SINGAPORE MINSTREL (PG)
91 minutes/ 3.5 stars
This documentary looks at what it means to busk, through the eyes of street performer Roy Payamal, the silver-painted mime artist usually spotted at MRT stations or on Orchard Road. Director Ng Xi Jie sheds light not just on Payamal's life, but also the cultural landscape in which performers live.
The non-fiction sections are interspersed with whimsical mime-dance sections illustrating scenes from the life of a vagabond artist. The cast and crew will be at the screenings to answer questions.
WHERE: The Projector, 6001 Beach Road, Golden Mile Tower, 05-00 WHEN: Tomorrow , 7.30pm and Aug 28, 5.30pm ADMISSION: $13 INFO: For bookings and schedule, go to theprojector.sg
John Lui
LOVE AND PRIDE FILM FESTIVAL
The eighth edition of the festival focusing on gay and lesbian issues opens with the documentary Oriented (R21, 86 minutes), which explores the lives of three Palestinian friends (photo) coping with personal and political conflicts in a time of turmoil. The screening will include a Skype session with director Jake Witzenfeld. The festival is hosted by Golden Village and curated by the Singapore Film Society.
WHERE: GV Grand and GV Suntec City WHEN: Today to Aug 31, various times ADMISSION: $13 to $25 INFO: www.gv.com.sg
John Lui
JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI (PG)
83 minutes
This award-winning documentary looks at what it means to demand perfection.
In a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Tokyo, an 85-year-old sushi chef (above centre) seeks the ultimate expression of his craft while his son asks himself if he can ever fill his father's shoes. This film is part of the cineWa series leading up to the Japanese Film Festival.
WHERE: The Projector, 6001 Beach Road, Golden Mile Tower, 05-00 WHEN: Sunday, 2.30pm ADMISSION: $13 INFO: For bookings and schedule, go to theprojector.sg
John Lui
TRAIN TO BUSAN (NC16)
119 minutes/ 3.5 stars
With so many zombie flicks on television and in cinemas, it is remarkable that South Korean director Yeon Sang Ho has made one that feels fresh.
Divorced workaholic Seok Woo (Gong Yoo, photo) agrees to take his neglected daughter Su An (Kim Soo An) from Seoul to Busan to visit her mother as a birthday gift. Their train ride soon descends into chaos when there is an outbreak of a virus that turns the passengers into zombies.
Keeping most of the action on a bullet train, the film-maker behind acclaimed animated films such as The King Of Pigs (2011) delivers some truly imaginative and tense set-pieces in his debut live-action film.
Yip Wai Yee
