Be with Me (2005)

"Be with me" consists of three stories of love vs. solitude : 1)An aging, lonesome shopkeeper doesn't believe in life any more since his wife died. But he is saved from desperation by ... See full summary »

Director:

Eric Khoo

Writers:

Theresa Poh Lin Chan (inspiration), Eric Khoo (screenplay),

Stars:

Theresa Poh Lin Chan, Chiew Sung Ching, Lawrence Yong

11 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Theresa Poh Lin Chan	...	Herself (segment "Meant To Be")
Chiew Sung Ching	...	Father (segment "Meant To Be")
Lawrence Yong	...	Son (segment "Meant To Be")
Leong Kooi Eng	...	Mother (segment "Meant To Be")
Elizabeth Choy	...	Herself (segment "Meant To Be")
Seet Keng Yew	...	Security Guard (segment "Finding Love")
Lynn Poh	...	Ann (segment "Finding Love")
Ng Sway Ah	...	Father (segment "Finding Love")
Poh Huat Lim	...	Brother (segment "Finding Love")
Sanwan Bin Rais	...	Security Supervisor (segment "Finding Love")
Toh Cheng Onn	...	Neighbor (segment "Finding Love")
Maximilan Wong	...	Neighbor's Son (segment "Finding Love")
Ezann Lee	...	Jackie (segment "So In Love")
Samantha Tan	...	Sam (segment "So In Love")
Jason Tan	...	Brian (segment "So In Love")

Storyline

"Be with me" consists of three stories of love vs. solitude : 1)An aging, lonesome shopkeeper doesn't believe in life any more since his wife died. But he is saved from desperation by reading an autobiographical book and meeting its author, a deaf and blind lady of his own age. 2)Fatty, a security guard in his fifties, lives for two things : good food and love for a pretty executive living in his block of flats. But, if it is easy to satisfy his first need winning the heart of the distant belle is a horse of another color. 3)Two teenage schoolgirls get to know each other on the Internet. Soon they fall in love.

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Plot Keywords:

love | schoolgirl | security guard | solitude | three stories | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Official Sites:

Zhao Wei Films

Country:

Singapore

Language:

Cantonese English Hokkien Mandarin

Release Date:

8 September 2005 (Singapore)

Also Known As:

Badz ze mna

Filming Locations:

Singapore

Box Office

Budget:

SGD 200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zhao Wei Films (I), Infinite Frameworks Pte. Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The 37th Selection Directors' Fortnight's Opening Film at the 58th Cannes Film Festival.

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Quotes

Theresa Poh Lin Chan: Be with me, my beloved love,
Theresa Poh Lin Chan: That my smile may not fade.

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Connections

Referenced in Fokus på Film fra Sør (2011)

User Reviews

A rewarding experience

A rewarding experience, albeit one that seems at least 30 minutes longer than it actually is. The slow buildup is for the most part careful foundation building for the second half of the film, a rarity in Singaporean film and a testament to Khoo's ever-growing maturity as a filmmaker and controller of pace, although when that second half comes, it feels like a jarring switch not unlike the one pulled by David Lynch in the middle of his 1997 film, Lost Highway. The signs are present that Khoo worked to bridge the discontinuity of the 3 stories and the order in which they are presented (foreshadowing and foregrounding of certain recurring visual images), but the fact that he does not perfectly succeed is of little detriment to the final product.

It is a well-made movie consisting of one strong tale of strength, recovery, and the beauty of love bookended by two other stories that would have benefited from being drawn as their own entities and stood up and apart from the central story of the blind and deaf Theresa Chan (pretty much Singapore's own Helen Keller). Instead, they try to conform to the model of sparse dialogue and psychostylistic sense-deprivation that serves that story so well - the result being that they appear unevenly matched. Still, a fine film.

(previously posted at 1minreview.com)