Singapore Dreaming (2006)

Original title

美满人生

Directed by

Colin Goh

Genre

drama film

Country

Singapore

Runtime

1h 45m

Rated

PG

Rating

6.3 of 10 from 10 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A working-class family in Singapore chases the promise of a better life. Their hopes for prosperity clash with the limits of their everyday reality.

domesticbittersweetintrospectivegroundedfamily-centeredearnestrealisticmelancholic

What happens

Singapore Dreaming is a 2006 Singaporean drama film. It follows the Loh family, a typical Singaporean working-class family, through their aspirations and dreams for a better and affluent life and the reality that would make it difficult for them to fulfill these aspirations. The film is inspired by a 2000 Singaporean essay titled Paved with Good Intentions, that the writers of the film had written for the Singapore International Foundation. A concatenation of e-mails Singaporeans sent to writers Colin Goh and Woo Yen Yen on their life stories in relation to the Singaporean dream eventually led them to write, produce and direct Singapore Dreaming. The film stars Richard Low as Poh Huat, Alice Lim as Siew Luan, Serene Chen as Irene, Yeo Yann Yann as Mei, Lim Yu-Beng as CK and Dick Su as Seng. The film was theatrically released on 7 September 2006, and at one time ranked fifth on the Singaporean box office. It has been acclaimed as one of the best Singaporean films of the 2000s. It won the Montblanc New Screenwriters Award at the 54th San Sebastián International Film Festival, and was the first such Singaporean film to receive an IFFPA-recognised international feature film award. Owing to its nature as a local film, Singapore Dreaming received much attention from Singaporean viewers, film critics and public figures alike, including S. R. Nathan, then President of Singapore. It has been praised by local critics as a relatable portrayal of working-class life in Singapore. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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