BIRDS OF PASSAGE (M18)
125 minutes/Now showing/4 stars
What happens when a Central American indigenous culture, one that has resisted Christianisation and Western ways for centuries, gets into the drug trade?
This hypnotic, beautifully photographed crime thriller digs into what happens when, beginning in the 1970s, gringos (Americans) begin arriving with planeloads of cash, looking to buy as much marijuana as the Wayuu native people of Colombia can grow. Rapayet (Jose Acosta) is a young man looking to make enough to marry, but the lure of drug money pushes him - and his clan - into a future that will shake their culture to the core.
This film was Colombia's nomination in the Best Foreign Language category at this year's Oscars.
WHERE:The Projector, Level 5 Golden Mile Tower, 6001 Beach Road MRT: Nicoll Highway WHEN: Now showing, various times ADMISSION: $13.50 INFO: For schedule and bookings, go to theprojector.sg
PARASITE (M18)
131 minutes/Now showing/5 stars
Social satires rarely come as funny, as unpredictable or as generous to its characters as this work by South Korean film-maker Bong Joon-ho.
His peek into the lives of people from the opposite ends of the wealth divide makes both parties responsible for their own miseries - but instead of making viewers hate them for their nasty, selfish behaviour, he elicits pity.
The Kim family live in a grubby basement dwelling, working at odd jobs. Then Ki Woo (Choi Woo-shik), the eldest son, is asked to fake his credentials to land a job as a tuition teacher. His student is a girl, Da Hye (Jung Ji-so), daughter of a wealthy man, Mr Park (Lee Sun-kyun).
At the Park mansion, Ki Woo sees the splendour of their lives compared with the squalor of his own and it sets in motion a string of incidents that will change the fortunes of both families.
Winner of the Palme d'Or, the highest award, at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
CONTEMPORARY ASIAN CINEMA SERIES
This new project, a partnership between the Singapore Film Society (SFS) and Filmgarde Cineplexes, will showcase critically acclaimed films from South Korea, Hong Kong, China, Japan and other parts of the region.
Kicking off the series is South Korean psychological thriller Clean Up (2018, NC16, 104 minutes), winner of the New Currents award at last year's Busan International Film Festival.
The debut feature of film-maker Kwon Man-ki tells the story of a woman, Jung Ju (Yoon Ji-hye), who is mentally tortured by a sin she committed years ago until one day, the consequences catch up with her.
Clean Up screens on July 26 and 27.
WHERE: Filmgarde Cineplex Bugis+, 05-01 Bugis+, 201 Victoria Street MRT: Bugis WHEN: July 26 to November ADMISSION: $13.50 for the public, $12 for SFS Film Addicts and Filmgarde members INFO: For bookings and schedule, go to fgcineplex.com.sg/movies
