Wet Season
Singapore’s official entry for Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards
One of the biggest benefits to opening your entertainment palate to international films is this concept of opening up the world around you as an observer.
Recently, I watched a screener for Wet Season, the highly anticipated sophomore film from director Anthony Chen, who won universal acclaim, and the Cannes Caméra d’Or for his debut feature film Ilo Ilo in 2013.
Malaysia-born character Ling teaches Mandarin at a Singapore high school where her subject is regarded as “low priority.”
Ling's home life offers barely sufficient consolation: for eight years, she and her husband have been trying to conceive a child, and the process has eroded much of the tenderness they once shared.
An unexpected source of easement arrives in Ling's friendship with the character Wei Lun, the only student in her class to show real interest.
Wei Lun’s youthful enthusiasm — accompanied by what appears to be a charming crush — helps Ling weather a seemingly endless torrent of frustrations and disappointments, however, the time will come when even this alliance will reach its limit.
For this film, Anthony reunites with Ilo Ilo stars, Yeo Yann Yann and Koh Jia Ler. Yann Yann, specifically, had received universal acclaim for her role in Wet Season, earning "Best Actress" awards from both the Golden Horse Awards and the Pingyao Film Festival.
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