Timothy R White
films debuted; in addition, four Malay films from Singapores Golden Age were
screened, along with two independent features from the 1970s. Although it would
be mistaken to assume that we now have a healthy Singaporean film industry, there
are certainly signs of life appearing -- signs that have been largely absent during
Southeast Asia, churning out Malay-language films in a variety of genres from two
fully-developed studios. How did they start? What happened to them? And, what
first of these was Loke Wan Thos Cathay Productions, with studios in Singapore,
Kuala Lumpur and, eventually, Hong Kong. The second was the Shaw Brothers
studio, founded by the legendary brothers Run Run and Runme. Beginning with
Shaws built an empire that included film studios, distribution networks, and
theaters.
Both studios relied, especially in the early years, on Indian directors
remaking films they had already made in India, replacing Indian actors with locals
but keeping the scripts largely intact. Even though they were recycled, these films,
heavily laden with song and dance numbers, proved quite popular with local
surrendered ten weeks later, on 15 February 1942. The Occupation force set out
immediately to establish control over almost all aspects of life, including cinema.
Although the Japanese were quick to utilize the studios of other occupied Southeast
Asian nations, especially the Philippines and Indonesia, for the production of
However, there were a few films made in Singapore during the Occupation --
Bermadu, Hancur Hati, Ibu Tiri, Mutiara, Terang Bulan di Malaya, Topeng Syaitan,
and Mata Hatu -- but little is known about these films or the circumstances under
All film exhibition came under control of one of the "kaishas," or official
given to Eiga Haikyu Sha (the Japan Film Distribution Co.), with its headquarters in
Singapore, and which took over all the theaters throughout Malaya. Japanese films
were used in the campaign of "Nipponisation" carried out by the Occupation forces,
who recognised the power of cinema for propaganda purposes and for building the
shinchitsujo, or "New World Order." Because the Japanese initially lacked enough
had seized, but only after censoring and re-editing them to deliver the proper
messages. This lasted until 1943, when a regular supply of Japanese feature films
was available.
audiences; despite the propaganda content, stylistically they were not much
different from the Hollywood films that the Japanese condemned. This is not really
surprising, as Japanese cinema was heavily influenced by American films, and the
Japanese studio system was modelled, to a great degree, on that of the Hollywood
film industry. In fact, many of the key personnel involved in making these films had
trained and worked in Hollywood. For example, Nankai no Hanataba (Bouquet in the
Southern Seas; 1942), a film about the bravery of the Japanese pilots who paved the
way for the invasion of Malaya, and which was made exclusively for screening in
Southeast Asia, was directed by Abe Yutaka, who had been known as "Jackie Abe" in
Hollywood when he worked there (as an actor, production assistant and, in lean
made in and for Singapore and the rest of Southeast Asia include Shima Kojis
Shingaporu Sokogeki (All-out Attack on Singapore; 1943) and Koga Masatos Marei no
Tora (The Tiger of Malaya; 1943). Some animated cartoons were made for exhibition
in Southeast Asia also. One very popular cartoon character was Momotaro, the
"Peach boy", who appeared in a number of cartoons designed not just for domestic
consumption within Japan, but for propaganda use in occupied countries as well. For
example, Picture Book 1936 (Momotaro vs. Mickey Mouse) featured fanged Mickey
Mouse lookalikes riding giant bats, attacking peaceful Pacific islanders (represented
by cats and dolls, for some reason); the hero Momotaro jumps out of a picture book,
repels the American mice, and cherry trees blossom throughout the island as the
Momotaro leads the attack on Pearl Harbor, then "liberates" Southeast Asia; although
Momotaro himself is a human boy, the "liberated peoples" are presented as animals
(cute little rabbits, mice, ducks and bears, who willingly and sternly fight behind
Momotaro, their liberator and leader), while the Americans and British (and
especially General Percival, who surrenders Singapore to Momotaro) are huge, hairy,
ugly demons, complete with horns and drooling fangs. Nippon Banzai, another
animated propaganda film designed for use in the occupied nations, employed an
The peaceful Southeast Asian countries have been trampled underfoot for
Americans, and Dutch. In the midst of this hardship, in their hearts they (the
inhabitants) have waited for a ray of light, a strong soul. That light, that soul
was Japan.
ray of light was extinguished in 1945, and the Japanese Occupation ended. Within
a few years, the cameras were turning in Singaporean motion picture studios once
again. The first postwar film studio was Malay Film Production Ltd, established at 8
Jalan Ampas by the Shaw Brothers in 1947. Malay Film Productions was soon
and Keris Productions, with production facilities first in Tampines and later on East
Coast Road.
The chief asset of Malay Film Productions was, of course, the great P.
Ramlee (see last months article on Malaysian cinema for more information on
Ramlee). Almost a one-man production crew, Ramlee wrote scripts, wrote songs
(both music and lyrics), sang, acted in movies, and directed; almost everything, in
fact, but run the cameras (although there is evidence from his films that he probably
specified camera angles and lighting plans)! His films, especially the comedies, were
very popular among the Malay population of both Singapore and peninsular Malaysia.
studio in Singapore, and because most of his films were contemporary comedies or
interesting look at the Singapore of the 1950s and 1960s (especially interesting is his
1961 film, Seniman Bujang Lapok, known in English as The Nitwit Movie Stars, for its
Ramlees films (and, in fact, most of the Malay films made in Singapore) is unusual in
difference, and the tensions it sometimes brought, did not exist. Certainly there
were exceptions, but most of these films were made primarily to entertain, and
social commentary, while not unknown, was seldom aimed at ethnic, racial, political
or religious conflicts.
Cathay, unlike the Shaw brothers, relied, in addition to the foreign
films it distributed, to a great extent on films made at its Hong Kong studio. These
films were made mostly in Mandarin, but sometimes, especially in the early years, in
Cantonese. In 1997 Cathay re-released three of these Mandarin films -- Our Sister
Hedy (Tao Qin, 1958), Her Tender Heart (Evan Yang, 1959) and Mambo Girl (Evan
Maria Menado and Rose Yatimah were quite popular, as was comedian Wahid Satay),
Cathay-Keris did boast of at least one outstanding film director. Unlike the small,
personal films of Ramlee, the films of Cathay-Keriss Hussein Haniff used a much a
larger canvas, often featuring large battle scenes filmed outdoors (but with limited
resources) with what look like fairly large numbers of actors and extras. Instead of
contemporary subjects, Haniff worked with historical stories, setting his social
commentary and criticisms in Malayas feudal past. As seen in Hang Jebat (1961) and
Dang Anom (1962), the films by Haniff that were shown at the 1997 Singapore
acting, lighting -- as opposed to Ramlee, whose chief concerns were camera work
Haniff, the genre films, especially the horror films, made by Cathay-Keris were
popular and worth seeing even today. Better remembered than the more prestige
films are such Malay-language horror films as Anak Pontianak (Vampire Child; Ramon
A. Estella, 1958), Sumpah Pontianak (Vampires Curse; B. N. Rao, 1958), and Orang
Minyak (The Oily Man; L. Krishnan, 1958). These films, based on Malay mythology
and legends, all seemed quite scary when they were seen in theaters at the time of
their release. Now, they are just as entertaining, but maybe not quite as scary, and
a little funnier than they were intended to be (although humor, as well as songs,
were an important part of the genre), and not quite what we regard as realistic.
But this difference in the way we regard these films says much about
the ways in which films have changed, and just as importantly, the ways in which
Singaporeans have changed. Initially, movies from Hong Kong began to replace
home-grown films. But in the late 1960s television became the rage in Singapore,
and with it Western ideas and images. Of course, Singaporeans have lived with
Western ideas for many decades, and Hollywood movies have always been popular
here. But with television, the ubiquity of Western culture really began; no longer a
movies. They began to see it more with Western eyes, through which reality lies in
the mise-en-scene -- the objects, the characters, etc. -- and not so much in the
ideas, emotions, and relationships among people. No longer was it good enough to
present mythical stories that expressed feelings, fears, and traditional beliefs
through films that suggested the essences, rather than realistically depicted the
Singaporeans began to reject their own movies in favor of those of Hollywood which,
despite their high production values and visual excitement, said little to Southeast
In 1967, the Shaw brothers closed the Singapore studio of Malay Film
Productions. Their biggest star and best director, P. Ramlee, had left in 1963 for
Kuala Lumpurs Studio Merdeka (which was subsequently taken over by the Shaws in
1966). Cathay had been in financial trouble since the death of its founder, Loke Wan
After the closure of Singapores two major studios, few films were
made here. The handful that were produced in Singapore, or by Singaporeans, are
indicative of the changes that audiences had gone through. In 1978, independent
producer Sunny Lim made a series of action/spy movies, obviously made to cash in on
the popularity of the spy movie genre (especially the James Bond series), and just
as obviously made on shoe-string budgets. But it is not the low production values of
these films that audiences find so hilarious today (two of these films -- They Call Her
International Film Festival, and earned richly deserved laughs); it is the rather crude
attempt to imitate Hollywood films that these films so sadly reveal. Hollywood
movies have their faults, but one thing is clear: For better or worse, nobody can beat
Hollywood at its own game, nobody can make Hollywood films like Hollywood itself
can. And although audiences may have enjoyed these films, it was an enjoyment of
The few other films made in Singapore at the time did little to remedy
Playboy magazine magnate Hugh Hefner, made Saint Jack, set and filmed in
with Medium Rare, based on the infamous Adrian Lim case. Although made in
Singapore and featuring a story based on a true Singaporean incident, Medium Rare,
directed by Australian Arthur Smith, is just as guilty as are Sunny Lims movies of
truthful, objective manner. To make matters worse, the filmmakers felt the need to
add a white leading actress, in an apparent (and failed) attempt to attract Western
After Medium Rare, the Singaporean film scene seemed bleak indeed.
However, the last three years have shown that not only are there young Singaporeans
with a burning desire to make movies that speak to Singaporeans, there is also an
audience for these films. The rebirth of Singaporean cinema began in 1995 with
Eric Khoos Mee Pok Man, one of the more interesting examples of truly alternative
this film, in its pace, subject matter, and sensibility it is much more Southeast Asian
than it is Hollywood. It takes a subjective, at times mystical, but at the same time
detached look at a number of such typical Singaporean characters as the cabbie who
knows the best hotels for trysts with prostitutes; the Chinese fortuneteller, with his
common sense advice, "Just be gentle and patient, and she will like you"; and the
mee pok man himself, quietly plying his trade in a small, dilapidated storefront,
wearing his singlet, cooking and serving his fish-ball noodles without a word to his
customers.
1995 also saw the release of Bugis Street - The Movie, a film about the
transvestites who haunted Bugis Street in the 1960s and 1970s (before it became a
shopping center!). Although filmed in Singapore, Bugis Street, made by the Hong
Kong director Yonfan, indulges in rather shameless exoticism, and, fortunately, did
1997 has proven to be the best year for Singaporean cinema in the last
twenty-five years. In addition to the re-release by Cathay of seven of its old films,
the Singapore International Film Festival premiered three new Singaporean films.
Director and actor Hugo Ng revisited the Adrian Lim story in God or Dog, this time
with a much more Singaporean slant than that taken in Medium Rare. Although
based on an incident involving quasi-religious cults, adultery, and murder, the film
avoids the voyeuristic quality of Western films dealing with the same sort of subject
matter.
More interesting, however, were the two other Singaporean films that
made their debuts at the SIFF. The Road Less Travelled, by first time director Lim
significant in that it seeks to avoid the sensational subject matter often used by
novice filmmakers to attract attention to their films. The Road Less Travelled,
although similar in some ways to Hong Kong melodramas, deals with young
Singaporeans and their concerns and relationships. Lim made a film that means
something to her, that expresses what she wants to say, and not what she thinks will
make the most money at the box office by appealing to an audience raised on
Hollywood movies.
The other Singaporean film to debut in 1995 is Eric Khoos second
effort, 12 Storeys, about the lives of various Singaporeans living in a rather old
Housing Development Board block. Much more skilfully made than is Mee Pok Man,
12 Storeys, while retaining the mystical quality of the earlier film, relies much less
the kitchen table, in favor of the lives (both interior and exterior) of ordinary
Singaporeans. Like Lim Suat-Yen, Khoo is more interested in making a film for
himself and his friends and neighbours than in pleasing Western sensibilities.
being Asian and, more specifically, Singaporean; not just in the wealth and
Hong Kong or Hollywood? Probably not. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. If
home, and if they follow in the footsteps of such greats as P. Ramlee and Hussein
Haniff, who never lost touch with the common man, Singaporean films will continue
to be appreciated where it counts: in Singapore. And, maybe, the rest of the world