Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Rice Rhapsody
Directed by Kenneth Bi
Veteran Hong Kong actress, Sylvia Chang, is Jen, the protagonist in Rice Rhapsody, a mother’s account of coming to terms with her sons’ sexuality.
With two of her elder sons gay, and the youngest (of whom she is unsure); she cooks up a plot with her admirer & competitor, also a chef, Kim Chui (Martin Yan) to ensure that the third turns straight by hosting a beautiful female French exchange program student, Sabine (Melanie Laurent) in her house.
Wacky as the plot sounds, it is however just what it is. An effort by an elder to “straightened” things out, regardless of what the younger generation feels.
Therein lies my contention with the movie. It fails to engage the audience on a much intellectual and emotional level for it is at best, trying to plant as many gags (some hilarious, others barely tolerable) as possible, to make it entertaining.
Perhaps it may be the intention of the writer and director not to be overtly confrontational, yet, even trying to get a glimpse of Jen’s emotion seems a problematic task as she seems to go on about her life cooking up a storm in the kitchen. There are just not enough scenes for us to emphatise with her; or even remotely show how alienated she is from her kids. There are hardly any conversations between herself and her kids and when it does, it borders on the courteous, conveniently neglecting their partners. Unless of course, Kenneth is telling us Asian families prefer to brush aside the topic altogether.
As a Singapore made movie, emphasizing on being locally made, it is ironical that the main actors are not Singaporean and look more like runaway models.
At times, it feels like a video made to attract tourists as it short sells with outdoor location shots including Chinatown, Little India and Orchard; promoting Singapore as a food haven – which is the theme of the movie - revolving around Hainan Chicken Rice. Sure, all these are Singaporean but one feels as if they are secondary; and that it can be made anywhere.
Moreover, the lack of Singlish in the movie, replaced by hackneyed mix of English and Chinese, is an awkward attempt at “exporting it as an international commodity”, as my friend who watched the movie with me, commented.
To someone who has never visited Singapore, Rice Rhapsody may come across as an exotic peek into “Little Asia” but unfortunately, it is a trifle too pretentious. The movie works, at best, a caricature portrayal of what we want others to see us as, not what we are.
The saving grace of Rice, is the convincing portrayal of Sylvia, as a mother fraught with inner turmoil, displayed however fleetingly only in two particular moving scenes - when she looked yearningly with desire the grandkids of a family she knew; and screaming at her kids after disapproving her eldest son marriage. Otherwise, the poor or almost non-existent acting of the other actors (cannot be entirely blamed on them since Sylvia hogs the limelight) barely needs mentioning.
One can also read into the subtext of Rice Rhapsody by comparing the dominating mother, Jen, as the state; and her sons, as citizens, trying to break free from the restrictions imposed on them.
By using a socially controversial topic, mirroring it into an individual family which somehow doesn’t seem able to confront on the issues, Rice Rhapsody, infers upon the dilemma faced by a precocious overbearing government.
The ending is somehow discomforting to me; though my friend prefers to see it as an effort to juggle a balance between not offending conservatives; trying to win them over and not being seen as too preachy to the younger generation.
Rice Rhapsody, at best, is a piece of commercial cinema, bland and offensive for being too courteous.
Directed by Kenneth Bi
Veteran Hong Kong actress, Sylvia Chang, is Jen, the protagonist in Rice Rhapsody, a mother’s account of coming to terms with her sons’ sexuality.
With two of her elder sons gay, and the youngest (of whom she is unsure); she cooks up a plot with her admirer & competitor, also a chef, Kim Chui (Martin Yan) to ensure that the third turns straight by hosting a beautiful female French exchange program student, Sabine (Melanie Laurent) in her house.
Wacky as the plot sounds, it is however just what it is. An effort by an elder to “straightened” things out, regardless of what the younger generation feels.
Therein lies my contention with the movie. It fails to engage the audience on a much intellectual and emotional level for it is at best, trying to plant as many gags (some hilarious, others barely tolerable) as possible, to make it entertaining.
Perhaps it may be the intention of the writer and director not to be overtly confrontational, yet, even trying to get a glimpse of Jen’s emotion seems a problematic task as she seems to go on about her life cooking up a storm in the kitchen. There are just not enough scenes for us to emphatise with her; or even remotely show how alienated she is from her kids. There are hardly any conversations between herself and her kids and when it does, it borders on the courteous, conveniently neglecting their partners. Unless of course, Kenneth is telling us Asian families prefer to brush aside the topic altogether.
As a Singapore made movie, emphasizing on being locally made, it is ironical that the main actors are not Singaporean and look more like runaway models.
At times, it feels like a video made to attract tourists as it short sells with outdoor location shots including Chinatown, Little India and Orchard; promoting Singapore as a food haven – which is the theme of the movie - revolving around Hainan Chicken Rice. Sure, all these are Singaporean but one feels as if they are secondary; and that it can be made anywhere.
Moreover, the lack of Singlish in the movie, replaced by hackneyed mix of English and Chinese, is an awkward attempt at “exporting it as an international commodity”, as my friend who watched the movie with me, commented.
To someone who has never visited Singapore, Rice Rhapsody may come across as an exotic peek into “Little Asia” but unfortunately, it is a trifle too pretentious. The movie works, at best, a caricature portrayal of what we want others to see us as, not what we are.
The saving grace of Rice, is the convincing portrayal of Sylvia, as a mother fraught with inner turmoil, displayed however fleetingly only in two particular moving scenes - when she looked yearningly with desire the grandkids of a family she knew; and screaming at her kids after disapproving her eldest son marriage. Otherwise, the poor or almost non-existent acting of the other actors (cannot be entirely blamed on them since Sylvia hogs the limelight) barely needs mentioning.
One can also read into the subtext of Rice Rhapsody by comparing the dominating mother, Jen, as the state; and her sons, as citizens, trying to break free from the restrictions imposed on them.
By using a socially controversial topic, mirroring it into an individual family which somehow doesn’t seem able to confront on the issues, Rice Rhapsody, infers upon the dilemma faced by a precocious overbearing government.
The ending is somehow discomforting to me; though my friend prefers to see it as an effort to juggle a balance between not offending conservatives; trying to win them over and not being seen as too preachy to the younger generation.
Rice Rhapsody, at best, is a piece of commercial cinema, bland and offensive for being too courteous.
