TOKYO FILMeX Competition films

Singapore / 2018 / 95 min.
Director: YEO Siew Hua

Singaporean detective Lok is put in charge of a case involving the disappearance of Wan, a Chinese migrant worker who worked at a land reclamation construction site. He meets with Wan's friend, a Bangladeshi laborer and visits the internet cafe Wan frequented. Finally, the days leading up to Wan's disappearance are gradually uncovered.... Awarded the Golden Lion at the Locarno Festival, the film is a miraculous marriage of film noir and social realism. The harsh reality for migrant workers at the construction site is superbly contrasted with the dreamy imagery of the internet cafe. Luna KWOK of "Kaili Blues" delivers a good performance of the mysterious heroine for whom Wan has feelings. The cinematography by URATA Hideho, who lectures at Singapore's LaSalle College of the Arts, is splendid.