Be With Me: The Movie

This is the third entry on my blog that has Be With Me starting off the title. This should be the last, I think.


Be With Me

Surely the movie caught my attention when it was first mentioned that the movie would premiere at Cannes.
It got me hyped when the audience in Cannes gave a standing ovation when it opened the Director's Fortnight. I mean, how often do you get a Singapore product that made an international audience stand up and clap for 5 minutes?
And i kept going on and on asking when the film would be released on our shores.

This was supported by excellent news that Warner Brothers had bought the local distribution rights!!!

And then at the launch party, I fell for it hook, line and sinker.
Samantha Tan and Ezann Lee were reasons enough for me to watch the movie.

So, Stefan (read his review at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com) sms-ed not too long ago asking if the rest of the usual suspects were up for watching the sneaks of Be With Me. And he "forced" us to reply within 30 minutes!
And without much thinking, I agreed and yesterday, we went to watch the movie.

Now, I don't usually review a movie extensively anymore unless I have to for the website.
And I'll keep my views about this movie sweet and succinct.

In all honesty, after meeting Ezann and Samantha in person, every moment they appeared on screen made my heart jump.
Let's just say I'm pretty fond of Ezann now (not that it's a new fact now aye?)
and that Samantha is just irresistable and yummy. Heh.
I am buying that copy of New Man magazine with her on the cover now!
And that kiss they shared, I don't know what to feel anymore except that I was in heaven?

Now, fanboy mode aside, I loved the movie.
If it could be described in a word, it'll be "Poignant."

It's true what the reviews have said about the young love and middle-aged love parts letting down the movie as a whole.
Yes, the strength of the story lies so much more in the elderly love part but the same part also might have struck some nerves. While it was an apt way of allowing Theresa Chan to communicate with the audience, the subtitling dragged on for quite a bit.

That is just the most superficial of levels that I'll share with you about Be With Me.
I can wax lyrical and go into the deeper underlying themes of the movie such as dealing with death. But I'll stop here.

The three stories, interwoven together, form a tapestry of love in a Singaporean perspective which is mostly poignant and saccharinely bittersweet.

The papers have given this movie a 4 out 5.
Three columnists from movieXclusive.com, including myself give it a 4 1/2 over 5.