Dreams from the Third World

I went to watch this film by local director, Kan Lume yesterday night with Leon, Wan Churn and Rachel. Kan Lume is a friend whom I got to know through a guerilla filmmaking challenge which we took together about two years back. I didn’t manage to catch both of his first two films and was rather looking forward to catching his third feature film, Dreams from the Third World.

Kan Lume giving an introduction to his film before the screening

It was being screened as part of the Singapore Panorama series in this year’s Singapore International Film Festival (SIFF).

It was also the first time I set foot into Sinema, known as “The Singapore films showcase, resource and independent cinema”. The place looks great, with nice red sofa seats and cheap tidbits on offer.

Outside Sinema

SIFF ticketing staff

Real sofa seats!

Wan Churn, Leon and Rachel fidgeting in our sofa

The synopsis on SIFF’s website describes the film as follows:

Dreams From The Third World concerns a man who is trying to make a porn movie and believes he is hearing the voice of God. He meets a prostitute and begins putting his belief into effect. His wife lambastes his idealism and acts as the voice of reason. When his life begins to crumble, he goes in search for answers and discovers it in an unexpected place.

Alas, the movie sucks.

I feel bad for saying this because I know Kan Lume personally and his passion for filmmaking is well-respected among peers. However, the movie was really beyond my threshold of pain for long shot, slow movement, introspective dialogue and self-indulgent arthouse film. The pacing was awfully slow and nothing much was going on. In fact, the synopsis above pretty much summed up the entirety of the film. You do not miss much if you didn’t watch it, but had just read the synopsis.

Then again, it is often this kind of films that go about and win many arthouse film festivals awards and accolades. Hence better don’t take my words for it. The critics may find it great. 🙂

For lay audiences like me, it’s 83 minutes torture.

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