Genre: Comedy
Director: Kim Hyung-hyup
Cast: Yoon Je-moon, Jung So-min, Lee Il-hwa, Shin Gu, Lee Mi-do
Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins
Rating: PG (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Encore Films and Filmgarde 
Official Website:

Opening Day: 7 September 2017

Synopsis: Sang-tae (Yoon Je-moon), a mid-level manager, is going through the worst period in his career and relationship with his teenage daughter. Whenever he tries to talk to his daughter, he ends up nagging at her. His daughter hates the entire world except for a boy at school. Just when their luck is about to change - the daughter is asked out on a date and the father gets a chance for a promotion - their souls are switched by a magical force. In order to protect both their first love and the job, father and daughter make a pact to do their best in their switched roles, but their efforts brought disastrous results. Can they survive this life-changing experience?

Movie Review:

Daddy you, Daughter me is the latest Korean comedy based on a Japanese novel, Papa to Musume no Nanokakan (lit. meaning, the 7 days of father and daughter). This body-swap comedy explores the relationship between a father and daughter, who grew apart from one another and are each experiencing challenges at their respective life stage. With a strange twist of fate, they were forced to exchange lives and now need to cooperate to help one another.

The narrative anchors on the relationship between the father and daughter that’s probably relatable to most. “You wouldn’t know unless you’re in my shoes”, “Try living my life!” are the common expressions of exasperation when one exhausts the methods of trying to convey the challenges they face. Likewise, that’s the relationship between Sang-tae (Yoon Je-moon) and Do-yeon (Jung So-min).

Both Yoon Je-moon and Jung So-min have successfully injected life and energy to their characters. The most interesting parts to look out for was how an over 40-year-old grown up man behaving like a teenage girl, while a teenage girl speaks and behaves like an Ajusshi. They pulled off quite a convincing act. Some may find Jung So-min rather familiar, as she rose to attention 7 years ago when she starred in Playful Kiss (coincidentally, also another drama that’s based on a Japanese original) with Kim Hyun-joong. You may also remember Yoon Je-moon for his villain role in The King 2hearts and his award-winning role in The Man Next Door. The veteran actor’s contrasting role in this movie is sure to give a pleasant surprise to some.

The movie was quite light-hearted, and brought good laughter. In particular, the sequence where the father broke out in an almost perfect sing and dance performance in the karaoke box was hilarious. It not only picked up on the K-pop culture among the youths in Korea, Je-moon’s vivid performance was also priceless.

While there are criticisms around how the sub-plots of the movie are underdeveloped and how the humour of the movie was hard to get, Daddy you, Daughter me has its fair share of goodness. Though admittedly, the overall development in terms of both the narrative and story is shallow. The topic of family relationships is tedious to begin with; hence the more whimsical approach does shed a different kind of light.

Overall, the movie did serve its primary purpose to entertain. It’s probably not going to be an award-winning entry, but a well-balanced movie and feel-good watch. 

Movie Rating:

(It’s easier said than done, to put oneself in another person’s shoes. Let this entertaining pair of daughter and father show you how!)

Review by Tho Shu Ling

Genre: Comedy
Director: Son Jae-Gon 
Cast: Ahn Jae-Hong, Kang So-Ra, Park Young-Gyu, Kim Sung-Oh, Jeon Yeo-Bin
Runtime: 1 hr 58 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Encore Films
Official Website:

Opening Day: 25 January 2020

Synopsis: A bright comedy of goofy zookeepers keeping the top secrets of the zoo. Stuck in a dead-end temp position at a renowned law firm, attorney-at-law Tae-su dreams of one day landing a permanent position there. He spends each day to the fullest to reach his goal and he gets the chance of a lifetime. He's given a special job to revitalize a failing zoo. The problem is, there aren't any animals... He has exactly 3 months to do so, and with the zookeepers' help, he comes up with a brilliant idea: no one thinks there are fake animals at the zoo, so why not dress up like animals and put on shows for guests? One by one, zookeepers put on animal suits and masks and become polar bear, lion, gorilla and sloth! The new zoo opens and Tae-su's polar bear goes viral when a video of him drinking a can of coke hits the internet! Thanks to everyone's help, the zoo with fake animals is a massive hit and Tae-su can now go back to the law firm with a permanent job. But before he leaves the zoo, he finds out what his law firm was planning with the zoo... Can Tae-su come up with another brilliant idea to save not only himself but the zookeepers and the zoo?

Movie Review:

Last year, we have a bunch of fumbling cops going undercover in a fried chicken shop in Extreme Job. This year, we have a bunch of zoo employees dressing up in animal suits trying desperately to revive a bankrupt zoo in Korean’s box-office hit comedy, Secret Zoo.  

Korea cinema never seems to run out of fresh ideas although the story itself is based on a popular webtoon. Adapted to the screen and directed by the relatively unknown Son Jae-gon, Secret Zoo is packed with enough silly laughs and lively performances from a bunch of relatively unfamiliar cast members.

Kang Tae-soo (Ahn Jae-hong) is a lowly temporary lawyer at one of Korea’s top legal firm until one day he is given the task of reviving a bankrupt zoo by the company’s director. If Kang is successful in his assignment, he will be allocated a permanent post in the firm’s mergers and acquisitions department. Predictably, Kang took up the challenge only to find out that the zoo is left with no animals except a few parrots, a racoon and a sick polar bear. Apparently, the main stars such as the giraffe, lion and gorilla have been sold to repay the zoo’s debts.

Left with the former zoo director Seo (Park Young-gyu), veterinarian Han (Kang So-ra), zookeepers Geon-wook (Kim Sung-oh) and Hae-kyeong (Jeon Yeo-bin), Kang hatched up a plan to dress themselves in animal suits to attract the crowds back to the zoo only to find out that this is only the start of his many challenges to come.  

Secret Zoo took a while to setup the premise which explains why the fun part only arrives much later as the characters struggle to stay and entertain visitors in their respective stuffy animal suits. Han’s lion suit is only convincing from the front so her back must never face the visitors. Seo’s age make it difficult for him to stay in his polar bear suit for long and Hae-kyeong is almost perfect in her sloth suit. And you need to watch for yourself how they fake the presence of a giraffe. Coca-cola probably paid millions to have it display prominently throughout the movie as there’s a running gag of a polar bear drinking coke. Yes in reference to that famous polar bear Coke commercial.  

Not all of Secret Zoo is a joke though as it’s also a repetitive message on why wild animals shouldn’t be kept in cages and concrete walls in the first place. And as with any well-meaning title, the movie also spends a considerable amount of screentime criticising Korea’s infamous corporate greed and working culture. Add to that, there’s also an underdeveloped romance subplot between zookeepers Geon-wook (Kim Sung-oh) and Hae-kyeong.

Secret Zoo is not nearly as funny once the zoo gag runs out of steam. But not to worry, there’s a prolonged CGI bear attack in the finale to rustle things up if you are tired of human in suits. But generally, the movie still contained some genuine fun despite being slightly 20 minutes too long.

Movie Rating:

(While not exactly flawless, Secret Zoo is still a crowd-pleasing movie)

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Drama/Sports
Director: Simon Hung
Cast: Darren Wang Da-lu, Huang Yuan, Megan Lai, Long Shao Hua, Fan Guang Yao, Jack Noseworthy
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Clover Films and Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: https://zh-tw.facebook.com/10000milesmovie/

Opening Day: 16 December 2016

Synopsis: Kevin is a driven and competitive high school student. He wants to take on the challenge of joining the track team, just like his elder brother. But he is embarrassed during the tryout. Then, Ellie – the senior of the track team, who’s well-known for her intense ways, trains him. The training seems nothing out of the ordinary, but they discover love during the training sessions. As they get closer, unforeseen incidents are about to separate them. Can they beat the odds and see each other again?

Movie Review:

At a time where almost everyone you know is posting pictures of their exercise routines on social media comes a movie about running in extreme conditions. Clocking a 3 km run on Runkeeper doesn’t count when you compare it to a 50 km run across tough terrain and weather. Produced by superstar Jay Chou and directed by Los Angeles based Simon Hung, 10,000 Miles is a sport drama loosely based on Taiwan’s ultramarathon runner Kevin Lin.

In order to pursue a scholarship, country boy Kevin (Huang Yuan) decides to follow his elder brother (Darren Wang Da-Lu from Our Times) into track and field in college. But when the course is filled up and seeing the potential in him, Kevin is mentored by the school’s assistant coach Ellie (Megan Lai) instead. Training turns into love as the two develops feelings for each other over time. When a severe injury threatens to derail Kevin’s running career, Ellie feels that the only way to push Kevin to carry on is to leave his side. 

For a movie about running, the focus isn’t really about running which is a pity. Hung who also contributed to the screenplay spent a bulk of the screentime on Kevin and Ellie’s on-and-off relationship. For a start, Kevin’s motivation to run is a blur. At first, he seems to be following his brother’s goal. At a later stage, Ellie’s becomes Kevin’s desire to carry on running. Perhaps it’s too complicated to dramatize a sports movie about running that instead of sports movie clichés, we have a leading lady who has a tragic past and suffering from heart disease – clichés that honestly don’t really belong here.

While Darren Wang received top billing, his elder brother character is hardly scene stealing which actually has far more potential than the character of Kevin. The audiences know very little of him except he has to resort to robbery in order to support his pregnant girlfriend and he is also very protective and encouraging of his younger brother. Their father played by veteran Long Shao Hua is dead against Kevin’s decision to pursue running as a career and there’s a cute couple who runs the neighborhood’s small provision shop that ended up sponsoring Kevin’s first ultramarathon run. However instead of fleshing out the dynamics of Kevin’s family and other far more interesting plotting, the story is kind of stuck in a rut for most of the running time.  

Technicalities on the whole are solid. The slick title, which boasts a handsome budget, showcases some wonderful cinematography, on location shooting and a costly CGI wolf which at the end of the day is underused. The relatively fresh face Huang Yuan whose father is actor/singer Michael Huang is kind of stiff in certain crucial scenes though he does shows potential in the acting department. Rather than emphasizing on how clichéd her character is, Megan Lai (Café Waiting Love) is the real star of this movie. Like mentioned earlier, Darren Wang despite having three releases this December is criminally underused, suffering the same fate as the CGI wolf.   

10,000 Miles is Jay Chou’s first produced effort and it does shine particularly well in the technical aspects. Unfortunately, the heavy-handed romance took away much of the spotlight of an underdog story of determination and inspirational that the theme of ultramarathon becomes more of an afterthought. For fans of Jay Chou, yes he does make a cameo as a taxi passenger.  

Movie Rating:

(Hardly inspiring or tug at your heartstrings, 10,000 Miles simply doesn’t bring you to the right track)

Review by Linus Tee

Genre: Musical Comedy
Director: Nia Dinata
Cast: Shanty Paredes, Tatyana Akman, Tara Basro, Rio Dewanto, Reuben Elishama, Titiek Puspa, Richard Kyle
Runtime: 2hr 4 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Sexual Scenes)
Official Website: http://sgiff.com/browse-all-films/three-sassy-sisters/

Opening Day: 28 November 2016 (Singapore International Film Festival 2016)

Synopsis: Three siblings help run their family’s boutique hotel on a beach in Maumere. Eldest sister Gendis (played by renowned singer Shanty Paredes) is the resident chef who is far too caught up with work to have a social life. Middle child Ella (model/actress Tara Basro), the hotel’s public relations manager, is a spotlight stealer. The youngest, Bebe (newcomer Tatyana Akman), is an English-language tutor who is always ready to lend a hand when not busy in the arms of her beau. With successful careers, the trio has no inclination to settle down, much to the dismay of their grandmother Oma. Things get complicated when Gendis has a chance encounter with a dashing gentleman who happens to be a hotel guest. Spurred by this turn of events, Oma tries to get Gendis hitched in an effort to launch the sisters down the aisle.

Movie Review:

We haven’t seen Tiga Dara, a 1957 Indonesian musical comedy film about three sisters who live with their father and grandmother. What we hear though, is that the film was a popular success which launched the careers of its stars and earned the highest box office returns of Indonesian film production company Perfini. It is also considered to be a classic of Indonesian cinema, and has themes which remain relevant to today’s Indonesian society.

That is probably why award winning director Nia Dinata has churned out a second remake (the first one was in 1980 by Djun Saptohadi) to explore freedom of expression in modern Indonesia. Oh, that, plus premarital sex and pretty clothes too.

The story sees three sisters coming together to run their family’s exquisite boutique hotel on the picturesque beach in Maumere. The eldest sister has been heartbroken before and is cautious about going into another relationship. The second sister is evidently the flirtatious one, while the youngest sister is a modern woman who is open to anything not accepted as norms. Then there is their grandmother who can’t wait to marry the three sisters off. What ensues on the island is a series of relationships and as you’d expect from a musical movie - lots of song and dance.

There is always a reason to break into a song: Shanty Paredes (playing Gendis, the eldest sister) sings about being single, Tara Basrol (portraying Ella, the second sister) croons a tune about being the woes of being middle child, while Tatyana Akman (adorable as the youngest sister) manages to keep her village school students awake by singing a song about learning English.

Running at 124 minutes, the film may be predictable but it is also enjoyable. The camera captures the awe inspiring sights and sounds of Maumere, and the screenplay by Dinata and Lucky Kuswandi has its chuckle worthy moments. The men (Rio Dewanto, Reuben Elishama and Richard Kyle) are good looking, and Indonesian veteran singer and songwriter Titiek Puspa is a hoot to watch as the sisters’ bumbling grandmother.

This is a fitting homage to Tiga Dara, which was restored and converted to 4K digital in 2015. Yes, it is a sign how things have moved on with the times. 

Movie Rating:

Reviewed by John Li at the 27th Singapore International Film Festival

What will you do after listening to the soundtrack album of this animated musical comedy directed by Garth Jennings?

Sing, of course!

The film contains more than 85 tunes from famous artistes and on this CD, you’ll get 68 glorious minutes of music from the family friendly movie. There are familiar tunes (the very entertaining montage cue “Auditions” features Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance”, Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda”, and gasp – Seal’s “Kiss From a Rose”!) and a brand new song “Faith” performed to perfection by Stevie Wonder and Ariana Grande.

The album is fun from start to finish. Who knew Taron Egerton could pull off such soulful renditions of The Zombies’ “The Way I Feel Inside” and Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing”? Scarlett and Beck Bennett rock it out with “I Don’t Wanna”, while Nick Kroll and Reese Witherspoon are absolutely hilarious with their covers of Dutch rock band Shocking Blue’s “Venus” and Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off”.

If you’ve watched the movie, you won’t be able to get the picture of a dancing pig in tights out of your head.

Tori Kelly puts her prowess to good use in Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” (she duets with Jennifer Hudson on another track), and shows the world what she’s got in her version of “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing”, originally performed by Stevie Wonder.

The artiste who surprised us is Seth MacFarlane. We know the 43 year old as the creator of TV series Family Guy and writer director of the Ted movies, but we weren’t aware that he is such a wonderful singer. Crooning Irving Berlin’s “Let’s Face the Music and Dance” and Frank Sinatra’s “May Way” on this album, MacFarlane is indeed one talented individual.

The deluxe version of this 68 minute soundtrack has seven additional tracks not included on the regular CD. Put this album on at your party, and your guests will love you to bits.   

ALBUM RATING: 

Recommended Track: (16) My Way - Seth MacFarlane

Review by John Li

Genre: Action
Director: Herman Yau
Cast: Chapman To, Anthony Wong, Gregory Wong
Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins
Rating: R21 (Sexual Scenes, Violence and Coarse Language)
Official Website: http://sgiff.com/browse-all-films/mobfathers/

Opening Day: 29 November 2016 (Singapore International Film Festival 2016)

Synopsis: Director Herman Yau’s latest film stars comedian Chapman To as Chuck, a lifelong member of the Jing Hing Triads, and Anthony Wong as the titular dailou (Big Boss) of the organisation. Upon his release from prison after a gang fight, Chuck gets thrown into an election in a bid to become the triad’s successor. In the meantime, he tries to reintegrate with his family, who have gotten used to life without him.  Combining swashbuckling action with To’s signature humour, The Mobfathers leads us into the underbelly of Hong Kong’s socio-political fabric by amplifying the triad genre’s tropes to outlandishly comedic proportions. Still, Yau’s trademark is evident throughout - balancing commercial entertainment with political commentary, providing a thinly disguised allegory of Hong Kong’s relationship with China, as well as dreams of democracy.

Movie Review:

Sure, we have seen movies about Hong Kong’s triad scene (Andrew Lau’s Young and Dangerous franchise and Johnnie To’s Election films come to mind), but we are never tired of them. There is something about the criminal underworld that makes for great cinema – be it the brotherhood among the gangsters, the power struggle among the colourful characters or the unabashed violence (splattering blood, dismembered limbs, parangs and choppers!) – such movies always set the adrenaline pumping.

Prolific film director Herman Yau is probably no stranger to the darker side of Hong Kong society. Having helmed more than 70 movies (The Untold Story, Ebola Syndrome and the Troublesome Night series are fanboy favourites), his latest work is a gangster thriller that is entertaining movie that has lots to offer.

The movie’s protagonist is Chuck (Chapman To), a gangster who just served five years in jail for a major fight. Having left his wife and infant son in the care of his loyal sidekick Luke (Philip Keung), he isn’t aware how his triad has progressed over the years. Upon his release, he is thrown into a political battle with a fellow gangster Wulf (Gregory Wong) to take over the leadership position of the cancer stricken Godfather (Anthony Wong).

The ensemble cast is on fine form here – Mainleads To and Wong are masters of acting (the movie is probably making a political statement by featuring these two actors who have been reportedly blacklisted in China), while Keung is always reliable as the supporting character. The unsettling vibe from Wong works as well as he plays a flamboyantly gay gangster.

There is plenty of bloodshed in this 93 minute movie. It is fast paced and never lets its viewers slump into boredom. Characters are killed off one after another, and the supposedly just policemen are not to be trusted either. The system is messed up, and one isn’t clear what matters most anymore. While this movie doesn’t explore any new themes in the genre of triad flicks, it is a fun ride and reminds us some things need not change for the sake of changing.   

Movie Rating:

Reviewed by John Li at the 27th Singapore International Film Festival

HEADSHOT - INTERVIEW WITH IKO UWAIS & SUNNY PANG Posted on 11 Dec 2016 Headshot (read our review here) is an Indonesian martial arts action movie directed by Kimo Stamboel and Timo Tjahjanto, better known as The Mo Brothers. Fans of The Raid (2011) and its 2014 sequel would love this knockout film which provides two hours of adrenaline-pumping action sequences. In the movie, famed Indonesian actor Iko Uwais (the 33-year-old is also a stuntman, fight choreograp ... more

TRAILER WATCH - DOWNSIZING Posted on 13 Sep 2017 What if you couldminiaturize the world? Would that make our world a better place vix over-population and climate change? Alexander Payne's Downsizing stars Matt Damon as a man who opts to get small — shrinking down to five inches tall — and embarks on an eye-opening journey from a decidedly different point of view. Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau, Udo Kier, Kristen Wiig and Jason ... more

Genre: Sci-Fi/Drama
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Cast: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg
Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins
Rating: PG13 (Brief Coarse Language)
Released By: Sony Pictures Releasing International
Official Website: http://www.arrivalmovie.com

Opening Day: 12 January 2017

Synopsis: When mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team—lead by expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams)—are brought together to investigate. As mankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers—and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity.

Movie Review:

In recent years, there has been the interesting trend of telling personal stories in the science fiction movies where the movies go beyond marvelling at the power of space travel or a post-apocalyptic future and instead using those backdrops as devices to examine humanity. Think “Gravity”, “Interstellar” and “The Martian”. Denis Villeneuve’s “Arrival” is the latest to jump onto this trend and, like its ‘thinking man sci-fi movie’ predecessors, will leave you thinking about the human spirit and the big things about life (I won’t spoil it for you but it will all build up and be unveiled in the final act). 

While the entire cast is strong, this is clearly Amy Adams’ movie from the beginning to the end. As Louise, a linguistics expert who had earlier helped the military with a Farsi translation and now has to help the military communicate with aliens who have landed on Earth, Adam gives a performance that draws the audience in. Louise is an imperfect heroine who doesn’t possess superpowers and has her own darkness to deal with and to heal from. But her imperfection is what makes her human relatable. She is appropriately uplifting and sorrowful at times, moving you deeply at the film’s conclusion.

Generally well-paced, “Arrival” has a deliberate pace that matches Villeneuve’s gradual reveal of one layer of information after another. Like a blooming flower that slowly unveils its centre, audiences will get to appreciate the twist that is central to the movie’s narrative while drawing closer and closer to the movie’s true meaning as the plot evolves.  However, it does require patience for audiences to stay invested in the progress of the story and that can be a difficult task for those seeking instant answers, particularly in the middle of the movie where “Arrival” softens its pace and may become too saggy or even boring for some.  However, given that this movie was adapted and expanded from a short story to a full length feature film script, its lack of tightness in the middle of the movie is understandable and the epic ending makes the less-than-ideal pacing of the middle portion more than forgivable. 

Adding to the realism of an unnatural movie is the element of geopolitics. Other than the USA, alien crafts hover elsewhere such as in China and Russia. The fear of powers other than the USA making the first breakthrough with aliens and using that knowledge against the USA is reflective of the mistrust in the bilateral and multilateral relationships between counties.

Cinematographer Bradford Young (of the famed “Selma” and “A Most Violent Year”) matches the soberness of the movie with elegant and stately shots. Young succeeds in making this unnatural story, about aliens landing on Earth and our attempts to communicate with them in a bid to decipher their intentions, feel perfectly genuine with his fluid shots and visions. Sequences, such as the one which shows Louise’s loss of a child, unfold smoothly and draws you in effectively within a short timeframe, much like how “Up”’s opening sequence drew audiences in without so much a word spoken.

Composer Jóhann Jóhannsson masterfully creates pieces that accentuate the emotional beat of every single act in this movie. The music heightens the tension in the first half of the movie and brings forth the touching undercurrents of the second half of the movie. The music, set design, cinematography, acting and direction are well done on their own but when put together, the end product is a well-executed vision that comes together beautifully thanks to the synergy between these different parts. 

Movie Rating:

(“Arrival” is a movie that challenges, moves you and gets you thinking all at the same time; the success of the movie in doing that makes the 2 hours you invest in watching this movie well worth it)

Review by Katrina Tee

Genre: Drama
Director: Tsai Yin-Chuan
Cast: Fann Wong, Li Li-Zen, Ryan Tang, Katrina Yu, Xie Fei, Ding Ning
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 15 December 2016

Synopsis: Nine-year-old Lan lives a peaceful and happy life with his parents and sister in a seaside town. However, his father suddenly passes away, and time stops for this family engulfed in grief. One day, Lan receives a mysterious package sent by his father before his death. Inside is an antique clock which its second hand no longer moves, just like his dad. The young boy then decides that he must fix this strange clock in hopes that if its hand moves again, the questions in his heart will also be answered

Movie Review:

Our local starlet Fann Wong who has not appear in a Mediacorp drama for a while took on the lead role in this indie drama helmed and written by Taiwanese female director Tsai Ying-Chuan (My Dear Stilt).

Packages From Daddy is a somber and melancholic drama about a family of three and how they cope with the sudden death of the father (played by Li Li-Zen, hubby of A-list host Matilda Tao). Anchored by the wonderful performances of Fann and her two young co-stars, Xie Fei and Katrina Yu, the dramedy is often slow, thought provoking and hopefully makes you realized that everyone deals with the death of a loved one differently.    

The opening scene opens with the father patiently teaching his young son on how to build a model of a sailing boat. This is followed by a brief scene of the family playing on the beach and swimming in the sea. This turned out to be the first and also last happy moment we see the family of four together. The next thing we know the father has committed suicide or heart attack as what the mother told her young son, Lan.   

Things are no longer the same in the household and everyone in the family begins to change subsequently. Lan taunted by fellow classmates starts to get into trouble in school. His tween sister who blamed the death of her father on her mum starts to give her the cold shoulder. Mum who is now the family’s breadwinner has to put on a strong front to keep the family together. But the delivery of dad’s birthday presents to the various family members effectively alters the grieving process.  

The clock in which Lan received is actually a chronometer and it has far more meanings and has a significant backstory which some might conceive as convenient plot mechanism. His sister got a motivational video by her favourite speaker and mum received a box of letters and gifts from their past exchanges. Tsai’s often-philosophical screenplay requires certain patience and your own deduction. For example, there’s never a clear indication of why the father got himself into debts or why his marine memorabilia shop faced foreclosure. The frequent use of flashbacks via the eyes of the children provides us with more narrative but not detail enough. We realized the father frequent indulged in drinks and the mum is often heard squabbling over financial matters with him.    

Perhaps details are not the main draw here. The make-up free Mrs Lee or Fann Wong turned in a wonderful, mesmerising performance as the suffering wife and mother. A scene where she cried inconsolably to her onscreen sister is a good reason why an actress needs a solid script in the first place. Equally captivating is Xie Fei’s performance as the poor boy who blamed himself for throwing a tantrum on the day his father died. Of course, that applies to Katrina Ng’s portrayal of the tween girl who felt guilty for not bidding farewell to her dad on the fateful day as well.    

Boasting scenic shots from Tainan and Kaohsiung, Packages From Daddy is not a drama that is filled with solid proceedings; it’s more about how a family behaved and connects emotionally after an unspeakable tragedy. The closing scene, which showed the family of three joyfully playing once again on the beach, is probably the only thing you need to know after a wave of heavy emotions. 

Movie Rating:

(A subtle, low-key drama about grief and letting go)

Review by Linus Tee