Sinema Incubator Shorts Screening - Good Morning 60 - 01/07/09

The Sinema Incubator Shorts Screening took place on the first of the month, and what a way to start the month it was. The 4 films screened were Good Morning 60, Brown Sugar, Mdm Chan and Red Rose, all of which could be a specific topic of discussion. I will begin with Good Morning 60 because it was the first to be screened.

Good Morning 60 - Samantha Wee
Good Morning 60 is a feel good film about a newly 60 year old Peter Pang (played by Lim Kay Tong) who finds a new lease on life through Banghra (a Punjabi Siki folk dance) and how this rekindles his relationship with his wife.

Sindie has conducted an interview on Good Morning 60 in May. It is Wee first major production as a director outside of her graduating school (University of Auckland) and the idea was conceived out of the love she had for Bhangra. Wee enjoys American Indie influenced films and the subject matter and manner in which she decided to sculpt Good Morning 60 gives the audience some insight into wanting to make film that involves someone old but not have him die.

Now, I would be lying if I said that Lim Kay Tong's presence in the film did not enhance it. Without him, who would dare to stand in the middle of a park and dance like a monkey on speed? A good actor is a load off a director's mind. Quite unfortunately, his acting does not seem to come across in all the scenes of the movie, with some parts over acted and the rest of the cast falling short of his acting, therefore losing me at some points of the film.

While I did enjoy the portrayal of the Bhangra dance (I always like it when I directors do something obscure with a racial barrier) and it was the film I most looked forward to, I found the ending rather abrupt and lacking closure. A story like that could have been told in a lot less than 20 minutes and driven its point.

However, Wee makes it a point to put nuances of herself in the film that makes for an endearing film. I enjoyed that it did not end with Peter dying a sudden death, which is the theme many indie films in Singapore, although I have to admit I was expecting him to. It was a nice surprise when he didn't and it didn't feel like a film that was trying to do too many things at once. Saying that though, at some points the film felt lackluster as it lost its comedy and started being too preachy.