Opening Day: 25 June 2009 (The Picturehouse)

Synopsis:

A television switches on. A mind snaps. A man discovers his murdered wife. As he stares at her lifeless body, the events leading to her death play before him, like in a movie. HERE follows the journey of He Zhiyuan, a middle-aged man who struggles to make sense of his reality. Reeling from the sudden death of his wife, he loses the will to speak and is interned at Island Hospital. There, he meets strident kleptomaniac Beatrice with whom he forms an inexplicable bond. As He adjusts to life within, he is selected for an experimental treatment, which forces him to confront the devastating truth behind his past, present, and future. Meanwhile, a filmmaker visits Island Hospital to document the lives of the staff and patients.

Movie Review:

A breath of fresh air. This is what the Singapore film industry needs more of to spice itself up by bringing forth more original local ideas to be put on our screens. In an effort to embrace new up-and-coming filmmakers and lend them a helping hand, the Singapore Film Commission's 35mm Fulfillment Fund has been set up for local filmmakers to finance the costs of converting the digital version of their film to a print master. One of the beneficiaries of the fund is Ho Tzu Nyen, who has brought us his feature film debut which was recently showcased in the Directors' Fortnight section of this year's Cannes Film Festival.

Billed as an experimental film that blends a love story with a documentary, "Here" tells the tale of He Zhiyuan (John Low) on his journey toward recovery in a mental hospital after he suffered a breakdown and ended up killing his wife. After giving focus to Zhiyuan's ordeal at the start of the film, the story then occasionally takes a backseat to make way for the documentary segment made by an offscreen filmmaker which centres on the fictional Island Hospital where Zhiyuan is admitted to. This is where we know more about the hospital's history, staff and patients who form a close bond with Zhiyuan, especially Beatrice (Jo Tan) whose sympathy for Zhiyuan develops into something more.

The film's greatest asset is its originality. Never before has the concept of combining a documentary and romance been attempted, and Ho has managed to pull it off. Ho also takes the opportunity to impart the idea of 'amor fati' or love of fate by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche as a contrast to the revolutionary treatment for mental patients featured in the documentary within the film known as 'videocure', in which the patients reenact their dark past which led to their admission to the hospital while being recorded on video to be watched together with other patients. According to the doctors, 'videocure' is meant to give the patients courage to face their past and the confidence to live an alternate life after analyzing their actions on video. However, one of the patients, Robert (Andy Hillyard) strongly believes in 'amor fati' that he downright refuses to accept the 'videocure' treatment. 'Amor fati' revolves around the notion that one should affirm one's own past, so that if given a choice to live one's life over and over again, one should be pleased to do so without changing a single thing.

Speaking of reliving life over and over, repetition is another recurring theme of the film. It is applied not only as part of the treatment for the mental patients, but to the storyline as well where we see the technique of using the same scene twice in different periods within the film. Ho's creative touches also include the interesting introduction of every character in which we see the person signing his/her consent form to give official permission to assist in the making of the documentary. Aside from the visuals, the unique sound design is used effectively as a means of conveying a sense of uncertainty in a character. All these fit together nicely to lend an artistic feel to the film.

The film is further elevated by the excellent performance of its largely unknown cast, except for Andy Hillyard who is best known for his appearance as the telecom company boss in the recent humourous M1 television commercials. John Low has the most challenging job of not just being the anchor of the story as Zhiyuan, but also for acting with the restriction of only having his facial expressions and gestures to rely on since Zhiyuan has lost his will to speak. Despite the lack of lines, Low is able to capture the right emotions for us to connect with Zhiyuan, progressively drawing us to see what happens to him next. Jo Tan, who had previously acted on theatre and television, makes the most of her limited screen time as Zhiyuan's love interest. The rest of the cast portray their roles convincingly, enhancing the sense of realism to the film.

The fact that "Here" is an experimental film allows some room for flaws, especially from a first-time feature filmmaker. Most obvious is the use of long camera shots that are draggy and may irritate some viewers. The film allocates most of its running time to the documentary segment, causing the romance between Zhiyuan and Beatrice to be underdeveloped. As a result, we don't get to see much of the couple's relationship. Zhiyuan's ultimate fate in the end is not very well defined, leaving much of it to the viewer's imagination while a nagging question related to the murder of his wife is left unanswered.

In hindsight, the film works best as a documentary but fared less impressively as a love story. Ho Tzu Nyen's credentials as a visual artist have served him well in turning the film into an unconventional theatrical experience. He surely deserves praise for daring to be different in tackling such an offbeat subject matter of a mental institution. According to Ho, he wrote the film's screenplay based on his personal encounter with a close friend who was confined in a mental asylum and also his research on the latest treatments of mental illness.

It remains to be seen whether average movie-goers are able to open their minds and be receptive to the film, since it requires some thinking while demanding patience from the viewer when it comes to the aforementioned long camera shots. Still, there is no doubt that "Here" marks a new direction for future local films to follow in instilling creativity amidst the usual commercial fare that we get nowadays.

Movie Rating:



(Look "Here" for a bold and commendable effort outside the mainstream from a Singaporean filmmaker)

Review by Tan Heng Hau