Saturday, March 4, 2023

Not So Bright

Watched Eric Khoo's 1997 movie 12 Storeys this evening. Much to enjoy, especially in the performances of Jack Neo and Koh Boon Pin, both of whom provide convincing meltdown scenes as the pressures of HDB life take their toll. The mixture of sly comedy and out and out bleak melodrama offered by the film shouldn't really work, but I think it does. It's true that Khoo deals in broad stereotypes in his characters, but these stereotypes manage to come alive - probably because they reflect a number of truths about Singaporean society.

Nice to watch something dealing with the dark underside of the island. 

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