PhD + Retrenchment = Taxi! Taxi! (2012)

Taxi! Taxi! (Mandarin) is inspired by true story of Dr. Cai Mingjie, who holds a PhD from one of the world's best universities (Stanford University), and was retrenched from his job as a principal researcher at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Singapore in 2008. Unable to get a job related to his qualifications, he became a taxi driver in 2009.

In Taxi Taxi!, Gurmit Singh plays the role of Professor Chua, who is retrenched from his high-status job of a microbiologist. After retrenchment, he has difficulties securing himself with another position. As the sole breadwinner of the family, he turns to taxi driving to sustain the household expenses. In his new found career, he befriends Ah Tau, a veteran taxi driver played by Mark Lee. While Professor Chua converses only in English, his new friend speaks only Mandarin/Hokkien. These two characters with diverse work and educational backgrounds form an unlikely friendship.

I went to Taxi! Taxi! gala screening without any expectation of the film. I went simply because my friend had complimentary tickets for me (Haha! What a reason! But as a Singaporean—FREE? Take lah!). But I am glad I went. The movie was a pleasant surprise to me. For the first time, I like Mark Lee's acting. His vivid portrayal of a carefree and helpful taxi driver with excellent control of comic timing and his convincing delivery of emotions and speech bring life to the character. We see that Mark Lee lived through the taxi driver with emotional depth. Now, even as I see Mark Lee in other TV programmes, I somehow still view him as a taxi driver. For Gurmit Singh, while he is able to deliver a clean and clear enunciation and characterization, he does not live through the experiences and emotions of the character. He seems to be Gurmit Singh playing another role; acting in just another movie. Dr. Jia Jia's debut movie appearance is highly commendable. The director tapped on his YouTube personality and transformed that personality into the son of Ah Tau in this movie. He is the Dr. Jia Jia we see on YouTube even though he plays the role of Ah Tau’s son. However, it is not really a bad choice for Dr. Jia Jia to play his online persona in the movie. He was only 6 years old as he acted in this movie. It is natural for him to play out the personality of his trademark Dr. Jia Jia with aliveness. Amazingly, he has great chemistry with his co-actors, especially Mark Lee who acted as his father. The script ties in his Singlish-speaking YouTube persona seamlessly into the movie. 

I would say that the greatest credit goes to the director Kelvin Sng. The great choice of theme based on true story of "the most educated cabdriver" in Singapore, together with its excellent plot development, and the good choice of camera angles make it a touching and enjoyable movie. I especially like the extensive use of close-ups on the expressions of commoners represented by Ah Tau and Jia Jia. Through their expressions, questions and casual remarks made in their daily life, they successfully communicate voices of the working class in Singapore.

Other than the life of two taxi drivers, one highly educated and another without much education, the little stories that reflect the Singaporean lifestyle also moved the audience to tears and laughter: a father lies to his child that the runaway mother is on a trip around the world by getting the child gifts that portray the icons of different countries; a father volunteers his time to work for a school so that the son can be enrolled in its Primary One class;  a son calls the dad a liar as the dad conceals the truth about losing his high prestige job; a high positioned employee is being retrenched and replaced by a "foreign talent".  

Juxtapositions of the characters' helpless situations and jokes played upon them by fate are depicted in the movie. As a taxi driver, Professor Chua encounters his ex-colleagues with embarrassment; Ah Tau fetches Professor Chua and his family from the airport by chance and reveals Professor Chua's occupation as a taxi driver without knowing that Professor Chua has been trying to hide the fact from his family; Professor Chua's son who has always regarded him as the idol of his life, feels ashamed of the dad’s newly found occupation; Ah Tau is late for his date as he is held up by a traffic police officer (played by Chua Enlai) who gives lengthy lecture with repeated points delivered in a slow and rhythmic manner which produces a comical effect.

As compared to Ah Boys to Men I recently watched, I would say that Taxi! Taxi! deserves much more support and applause from the local audience. It is sincerely made with a much richer script, stronger characterization and better camera work. It is a story that belonged to everyone of us -- even if we don't speak Singlish, even if we are not parents, even if we are not related to any taxi driver. We do have a job, we do live in Singapore, we will go through the reality of ageing, we will still face the unknown of life ahead...

Filled with local flavor, the Singlish and incidents portrayed in Taxi!Taxi! are funny and close to our lives. Overall, Taxi! Taxi! is uplifting, inspirational, hilarious and entertaining!

Rating 8/10 (Based on the perspective of a Singaporean who appreciates the local jokes and Singlish used in the movie)

Ah Boys to Men Part 1 (2012)

If you are looking for local flavored lame jokes, this movie is not for you; if you are looking for insightful stimulation, this movie is not for you too. Ah Boys to Men (Part 1) touches on the journey of a group of youngsters who are enlisted to the National Service (mandatory military service) in Singapore.  While the director Jack Neo is well known for his excellent comic timing and humorous treatment of local social phenomena, this movie does not fully explore these aspects. Nevertheless, one can still see that Neo continues to create within his forte by dealing with local stories and characters, though with a superficial treatment. Thus, if you are looking for mockeries of social issues that are similar to those portrayed in Neo's previous Money Not Enough or I Not Stupid (Part 1 and Part 2), this movie does not delve deeply into the social context too.

If I go to the McDonald's, I want a hearty fast food meal; if I go to an Italian restaurant, I am looking for refined delicacy; if I go to a hawker centre for local delights such as laksa or bak kut teh, I am expecting a rich local flavor that the food can offer. However, if I am served a bite of the Big Mac and a sip of the bak kut teh, followed by a spoonful of tiramisu to complete my meal, my palate is not fully satisfied. Ah Boys to Men is neither a comedy, nor a social commentary, nor an emotionally moving drama, just because it has not fully realized its potential in any of the above capacities. I would appreciate it more if it is "lame", and is "lame" to the fullest; or if it is socially critical; or if it is humorous, funny and filled with mockeries and local jokes. Sadly, it just comes across as a superficial portrayal of NS life, though I could see the director’s attempt at infusing a philosophical thought to conclude Ah Boys to Men Part 1- "There is war in everybody, and your enemy is yourself".

Rating: 4/10

Hero continues…in Flowers of War (2011)

Zhang Yimou stirred controversies with Hero (2002) by leaving the suggestive connotation that the brutal ruler Emperor Qin is the hero in the film. There are viewers and critics who see Zhang as making a fascist statement as the warriors in the film do not kill Emperor Qin eventually, for the sake of peace. Film critic French (2004) points out that Hero "seems to be taking a strongly nationalist line and to be asserting that the people should put their trust in men of great power and be prepared to suffer and make sacrifices" for the ruler in power (http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2004/sep/26/philipfrench). 

Flowers of War (2011) is set in 1937, Nanjing (China) during the time of the second Sino-Japanese War, which is also known as the "Rape of Nanjing". In the film, the Nanjing prostitutes who turn themselves in to the Japanese soldiers on behalf of the teenage convent girls are made heroes of the film. It seems like Zhang has the tendency to create characters that are least expected to fall into the category of "hero" as heroes.

Well, the prostitutes are not that righteous in the beginning of the film. They are a group of flamboyant ladies who forced themselves into the cathedral which is supposedly well sheltered from the war as it is headed by an American. They form a mini community at the basement of the cathedral and entertain themselves with their little games, music and chats. The convent girls despise the prostitutes whom they view as "dirty". However, as they know that the girls are called to entertain the Japanese soldiers at a party, they decide to replace these girls and go for the party instead. Yu Mo (played by Ni Ni), the leader of the group of prostitutes, says, "I was raped by my step father when I was 13 years old. By their age [convent girls], I was already forced to take my first clients. I don't want them to go through that". She succeeds in convincing the other ladies to go and meet the Japanese soldiers on behalf of the girls by telling them that that they are skilled at handling different types of men, and that they should help to protect the girls' innocence and chastity. Yu Mo assures the ladies that this is one great accomplishment that they can do, as prostitutes.

Paradoxes of the film can be seen from the "greyness" in Zhang's portrayal of the themes of holiness and lust; good and evil; humanity and self-gain; love and war; warmth and brutality; beauty and horror. Nothing is painted in the starkness of black and white. In the film, he makes the cold-faced Japanese Colonel sing a childhood folk song; he depicts the vain prostitutes who cut their hair and dress in dull uniforms in order to save the teenage girls; he portrays an American (played by Christian Bale) who initially wants to steal from the cathedral, but poses as a priest eventually in order to protect the lives of those in the cathedral.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie- from the juxtaposition of the soothing Christian hymns and the deafening sounds of war, to the constant shifts between self-interest and self-sacrifice.  The themes of love, humanity, lust, religion, arts and respect are well framed within the brutality of war.

Rating: 8.5/10