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You've made the transition from film critic to film director. Now that you're on the receiving end of criticism, does it feel a bit like payback? |
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| A |
It is only payback if one conceives of the critic-filmmaker relationship as an antagonistic one. I don't. Critics and filmmakers are not in opposite corners of a boxing ring. In fact, they are in the same boat. Both aspire towards good movies. Filmmakers want to make good movies; critics want to rave about good films. Filmmaking and quality film criticism are symbiotic. So, now that I've gone from being a critic to a director, I look forward to reading what the critics have to say about my work. I see criticism as a positive, educational thing. |
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| Q |
What's the most valuable lesson you've learnt as a critic that you have applied to your role as a director? |
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| A |
The ability to write for myself. I think I'm very lucky in the sense that I don't have to wait around for some scriptwriter to pen material for me to shoot. Every time I itch to make a movie, I just become my own screenwriter. That ability came from all those years spent writing one film review after another in the Straits Times newsroom. |
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| Q |
Which is more important? For your film to be the darling of critics or a box-office smash hit? |
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| A |
Both would be very nice. And both are achievable at the same time. I don't think critical accolades necessarily reclude box-office success. They are not mutually exclusive. Look at gems like Trainspotting and Amelie, which are commercially-successful yet critically-acclaimed movies. A film is a good film only if it is seen by and is relevant to a large audience. Movies are very democratic and humble in that way. Anyone, who deliberately sets out to make obtuse "high art" appealing only to a few Scandinavian critics, is probably better off sipping champagne and acting sniffy at museum receptions rather than working in cinema. |
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| Q |
Like Tarantino, whose distinctive brand of dark humour and use of black and white flashbacks set his films apart, you've also been called an auteur. Which aspect of your directorial style do you consider to be your signature? |
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| A |
I don't think I qualify as an auteur. My body of work isn't large enough yet. I'm working on it. But if I have a signature at all, it's probably my respect for actors. I think movies belong to actors and I try to give them as much creative room as possible. I admire films with strong performances, rather than flashy, pretentious ones which cannot resist reminding the audience how clever the director is. |
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| Q |
The Maid (2005) is your first horror flick, a far cry from the gritty Eating Air (1999). Which theme did you enjoy filming more? |
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| A |
I enjoyed both. While audiences probably think The Maid and Eating Air are poles apart, these two films, to me, have a lot in common with one another. They are both Singaporean stories. They were my attempts at capturing slices of Singapore on film. |
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| Q |
The Maid (2005) has even caught the eye of Brad Pitt who expressed interest in remaking it. Why do you think a film set in such a Singaporean context has managed to achieve international appeal? |
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| A |
The Maid is more than just a horror flick. At its heart is a strong human drama; a simple story about servitude, faith and betrayal. These themes are universal and are probably responsible for creating the high amount of Hollywood interest in The Maid. |
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| Q |
Mobile filmmaking (films shot with a mobile phone camera) is the latest genre to hit Asia via Discovery Networks & Nokia's First Time Mobile FilmMakers Award contest. Any amateur who owns a camera phone has the potential to create a short film. Good or bad news for conventional filmmakers? |
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| A |
Brilliant news. Filmmaking is a lonely occupation. I can't wait for more people to run around, shooting Singapore movies. Like I said, film is a democratic art-form and any technology that lowers cinema's traditionally high entry barriers are very, very welcome. |
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| Q |
You once said you shot your first film Moveable Feast (1995) to teach yourself how to make films. If at that time, mobile filmmaking technology had been available, how do you think that medium would have contributed to your learning experience? |
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It would definitely have accelerated my learning curve. I would have been able to shoot more and therefore learnt more, given how portable, user-friendly and cost-efficient mobile filmmaking is. |
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| Q |
Which genre (horror, romantic, comedy) do you think will work best for a mobile film, considering that the viewing is on the much smaller screen of a phone? |
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I don't think it's a genre thing. It's more to do with composition. If I am shooting something for the big screen, I'll go wide and epic. If I am composing visuals for a much smaller screen, I'll probably want to consider simpler shapes, cleaner lines and minimal clutter. It's the same set of dynamics that lead to the intrinsic differences between a novel and a haiku. |
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| Q |
During the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, people used mobile phone cameras to capture footage of the tragedies. Some have accused them of insensitivity, while the media has welcomed the videos, claiming it is nothing more than 'reality' mobile filmmaking. Any thoughts on that? |
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| A |
You are talking about what's now labeled as "citizen reporting". I don't think there's anything wrong with ordinary folks using mobile phone cameras to record things that are happening right in front of them, be it something as beautiful as their baby girl's first steps or something as horrific as the tsunami. People are entitled to record their first-hand experiences. We used to do it a long time ago with dairies. Now, we do it with mobile phone cameras. In fact, during the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina disasters, I found some of the footage shot by the so-called "citizen reporters" to be more compelling, informative and honest than what was being shown on the news networks. If the motivation is to share and broadcast, that's great. But if someone films some tragedy hoping to sell it for a million bucks, then that's sheer human ugliness. |
