Wet Season (2019)– The Coldness, Unspeakable & Silence

 

Wet Season by Anthony Chen is poetic, and yet you can sense a tint of oppressiveness experienced by the protagonist Ling (Yeo Yann Yann). While the film seems to highlight the suffering of a woman with stress and obligations from the different aspects of life, the struggle of an urban being is portrayed. Weilun (Koh Jia Ler), though just a “kid”, battles with life too— expectations of the society for him to excel in his studies; in his Wushu practice, with absent parents.

Wetness. Water. Rain. Coldness. Unspeakable. Silence. These make the movie hypnotizing and mesmerizing. We walk into the secret inner worlds of the characters. With a gaze, with a smile, they reveal. The sounds of water are also shown through the domestic life of cooking and washing. Ling is trapped in the coldness and dampness of her domestic life. She has to face her distant husband Andrew (Christopher Lee) who is hardly home and rejects intimacy with her despite her desire to get pregnant, her failed IVF attempts and the endless household chores that she has to handle despite having a full-time job as a secondary school Chinese teacher. Perhaps, her only warmth in the household is her nonverbal communication with her paralysed father-in-law (Yang Shi Bin).

Does the coldness of Ling’s surrounding, as well as her husband’s extramarital affair drive her to the forbidden affair between her and her student Weilun? What is seen to be wrong in a societal context receives sympathy from the audience. My tears shed during the “breakup” scene when Weilun tells Ling, “My heart aches. It really aches” and Ling replies, “It’s just so. You will get used to it in the future.” Perhaps, it is the sincere, “no frills” love affair that touches our hearts, though logically, it could be wrong.

The relationship between Ling, her father-in-law and Weilun resembles that of a closely knitted family though they are not related by blood. While Andrew has often neglected his father, his father seems to have found his son in Weilun. He looks at Weilun with the eyes of compassion. Ling and her father-in-law celebrate the victory of Weilun who wins the Wushu Championship while Weilun’s parents are not around to cheer for him in the competition. While Ling does not have a child, the way she takes care of her father-in-law resembles that of tending to a child. She wipes the stains of diarrhea from his butt, bathes him, and changes diapers for him.

The irony of the state of Chinese Language is also portrayed through the depiction of how the students constantly use Hanyu Pinyin to replace the Chinese characters in their essays, a practice which is permitted by the Ministry of Education (MOE). Ling says to her students, “Though the MOE allows you to use Hanyu Pinyin in your writing, I still hope that you don’t fill your essays with ABCDs. Can you please respect the Chinese Language?”

The film depicts the spoken languages in a very realistic manner. Weilun speaks in 60% English and 40% Mandarin to Ling most of the time. Ling, who is from Malaysia, does code-switching all the time too. She speaks in fluent Mandarin to her students. However, she speaks Mandarin with a Malaysian accent with her brother, and she uses a mix of English and Mandarin when she speaks to her husband.

The soundscape of the film is highly sensual and yet uncomfortable at the same time. The choice of not having much underscoring music leaves the film with ambience and spot sound effects most of the time. The sounds of licking and sucking on the succulent durians from Ling and Weilun suggest the lure of the forbidden fruit which further drives and establishes the relationship of the two. And yet, the running water and sounds of the rain intensify the isolation of each character. The silent interactions with a look or a gesture between Ling and Weilun; Ling and her father-in-law communicate deep underlying emotions. The actors handle such subtly in the portrayal of their feelings with delicacy and precision.

When all the characters may not be able to address their emotions with a rational mind, the father-in-law seems to be the one who witnesses all the events around him with a lucid mind. While he seems to be helpless, he could still help others, illustrated through how he helps Weilun to correctly write the Chinese character “help (帮)” in his essay. He has also aided Weilun to complete his needs for a family life.

I only got to catch Wet Season in December, on a rainy day. It has been raining for days continuously in December. This adds to the heightened realism of how I am connected to the film. I left the cinema in a daze, not being able to differentiate between the reality of life and that which is portrayed…

中文影评

都市冷冷的压迫—淡谈《热带雨》

陈哲艺执导的《热带雨》是一部充满诗意的作品。然而，观众可以感受到女主角阿玲（杨雁雁饰）面对家庭、婚姻、情欲与事业的种种压抑。虽然这部电影似乎显示出一个女性在生活的各个方面所承受的压力和义务，但它描绘的更是都市人的挣扎。伟伦（许家乐饰）尽管只是个“孩子”（中学生），也得与生活战斗；他面临学业和课外活动（武术）的压力，也因为父母时常出国公干，天天回到一个空巢的家庭，生活在没有父母陪伴的孤独与寂寞当中。

潮湿。水。雨。寒冷。无言。沉默。电影里每一景都以细腻的手法处理，深深地紧扣观众的心弦。水的声音也通过繁琐的家务事如烹饪和洗涤展现出来。阿玲被困在家庭生活的寒冷和潮湿中。她的丈夫 Andrew（李铭顺饰）早出迟归，对她非常冷落。尽管她想怀孕，丈夫也不配合；尝试打排卵针人工受孕却失败。虽然她是一名全职的中学华文教师，回到家里还得处理无尽的家务活。也许，她在家庭中唯一的温暖就是与瘫痪的家翁（杨世彬饰）非言语的交流。人物的一个眼神，一个微笑，把我们带进他们内心的感情世界。

阿玲周围的冷酷以及她丈夫的婚外恋是否导致她与学生伟伦之间的暧昧关系？在社会眼里是反道德的行为，却引起了观众的同情。当他们“分手”时，伟伦告诉阿玲：“我的心很痛。真的很痛。”阿玲回答，“就是这样的。以后你就会习惯了。”此刻听到旁边观众一边强抑制着又控制不了的流泪声。

阿玲，她的家翁和伟伦虽然没有血缘的关系，但他们就像一个紧密联系的家庭。Andrew与父亲疏远了，但他的父亲似乎在伟伦身上找到了自己的儿子，时常用慈悲的眼神看着伟伦。伟伦参加校际武术比赛，阿玲和她的家翁去为他打气，也为他庆祝夺冠胜利。阿玲虽然没有孩子，但她照顾家翁的方式类似于抚养一个婴孩—她从他的屁股上擦去腹泻的污渍，为他洗澡，并为他换尿布。

影片也通过描述学生如何在作文中使用汉语拼音来代替汉字，带有讽刺意味地反映本地华文的困境。阿玲对她的学生说：“虽然教育部让你们用汉语拼音，我还是希望作文不要有一堆 ABCD。尊重一下中文可以吗？”

影片非常真实地描绘了语言与对话。伟伦大部分时间都以华语掺杂英语与阿玲对话。来自马来西亚的阿玲也一直在进行语码转换。她对学生们说的是一口流利的华话。但是，她与弟弟说的华语是带有一点马来西亚腔的；与丈夫说话时则掺杂着华语和英语。

电影的音效非常感性，但同时又让人感觉不自在。影片多数时候都是没有配乐的。影片强调的是背景音和拟音音效。其中令人难忘的一幕是阿玲和伟伦吃榴莲时发出舔与吸吮榴莲的声音。这隐喻着两人受到禁果的诱惑，私尝禁果。戏里的水和雨声也强化了每个角色的孤立感。阿玲与伟伦之间，以及阿玲与家翁之间的一个表情或手势的无声交流传达了深层的内在情感。演员们以精致而精确的表演方式巧妙地演绎他们的角色。

当所有角色可能无法用理智来解决自己的情绪时，阿玲瘫痪的家翁似乎是一个以清醒的头脑目睹他周围所有事物，并贯穿周围事件的人。虽然他看似很无助，但他仍然可以帮助其他人。他在伟伦的手上写下“帮”字，帮助他正确书写汉字。他还帮助伟伦实现了想拥有家庭温暖的渴望。

我是在十二月中一个雨天观看《热带雨》的。该月份连续几天下雨。这增加了影片的真实感。我呆呆地坐在电影院里，无法区分现实生活和影中撼动人心的故事...

蛇，不在外头，就在心中-- 观看优剧场的《金刚心》

        这是我在这博客的第一个以中文书写的篇章吧！我是优剧场的戏迷。但，这不代表我盲目地热爱他们的每一出戏。六年前，我就曾经对优剧场的走向感到失望， 在《禅武不二》剧评中提问-优人的本来面目在哪里？（文尾附上《禅武不二》剧评)

        2003年, 我在新加坡的一个很小间的影片光碟专卖店发现了《金刚心》，便马上把它买下。 单单观看光碟， 就有无名的感动。一知道优剧场将到新加坡演出《金刚心》，心里急切的期待。但，因为对《禅武不二》有点失望， 心想--这次别期望太高， 以免失望极大。去了一趟观看演出，它不止唤醒我似乎已疲累的身心，也再次肯定了我要为艺术工作继续耕耘的决心。

     台上的设计看上去象是我们的高楼组屋。鼓声响起， 把我们带进了隐藏在急步都市生活的一颗宁静之心。但，这宁静的心不是死板板的。 就是在心静了下来观看世界时， 世界的每一花每一草才变得更加的有趣。所以， 优人击的鼓是充满变化的，就如人生无常。其中一面舞台看上去象一面旧式老钟，似乎在代表着时光的流逝和世间轮回。

 

        

    戏开场的汹涌鼓声就已十分的震撼。当中的木鱼声有画龙点睛的作用，一开场就把观众带到一个很高的意境。接下来的篇章， 都持续着可动可静，静中带动，动中带静的击鼓、颂唱和舞动。 武术、诵经、舞蹈都融入于优人的击鼓表演。与其说是优人在打鼓，我却感受到鼓是自然地从优人的一举一动中体现出来的。鼓声是由优人身体的运作和武（舞）术而发出。戏的最高境界在于-- 优人不在“打”鼓；鼓声由身而出。

     渐渐的，戏把观众带进一种梦境的感觉。台上的舞蹈带着太极的张力，使出绵绵不绝的力量。优人们的身体动作就象是当我们做梦时，想跑却跑不快的那种有弹性的移动方式，把我带进了梦境。这刻让我想起了弘一法师的《世梦》：

却来观世间，犹如梦中事。人生自少而壮，自壮而老，自老而死。俄入胞胎，俄出胞胎，又入又出无穷已。生不知来，死不知去，蒙蒙然，冥冥然，千生万劫不自 知，非真梦欤？枕上片时春梦中，行尽江南数千里。今贪名利，梯出航海，岂必枕上尔！庄生梦蝴蝶，孔子梦周公，梦时固是梦，醒时何非梦？旷大劫来，一时一刻 皆梦中。破尽无明，大觉能仁。如是乃为梦醒汉，如是乃名无上尊。

    
      戏的高潮是“拔草寻蛇篇”。这是一段非常美丽和富有意义的一篇。 十个鼓手在台的右边，七个敲击乐手在左台，加上台中三位男表演者，当中以黄志群为寻蛇人。所有二十人在台上的节奏配合得天衣无缝，但同时，每个人却有着自己流程的变化。 有规律却形成机械式的表演不难遇到。优人却做得到有规律却又变化无穷的演出，令人赞叹！黄持着棍子寻蛇，这棍看上去由他内在力量而舞动。 这棍，已成为表演者身体的延伸。黄向四周寻蛇，但最后发现--蛇，就在心中！对我而言，这蛇代表了佛教里的三毒--贪、嗔、痴。这三毒都不在体外，而是在我们的内心!

     戏的末尾， 台上只留着一优人在旋转着。 也许，在人生旅途的最后一个阶段，路-- 还是得一个人走的。。。

     话说回来，《金刚心》虽取材于藏传佛教，它的艺术境界远超宗教意识。非佛教徒可别因为这出戏的浓厚宗教色彩而错过了它。整出戏编得很有诗意，很有禅味也很富有生命力。给我带来最大的震撼是它的各个突然群体停顿的时刻。 静止，其实也是一个音符。美中不足的是-- 每个静止的时刻都让观众的掌声盖过。但，这也不能怪观众的“自然”反应。优人的舞、武、唱、鼓，是太完美了。

    我又在一次见证了优人的“本来面目”。感恩。 谢谢。

         如果想看《金刚心》，今晚 (十二月七日）将是最后一晚了：http://thestar.sg/events/event/45-u-theatre-meeting-with-bodhisattva

剧评指数：9.5/10

六年前给于《禅武不二》的剧评 （取自《联合早报》，2007年3 月10日）：

Not a fan of National Day Parade, but NDP 13... is different

I have to confess I am not a fan of National Day Parade (NDP). To me, NDP has always been about visual presentations, which were attractive, but similar to the multi-cultural and colorful Chingay Parade or the large-scale shows performed at various places of interests. However, as I watched this year's NDP, I was impressed by its strong coherency and depth in the articulation of the 9 segments.

The theme of "Many Stories...One Singapore" was delivered in a concrete and focused manner with the engagement of Singaporeans from diverse sectors. Though there were no gigantic set and props as compared to the NDP of previous years, this year's NDP touched my heart and stirred my mind. The best moment of the event was the paying of tribute to our National athletes and paralympians.

With the advancement in technology, it is not difficult for us to encounter big productions with stunning visuals that attract our attention. However, some of these large-scale performances engaged our senses but left us cold in our heart. NDP 2013 was seemingly humbler in its scenic and visual presentations, but it filled my heart with a deep sense of warmth and gratitude. Overall, it was simple but filled with insights; it conveyed a huge idea formed by stories of Singaporeans from all walks of life.

(photo: National Day Parade, Singapore, 2013)

Good to have memories. BUT- don’t trust them. ~ Thoughts and resonances after watching "Viennese Pork Chop"

Theatre Event: Viennese Pork Chop
Date & Time: 23 August 2012, 8pm

Venue: The Substation Theatre

Performers: Yap Sun Sun (Singapore), Andreas Pamperl (Austria) and Apollo Valentin Ye Yi Pamperl (Singapore and Austria)

I would not call this post a "review". While the performance was definitely a well-researched and crafted piece, I find that I will be doing injustice to it by classifying this post as a "review", as it is beyond a theatre piece that should be labeled with a grade or to be "marked" with a number (such as 9/10 or 6/10). This piece is beyond theatre though IT IS theatre.

If it is beyond theatre, then what is it to me?

It is a pulse, a beating heart, a musical note, a breath. Everything in the piece is so real and yet it is so theatrical.

The whole piece is constructed by memories. Performers Yap Sun Sun (protagonist) and Andreas Pamperl (musician and multimedia artist) created stories, multimedia images, songs and music based on their lives and the memories of their mothers (a Hakka Singaporean and a Steirisch Austrian). In short, it is an autobiographical performance which brings to life the stories of the performers and their son, as well as the stories of their mothers who never met each other but shared and enjoyed the same cuisine in each of their country-- pork. Yes, the piece does sound personal. However, from their individual memories, as an audience member, I was transported to a realm of collective memories. In that experience, it was as if we had a shared memory. The notion of shared memory in the black box space despite our diverse backgrounds was facilitated by the intimate performance setting. Audience members were seated at both sides of a long table on which Sun Sun performed. Most of the time, Andreas was at one end of the table providing multimedia projections and music to the performance. At times, he made comments and remarks as himself (a father and a son).

The intimacy of the setting in which audience members were positioned around a long dining table reminded me of Theatre Master Jerzy Grotowski's Dr Faustus (1963). The intimacy of the setting allowed the audience members to be closely linked to each other, not just physically but psychologically and emotionally in a collective manner. At the long table, though I did not know the other audience members, I felt that I was part of a large family. The sense of familial intimacy was heightened when the aromatic smell emitted from the pork chop filled the theatre, and when we were served with drinks and small slices of pork chop (we were each given a wooden food picker before the performance). As a big "family", stories of the actors and their mothers were narrated to us. Somehow, their stories became part of our own stories. I could identify with various issues presented by the performers-- how Chinese are being viewed as "dangerous" or second-class citizens in Europe (as I stayed in Italy for a year); the relationship between a mother and a child; and how I have been haunted by my own memories in the forms of dreams, desires and recollections.

Several humorous moments made me laugh and yet moved me to tears and resonated deeply in me. For instance, the exaggeration of the taste of Singaporean foods in Sun Sun's memories when she was in Vienna was humorous and at the same time reflected how we tend to amplify various sensations in our memories. Singaporean foods such as Mee Rebus, chilli crabs and chicken rice were all magnified in her memories when she was away from Singapore. However, when she is back in Singapore, these dishes do not taste as nice as what she had in her memories. While Sun Sun was in her monologue expressing her desire for Singaporean foods when she was in Vienna, Andreas threw in a highly meaningful and humorous statement- "You can have your memories, but don't trust them". Yes, memories are always larger than life. We tend to add in more imagination to our memories. Memories are beyond factual descriptions of life. Memories include our longings, dreams, desires and nostalgia. Dark humour was also seen in the scene where Sun Sun narrated about Andreas' experience of accidents in his family with exaggeration. This episode of story ended with audience's participation in the chanting of "so much blood" together with the performers. Ironically, audience members were holding the piece of pork chop for consumption while chanting "so much blood". I interpreted the pork chop (a dead animal) as "blood" in our hands.

Other moments that touched me was Sun Sun's search for the meaning of "home" and her search for one "happy moment" that she had shared with her mother. As an immigrant in Vienna, Sun Sun questioned the notion of "home" to her. Where is her home? Is it where she grew up? Is it where she lives now? Is it where her family is? Which part of her family? Or -- is it the mother's womb? When Sun Sun was back in Singapore after years of being away from her mother, she realized that the mother with dementia has no longer recognized her. She was trying to look for a happy memory that she had with her mother so that she could help her mother to recall something. And yet, she could not find any. Then she realized that the "happiest moment" that she has with her mother existed in "present". She rebuilt her memories with her mother in "present". The happiest memory that she has with her mother was the moment she held onto her hands for a long time after all futile search for a happy moment between them. Through her excellent acting and with her versatile way of handling different genres of songs—from popular songs to folk songs, Sun Sun managed to bring us along on her search journey in a manner that moved us emotionally.

While Sun Sun and Andreas were the main performers in the piece, their 10 years old son Apollo was involved in the performance too, as the chef of Viennese Pork Chop in the mini cooking show within the piece. Apollo's role in the piece though small, was highly commendable. He was attentive to the development of plot in theatre and was responsive to every movement and expression emanated from both the performers and the audience. He executed every moment of his action with precision and natural aliveness. At the scene where he was tapping the meat, the rhythmic sounds of tapping added to the musicality of the piece when the sounds fused in together with the theatrical music. Andreas has also made good use of different multimedia and live music to create this space of collective memory for both the performers and the audience.

Overall, I laughed and I teared in Viennese Pork Chop, which is to me humorous and sad at the same time. It was a black comedy with 4-D experience to me. My five senses, as well as my conscious and subconscious minds were engaged in the performance. The performers have excellent sense of managing rhythm within each individual action as well as in the development of the plot. There is no one boring moment in the piece, maybe because I was busy during the performance too. I was busy with connecting and disconnecting with memories that were being provoked by the piece. Some of them were pleasant, some were not. Some of them appeared by surprise to me, just like this blog post. This post itself is a surprise to me too, as I did not plan to write a post on this performance as I entered the theatre.