 |
TONY RAYNS
Eric Khoo's follow-up to Mee Pok Man (almost a sequel), since
the incident shown in that film is still the subject of gossip
here) is a bit like all ten episodes of Decalogue rolled into
one: apanorama of moral, sexual and family problems as seen in
three apartments in one government housing block. The touchstone
for its vision is the government's own image of Singapore as heaven
on earth; like the canker in the rose, Khoo insists on looking
past the propaganda at certain social and emotional realities.
His stance of course, is blackly humourous. Its also getting more
daring creatively film by film.
Ah Gu is a chubby, middle-aged loser who has married a woman from
China and is unprepared for the discovery that she's a gold-digger
with a less-than-zero commitment to the marraige. San-San is a
single woman so crushed since infancy by her late mother's contempt
that she still hears it ringing in her ears, day-in, day-out.
And Trixie and her kid brother are not-so-covert rebels against
their elder brother Meng, who talks like a public service announcement
and has a real problem with his authoritarian impulses. Khoo cross-cuts
between these stories, building a devastating picture of the dark
side of a confucian society.
CLEO MAGAZINE
The year that was: Singapore films: God or Dog, The Road Less
Travelled and 12 Storeys were some local cinema we wouldn't be
ashamed to call our own. Especially outstanding was 12 Storeys,
which was invited to screen at the non-competitive section of
the 50th Cannes Film Festival. This section was where The Pillow
Book was first shown. Definitely a promising start.
STUDIO MAGAZINE
This low budget film, filmed in 15 days with a restrained budget
impressed me from the start to the end. Eric Khoo, 32 realised
his second movie. He proves once more the power and the richness
fo contemporary asian cinema. Run and see 12 Storeys, a film that
makes your soul travel.
FINANCIAL TIMES
The film 12 Storeys confronts the anguish of many Singaporeans
in a frank way. It uses rich imagery to delve deep into the lives
of three families living, like the majority of Singaporeans, in
a featureless government-built housing block.. This intense insight
in to the shortcomings of the Singaporean dream is a valuable
step toward the insular city state's realisation that, while economic
statictics point only to success, there are serious social problems
across the city state that merit examination.
THE FRENCH PRESS
Neighbourhood relationships Singapore style. Very successful!
PARIS ZOO
Silent and strict, 12 Storeys possesses deepness and an unsuspecting
beauty.
|
