Hidden Gems of Filmography

It's distressing to come across so many hidden gems in filmography that never made their way to Singapore's big screens, rental or video stores. Movies such as Five Minutes of Heaven and I Saw the Devil are two such examples. Therefore, I shall pay tribute to them in hope that any avid movie-goers will allow themselves to experience what I have... the appreciation of the efforts invested to make those movies and the viewing pleasure and satisfaction of being one of the few thousands in a godzillion viewers to have found and watched them.

1. Is Anybody There?

Ratings: 7.2/10

Film Class: C

Genre: Drama

A young boy growing up in an Old Folks' home believes in the afterlife and tries ways and means to contact the deceased. His life changes when a retired magician (Michael Caine) enrols himself in to live off the rest of his sliver years. They form a friendship that

will forever change both their lives.

This movie isn't just about death, it's also about life and gives us two perspectives... Though both leads are more focus-centric on death, owing to each other's presence, they start to experience life once more. It's a heartwarming story about the start and end of life, sprouting from a place that's lost and forgotten by most others.

Phenomenal performances by Michael Caine and Bill Milner (boy who acted in Spiderwick Chronicles and X-Men: First Class as young Erik) and it was indeed a sheer delight to see two actors acting alongside despite their apparent large age gap. The score from what I could recall was melancholic, fitting to the theme of the plot and mood of the movie.

Is Anybody There? sure is worth your time to experience what it's like to immerse yourself into a simple storyline with realistic acting and just a few settings. It's not your elaborate

, and exaggerated Hollywood-style movie, but more of a down-to-earth-style-like movie. A note of caution, there's a strong British accent prevalent, but fret not, for those of you who aren't quite used to that, there's always subtitles to help you keep up with the storyline.

2. Dear Frankie

Ratings: 8.8/10

Film Class: C

Genre: Romantic Drama

Dear Frankie is an absolute heart-warmer about a hearing impaired son, exchanging letters to his sail bound dad. Unknowing to him, the letters are all replied by his loving mother, played by Emily Mortimer. When circumstances resulted in a supposed meet-up with his dad, it's up to his mother to find a guy to play the role of I-haven't-seen-you-in-ages-dad, Gerard Butler.

The chemistry between all three main stars were undoubtedly one of the most convincing I've seen. It was romantic, and heartfelt. Sometimes, what makes the moments romantic isn't just about the lines, or breathtaking "aw" scripts injected into such scenes, this movie proved that the most romantic feelings can be delivered purely by sublime acting and with only a few words.

Cinematography and setting was stunningly spectacular. It was so beautiful most of the time, it felt like a mini documentary about beautiful places around the world, captured with a slightly back-dated camera. It was slightly grainy due to the technology back when

the film was made, 2004, but of which added realism and raw beauty to it. Making the son hearing impaired added another dimension to his character and to the storyline as well. This movie has almost everything in it, a good score, beautiful cinematography, excellent performances, a powerful plot and an engaging development.

Two notes about it is that one, there's a strong Scottish accent, so it's rather difficult to catch the lines, once again no worries with subtitles on, and second, if you're a fan of Gerard Butler and you're going to watch it just because of him, don't. He doesn't enjoy that much screentime. He's only featured during the middle portion of the movie. *major spoilers ahead* Though I must say, his parting scene with Emily Mortimer was one of the most impressionable yet.

The movie doesn't just give you a surface experience, but allows you to empathize with the characters, especially that of Emily Mortimer and as to why she makes the tough decisions as she does. The ending was as tear-wrenching and ironically, just as sweet. Dear Frankie has easily eased its way up in my ranks as one of the top movies of the 21st century.

3. Blue Valentine

Ratings: 8.5/10

Film Class: C

Genre: Romantic Drama

Blue Valentine is by far the only movie I know of which turned out to be more impressive after reading its trivia. Initially capping a rating of 8.0 for this movie, after reading the trivia online, I cannot but help jack it up .5 notches.

There's no relation or references made to as why this movie is called Blue Valentine. According to the trivia, the director called it such in tribute to one of Tom Waits songs, Blue Valentine. After checking out the lyrics, there too isn't much relation to the story either. Still, if I were to create a "false" explanation, it would be that the color to describe Valentine would be red, representing romance. And as we all now, the color blue represents sadness and despair. So in summary, and in the context of this film, blue valentine represents a sad romance - depicting the relationship of Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams.

Here's a little trivia to impress you as it did to me... The film underwent 67 drafts and took 12 years to complete, because the director didn't have enough budget for the film and had to film it on and off. He claimed to have earned nothing from it and even had to "pay" to make the movie. The before and after marriage scenes were filmed separately on different cameras, which whether intentionally or not, created the subtle difference in mood which enhanced the emotional quality and aspect of the film. Ryan Gosling actually worked in the actual company portrayed in the movie and both protagonists actually lived together for a month in a rented apartment and created actual arguments with each other.

Michelle Williams is Heath Ledger's ex-wife and the mother of his child so the production had to be delayed in respect of his death. Interesting trivia but irrelevant. And possibly the most impressive part of it... the cast didn't have a script for most of the scenes. They acted impromptu and had to adapt to whatever lines were thrown at each other by the other party to reach the "desirable outcome".

The acting felt so real, and speaking of chemistry, this movie beats most movies hands down. I'm not sure if the cast were really "being themselves" and if so, it was quite an eye-opener and sad thing to see. Because unlike most reviews about the movie, I would beg to differ in that this movie is about a happily married couple who after years of marriage, is on the brink of breakup. This is a movie about an irrational decision made in the name of love, and after years of marriage, on one hand, true love blossoms, and on the other, love degenerated. The marriage failure theme isn't original, it's similar to Revolutionary Road but at least Blue Valentine wasn't totally depressing. There were happy moments featured because the entire movie trotted between different time frames.

The story gradually unravels itself as we eventually sink deeper and deeper into their relationship. I have to speak high praise of the camera technique. I for one was never fond of shaky camera styles, but this time, instead of just creating that realism, it also created a window of involvement. The scene whereby Ryan Gosling was playing a song for Michelle Williams as she was tap dancing in front of a convenience shop (I think) is one scene I will never forget. Trivia states that Ryan Gosling actually wrote and sang many of the songs featured. He almost reminded me of the late Heath Ledger. Talented, yet isn't that recognized.

His older self reminded me of the physical appearance of Andy Kaufman, a movie made about him called Man on the Moon played by Jim Carrey. Not sure if it was intended but it sure seemed that's where the director got his inspiration from. I know I'm reviewing it all over the place because I don't want to miss out any points which wouldn't do enough justice to this hidden gem.

Even though there's nudity, a scene of cunnilingus (oral sex performed on a female, a term I only came to know just yesterday after reading the trivia about how the movie was on the verge of receiving a NC17 rating as opposed to a less lenient R rating in US because of that scene - Saw and Hostel received an R rating, imagine that!!), and a rather disturbing and heart-breaking sex scene, there wasn't much eroticism in the movie. Yet, those scenes only enhanced the degenerating relationship between the two, actually, in my opinion, the fault lies in the female protagonist and not the male (not saying this to defend my own gender but what I observed from the movie).

Blue Valentine is about a couple whose marriage is degenerating and is on the verge of failure. Dean, Ryan Gosling, is a loving husband and father who didn't expect to be where he were but ended up as such all because of love. Cindy, Michelle Williams, on the other hand, is a confused wife and mother who believes that she no longer loves her life and indulges in self-pity. She just wants to get out of it and is waiting for the catalyst to spark that moment.

*major spoilers ahead* The movie is a constant reminder for long-term couples that it always takes two hands to clap, two hands to make things work and two hands to break things. Cindy was the "hand" who wanted to break it, and Dean was the other hand who wanted to make it. In the end, commitment, responsibilities and true love was barely able to keep the couple hanging on for just a little bit longer. My reason for which I believe Cindy is as such because of the way she was in the movie. Cindy kept her pending promotion from Dean, because it required her to move to another city with her boss. She wasn't totally honest with him and no longer had any feelings or attraction towards Dean. That, she shifts the blame to Dean by accusing him of always starting a fight.

Dean, on the other hand, seems almost foolishly in love with Cindy. Looking as if he was the more irrational person in the relationship at the start, it was gradually revealed that he was the true "element" of love in the film. It was depressing to see how blindly attached he was to what seemed like a doomed outcome, yet he still holds on because of the magnitude of his love for both his wife and daughter.

Dean and Cindy were opposites, like in most relationships, not just in character, which anyone in a relationship would agree with me, but also in thinking, with respect made to the movie. Dean didn't seem to know what he wanted at the start, but after getting married and having a child, believes that that's all he ever wanted in life (revealed through a heartfelt conversation between the two). Cindy, on the other hand, thought she knew what she wanted, to keep the baby and get married. However, as time progresses, she gradually realizes it wasn't what she wanted and tries means to break out of her self-proclaimed miserable life.

This movie isn't your average marriage failure type movie. There's more to it than meets the eye. The values and expectations portrayed served as possible scenarios and warnings to young couples who are about to set up a family. But one mustn't be afraid to take that one big leap, because ultimately, one can never predict the future. As long as the two hands needed to make the family stays iron-fisted, and constantly re-coats them with affection, even physiological science, even physically ageing appearances, even psychologically mundane routines will never be able to come between the tightly grasped hands which all started down the aisle.

Word of advice, this movie is dialogue-driven and is guaranteed to lower your mood when the credits roll. But like any other gems, it is because it's able to evoke that feeling in you which makes it truly commendable. Blue Valentine may not have won the Oscars, but it too has won a place in my heart.