West Side Story

Managed to catch the West Side Story - Musical over the good friday weekend.

It was really good.

The singers could sing their tunes and dance their dance.

Cstumes and dances were colourful.. so much more than in the film. Then again, the film was done so long ago. Honestly, i prefer the musical version.. the pacing of the whole story was much better.

And i'm looking forward to the Singapore International Film Festival... catching a few shows there, namely -

Angel's Fall : Desperate to escape her violent and sexually abusive father, chambermaid Zeynep prays incessantly for help to escape from the brutal realities of her life. Her miserable young life changes drastically after getting God’s gift from a soundman, Selcuk, whose wife died in an accident - a blue suitcase salvaged from the wrecked car. Winner of 11 awards including the Best Film Awards at the 3 Continents Film Festival and the 12th Barcelona Film Festival.

Sunflower: Zhang Yang’s Sunflower tells the story of a family, set against 30 years of Chinese history. It starts in the last year of the Cultural Revolution, when Gengnian, an artist, newly-released, has to come to grips with his new situation. Confronting him is his nine year-old son, who has to adjust to a father that he can’t remember. This film has been described as a modern classic and a worthy addition to the award-winning director’s filmography. Sunflower garnered the Best Director Award at the San Sebastian Film Festival.

Gourmet Club: A saporous tale from Finland - Dr Paavo Ylonen belongs to a small but exclusive gourmet club, whose members are from the upper class. They each take turns providing the main course, wagering as to who can make out the secret exotic ingredient in it. When the doctor’s gambling debt catches up with him, he comes up with a mystery ingredient that has wondrous effects on the members’ sex lives. Juha Wuolijoki keeps you open mouthed in disbelief whilst maintaining the laughs.

Taking Father Home: When Xu Yun leaves his village in search of his father, it marks a point of no return for the adolescent. Living a life of hardship in rural China, the news of his father having an affair, making it big and with a car to boot, incensed the young adult. His mother’s pleas fail to stop him from leaving. More than a youth’s journey into adulthood, Ying Liang’s feature debut is a hard hit on present-day China, with deep moral and spiritual questioning by the director. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Tokyo Filmex.

The Book of the Dead: The Book of The Dead, the puppet animation of director Akio Nishizawa, tells the story of Iratsume, a woman of noble descent, who weaves a giant shroud to relieve the pain of Prince Otsu’s ghost. The ghost is here to search for Mimimo no Toji, the woman he saw before he was executed. However, he mistakes Iratsume for Mimimo no Toji. The story of Iratsume and the ghost of Prince Otsu is far from the conventional love story. It is a story of deliverance and salvation. It received the Special Jury Prize at the Animafest

Synopsis taken from SIFF

BTW.. the Singapore Art Festival is approaching too.. quick.. go book your tickets..

And i so want to go and watch this too...PAMdemonium!