The UrbanWire

The quality of movies from Singapore is on the rise, but it is movies like The Leap Years that get you wondering if we are just trying too hard.

Mediacorp Raintree Pictures, a pioneer movie company in Singapore, and Ochre Pictures have joined forces to produce their first English love story. A quick look at Raintree’s portfolio gives you an idea of the local movie scene: Jack Neo movies, horror movies, forgettable titles (Chicken Rice War, anyone?), and some good productions. The Leap Years falls under “forgettable titles”.

The story centers around Li-Ann (played by Wong Li Lin, and Joan Chen as the older Li-Ann) who was born on Feb 29. Li-Ann, despite being a kind and beautiful girl, is somehow one of those “never been kissed” innocent.

In the first birthday we see her celebrate, she is a student in school who gets inspired by when her literature teacher talks about a dialogue by Plato. In the Symposium, Plato wrote about what he calls an absurd eulogy to love. Primal people were once of three sexes: All male, all female, and the “androgynous”, which were half male, half female. When people decided to go against the gods, Zeus decided to chop them into half. Therefore, we spend the rest of our lives running around, looking for our other half.

Li-Ann draws out her other half as a blue whale, much to the amusement of her three friends, Suneetha (Nadya Hutagalung), Kim (Paula Malai Ali) and Jennie (Vernetta Lopez).

She holds on to the hope of true love until her 24th birthday, or her sixth as she puts it. Just like a fairytale, she chances upon Jeremy (played by Thai heartthrob Anand Everingham) at Windows Cafe. Remembering the Irish tradition that a woman may propose to a man on Feb 29, with the condition that the man cannot refuse or he will pay a fine, she asks him for a date, and he agrees.

The scene of the date was really quite a failure. The two leads, though really attractive people, displayed no chemistry. After spending two precious hours together buying char kway teow, visiting Jeremy’s godmother and lying on the top of a shophouse where Jeremy used to live, they part with each other. They make a promise to meet again every Feb 29.

At this moment, the only thing you would ponder over is how it is almost impossible that Li-Ann could determinedly say that Jeremy is “the one” and go on pining for him for years. During the 12 years that the story spans, they only see each other for a grand total of three times.

Adding to the confusion is Li-Ann’s good friend KS (Qi Yuwu) who is madly in love with Li-Ann and waits in vain for her. Thankfully, he finds his true love later on in the show. Qi Yuwu, in his bid to become an Asian movie star, valiantly struggles with the English language in this film.

The prospect of a love story that blossoms in leap years did sound like something different, but the movie failed to show why it was necessary. Questions like why the couple could only meet on Feb 29 was not answered, and simply shrugged off with Li-Ann surmising that such questions were not important to them.

The use of inspiring quotes from William Shakespeare, Albert Einstein, and Oscar Wilde throughout the movie made it rather pretentious.

And for a local film, there are hardly any characteristics of Singapore in it. The characters all talk in pseudo slang and spend their time sipping wine or hanging out in some arty-farty cafe. Li-Ann herself lives in a quaint little shophouse and opens a book cafe. Sure, they definitely showed the prettiest parts of Singapore, can’t help but wonder how this could be the backdrop for a local love story. It might have been more convincing if they did not speak like they were from America, and carried out their awkward romance under the HDB void deck instead.

The saving grace of the movie was perhaps, the soundtrack. The songs, mostly by Singaporean singer Corrinne May, were well used. Cynical people (like this writer) need not bother to watch this movie, or you will find your eyes have rolled out on the floor after that.

But go ahead and spend that 10 bucks if you love clichés and “heartwarming love stories”.

UrbanWire gives The Leap Years 2.5 out of 5 stars

Movie Details

Opens: Feb 29

Running Time: 103 mins

Language: English

Cast: Wong Li Lin, Anand Everingham, Vernetta Lopez

Director: Jean Yeo

The human brain is one of the most complex mysteries on this planet. That intricate mush of grey and white matter produces the most vivid and incomprehensible dreams that often leave us in wonder. The fact that dreams are said to be our unconscious thoughts is disturbing as it shows just how deep and dark our minds can be.

Paprika is a movie that delves deep into our dreams and brings out the different colours and truths about people –except that is much too complex.

The mention of the director, Satoshi Kon, should tell you that Paprika is not going to be your average animation film. No such thing as the cherubic cuteness of Studio Ghibli Osamu Tezuka’s creations. Not that Studio Ghibli and Tezuka are average, but Kon is not known for producing children-friendly anime (Japanese animation) films.

Paprika is a novel written by Japanese literary master Yasutaka Tsutsui, who also wrote The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and is considered a masterpiece of Science Fiction in Japan. The story in the movie is adapted, with the screenplay written by Kon himself. Works such as Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, and Tokyo Godfathers, earn Kon’s films labels such as psychologically mind-blowing, and blurring the line between dream and reality.

Paprika is not so much mind-blowing. This anime is a visual feast with the beautiful, rich quality of the animation created by the hard-working people at anime studio Madhouse. If only more attention could be paid to the plot.

The main character, Dr Atsuko Chiba (voiced by Megumi Hayashibara), is a strict and cold research scientist who leads a team of researchers working on a revolutionary psychotherapy treatment. Her colleague, Dr Tokita Kosaku (voiced by Toru Furuya), has invented a device called the “DC Mini”, which allows a user to explore another person’s dream as a “dream detective”.

Dr Chiba has an alter-ego called “Paprika” whom she assumes in the dream world using the DC Mini, who is unlike her in appearance and character. She is the “dream girl” who’s cute, playful and fun. Paprika uses the DC Mini illegally to counsel patients outside the research facility.

So far, so good. The premise sounds promising and simple enough to understand.

With this in mind, the movie opens with a scene of a dream. A detective, Konakawa Toshimi (voiced by Akio Ohtsuka), is in an audience watching a circus act, and seems to be investigating a crime. He speaks to his undercover agents, and suddenly, the circus conductor turns the spotlight on him, counts to 3, and makes Konakawa magically appear at the center of the stage in a cage. A man takes his original position in the audience and shouts “Get him!” and the audience is suddenly rushing towards the cage, all of them bearing Konakawa’s own face.

The scene then changes to Konakawa becoming the main character in a few of his favourite films, with Paprika appearing with him, guiding him. One minute he’s Tarzan, swinging across the jungles, the next he’s in a moving train saving a damsel in distress. In the last scene, Konakawa is in a hallway with a man falling down in front of him, and the criminal escaping after shooting the man. He runs after the criminal but finds the ground giving way under him, preventing him from going further. The criminal reaches the door at the end of the hallway, turns around, and asks, “Where’s the rest of it?” The dream sequence then ends.

The movie then cuts to a scene of Konakawa in real life, with Paprika next to him in a counselling session. She bids him goodbye and leaves him a name card with a website address. She changes back to Dr Chiba and goes back to the research facility.

She returns to a hysterical Dr Tokita who tells her that 3 prototypes of the DC Mini have been stolen. As the DC Mini is a highly confidential technology yet to be approved by the government, it is still incomplete and could be misused if it falls into the wrong hands. Dr Chiba’s chief, Dr Shima (voiced by Katsunosuke Hori), together with Dr Tokita and her, start the search for the thief, before damage is done.

From here on, the story goes in a direction that can only be described as bizarre. Whatever little semblance of plot is lost soon after. All that is needed for the audience is to be on auto-pilot until the credits roll.

The only thing left to take in is the beauty of twisted dreams and delusions. You get sucked into a torrent of strange and scary images both fascinating and nightmarish at the same time. The fantastic animators created a world so real and lifelike that it’s simply breathtaking to watch.

Veteran voice actress Hayashibara does a flawless job as both Paprika and Dr Chiba. You can clearly hear the difference in characters as she switches from being the cute Paprika and the stern Dr Chiba. Her voice-acting is believable and makes you feel like the character came alive.

The music is composed by Susumu Hirasawa, known for writing the music for Millenium Actress and the anime series Paranoia Agent, both also directed by Kon. His unique style of big band sounds with the use of synthesisers and weird voices is present in Paprika. It fits the movie like a glove, bringing up the adrenaline in the climax of the movie.

In sum, Paprika is a movie that you will either love or hate, especially if you’re looking for plot. To enjoy it, lower your expectations and take it as a purely aesthetic dream that you will wake up from, most likely in bewilderment.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars (And only because of the beautiful animation!)

Movie Details:

Opens: Jul 19

Running Time: 90 min

Rating: NC16

Genre: Animated/Fantasy

Cast: Megumi Hayashibara, Katsunosuke Hori, Toru Furuya, Akio Ohtsuka

Director: Satoshi Kon

While watching animated features like Shrek and Finding Nemo, or Japanese anime like Spirited Away and Naruto have you been inspired to create your own animation? Well, if you needed motivation and focus, how about $10,000 in prizes and a theme to work with? Then get off the couch or cinema seat (after the movie has ended) and flex those creative muscles at the Brother Animation Challenge 2007!

Brother International, known for its home and business IT peripherals has launched its first animation competition for enthusiasts. The challenge is to create an animation that advertises its series of Colour Inkjet Multi-Function Centres.

Participants can take part in 3 categories, either individually or in a team of up to 4 members:

1. Primary and Secondary Schools

2. Tertiary Institutions

3. Public or Professionals

With the government’s push to establish Singapore as a Digital Media and Entertainment hub, this competition could not have come at a better time for aspiring animators to showcase their abilities and creative strengths.

“We implore anyone who thinks they can write, design and animate to participate [in this competition]. This is a platform which provides them with a good opportunity to become a producer of an animated advertisement,” said Tetsuo Watanabe, the Managing Director of Brother International Singapore.

The advertisement should show the scenarios, uses and benefits of the Brother Colour Inkjet Multi-Function Centres. Submissions should include a storyboard and the final animated advertisement.

Winners will receive prizes and cash worth up to $10,000, including Brother printers, TAB software and Wacom tablets to help you hone your animation abilities further. The shortlisted entries will go on a public exhibition from Sep 28 to 30. Winning works will be shown on the competition website and the official Brother website for one year.

If this got your interest piqued, you have up to Sep 5 to sign up online at the competition website. Shortlisted works will be announced on the website on Sep 14.

In addition to the Animation Challenge, participants are also invited to attend a range of animation workshops, all of them for free! Brother’s partners, TAB, Wacom, and Peripheral Solutions will conduct the workshops from Jul 14. These workshops will be opened to the public, and will be conducted at the iShop @ Orchard Cineleisure on Sat, Jul 28 and Aug 4.

These workshops are meant to equip you with the basic skills you need to conceptualise your storyboard and construct your animation – enough for you to create a masterpiece for the competition.

But before you begin your masterpiece, the UrbanWire has collected some tips from some of the greatest animators of all time, to give you a flying start.

Storyline

The basic plot of your story is the first thing to concentrate on. No matter how good the animation, characters or voice actors are, the animation, in its entirety, won’t be outstanding without a good plot.

Think for example, The Wild. Great animation, fantastic voice actors, poor plot, hence a terrible flop at the box office.

Characters and Character Development

Famous Japanese anime director Hayao Miyazaki said in a book by Japanese publisher Iwanami Shoten, “… we tried to overcome the decay of symbolisation by animating through ‘identifying with the character’ or ‘becoming the character’.” Characters help the plot come alive and through to viewers. Interesting ones endear themselves to the audience, keeping them glued to the story as they go on a journey with the character till the end.

As Walt Disney once said, “I try to build a full personality for each of our cartoon characters- to make them personalities.” His characters like Mickey Mouse remain close to our hearts even after 79 years after the all-time favourite character first came to life.

Animation Quality

There is a broad definition of what makes good quality animation. The most obvious point to note is the fluidity of your animation, especially how smooth the pictures are when movement is involved. To put it simply, it wouldn’t be enjoyable watching a show that transits from scene to scene shakily.

The best way to overcome or avoid this problem is to think of yourself as the audience and create the animation the way you would like to see it on a big screen.

Sound and Voice Quality

We all love music. Whether we are watching a television serial or a documentary feature, our senses are always aware and affected by the details of the music that accompanies the visuals, which define, emphasise and project the message the visuals convey.

The soundtrack is crucial as it enhances the whole viewing experience and assists in the change of moods in different scenes. Voice acting, another audio aspect, is often overlooked by many. In Japan, where the animation industry is one of the biggest in the world, voice actors are very highly regarded. They require a totally different skill set from normal actors as they have to portray emotions completely with just their voice.

Well, in the words of Walt Disney, all these elements make up a story told in animation. “In learning the art of storytelling by animation, I have discovered that language has an anatomy. Every spoken word, whether uttered by a living person or by a cartoon character, has its facial grimace, emphasising the meaning.”

So with all these tips in mind, take up the challenge and submit your entries to Brother today!

For more information, visit the competition website here.

To find out the schedules for the workshops, visit the website here.