an express journey compared with most K-dramas.

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