10/17/2018

*FILM NOIR* = SINGAPORE'S MIGRANT LABOURERS

NEITHER RICH NOR CRAZY : film noir sheds light on Singapore's migrant workers.


A world away from the opulence showcased in hit rom-com “Crazy Rich Asians”, a critically acclaimed film noir is shedding light on a less well-known side of Singapore — the precarious existence of its migrant workers.

“A Land Imagined” tells the story of a Chinese labourer who goes missing while working on a building site, and the efforts of a world-weary detective to track him down.

His lonely life serves as a window into the world of the approximately 280,000 foreign workers who toil to build the affluent city-state’s glittering skyscrapers and ubiquitous residential high-rises.

The movie debuted in August at the Locarno Festival, where it won the top prize, and features atmospheric scenes of bleak construction sites, drab workers’ dormitories, and rain-lashed, neon-lit streets.

Singaporean director Yeo Siew Hua said the film aimed to raise awareness about the lives of migrant labourers who have flocked to the wealthy city from poorer parts of Asia and are often regarded as “outsiders”.

“When we talk about the migrant workforce in Singapore, there is a certain blindness, especially in mainstream society,” Yeo told AFP. “The film tries to show them as humans, as people with hopes and dreams.”

It had its debut around the same time as the US release of Hollywood film “Crazy Rich Asians”, which was a box-office hit and won plaudits for its Asian-majority cast –- but its depiction of the city-state could not be more different.

The rom-com, about an American-Chinese economics professor and her Singapore boyfriend, focuses on the ultra-wealthy ethnic Chinese elite and features well-known sights, such as the impressive waterfront skyline.

“A Land Imagined” follows the life of Wang Bi Cheng from China, who works for a land-reclamation company — about a quarter of Singapore sits on reclaimed land.

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