Back when Singapore didn’t even have a film industry to speak of, it used to be so rare to find people interested in producing and filming a movie. Eric Khoo and Yonfan were both pioneers in helping establish the beginnings of a burgeoning industry. 2015 celebrates the 20th anniversary of two classic films that were both filmed in 1994: Bugis Street Redux and Mee Pok Man.
With a really short film history in which Singapore is still struggling to write, these two films offers a glimpse into the lanes of Singapore. While you wouldn’t be able to find 80 per cent of the places in Bugis Street Redux anymore because they have since been demolished, the mee pok store in the movie still stands. Take a trip back down memory lane when everything was still run down and encompassed a little homely yet lonely feel amidst the crowds. As brightly colorful and sprightly Bugis Street Redux was, Mee Pok Man starkly contrasts with a depressingly dark melancholy sets, but still shows different aspects of life.
Touching on more taboo topics of transgender men, the sex trade and veering slightly into necrophiliac territory, these two films give a refreshing take on life by characterising people whom we don’t come into contact with usually. With stereotyping very evident in portraying these topics, these two films take the viewpoint of these characters to show another side to them, humanising them in our eyes.
The two films also revealed a little into filming techniques when technology was still in its beginning takes. Director Eric Khoo shared their struggles on lugging their camera equipment around as well as the sound guy who had to change tapes every 10 minutes of filming. Most of the takes were quite long as well, and the pace of the movies are certainly much slower compared to the blockbusters nowadays which race along without stopping. Relics like pagers and radios made viewers feel nostalgic; for younger audiences, these mysteries are a wonder to behold as we won’t see them much nowadays.
It was especially intriguing to take a look at Bugis which was once known as the red light district filled with rambunctious transvestite activities. Most of the younger generation probably weren’t even aware of its seedy history, what with its trendy and hip street culture facade now.
The struggle to find one’s place in life is evident in both films, and it’s this humanity in the characters which all appeal to the audience in their own little warped way. Bugis Street Redux does this very nicely by packaging all the characters with their own story. In the movie, Lian slowly experiences the good and the ugly of the sex trade lifestyle, but in the end embraces it as a way of living. It’s so easy to be swept up and blown away by something so glamorous and fancy, but you then slowly realize that it’s not always flowery and glittery.
Bunny, the female protagonist in Mee Pok Man, plays a prostitute which unexpectedly resonates so much more with the audience. We usually look down on prostitutes, but through her, we realise it’s a way to survive. We understand her ambitions to leave Singapore and seek new opportunities, which just aren’t appearing. Who knew that 20 years later, the same situation would keep rehashing itself?
Music fans are also in for a treat, because Mee Pok Man surprisingly features a lot of local music that have made into Singapore’s rock history. With Padre frontman Joe Ng as the lead singer, local fans would take a little glee in hearing the likes of Opposition party, Livonia and Sugarflies. Even with the movie being screened two decades later, most of the music still stand the test of time and is actually similar to what we hear on the radio now (surprise surprise).
I preferred Bugis Street Redux a little more than Mee Pok Man, which was a bit too slow and draggy (even the director said so himself!), but ultimately both films are a gem in themselves. Regardless, these two films deserve to be on the classics list, and everyone should give them both a shot, be it as a little food for thought or just for a cheap laugh.
