Be with Me (2005)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Eric Khoo

Writers:

Theresa Poh Lin Chan (inspiration)
Eric Khoo (screenplay)

Release Date:

8 September 2005 (Singapore)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

"Be with me" consists of three stories of love vs. solitude : 1)An aging, lonesome shopkeeper doesn't believe in life any more since his wife died...

Plot Keywords:

Schoolgirl | Security Guard | Deaf | Food | Internet Chat

Awards:

6 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Theresa Poh Lin Chan	...	Herself (segment "Meant To Be")
Chiew Sung Ching	...	Father (segment "Meant To Be")
Lawrence Yong	...	Son (segment "Meant To Be")
Leong Kooi Eng	...	Mother (segment "Meant To Be")
Elizabeth Choy	...	Herself (segment "Meant To Be")
Seet Keng Yew	...	Security Guard (segment "Finding Love")
Lynn Poh	...	Ann (segment "Finding Love")
Ng Sway Ah	...	Father (segment "Finding Love")
Poh Huat Lim	...	Brother (segment "Finding Love")
Sanwan Bin Rais	...	Security Supervisor (segment "Finding Love")
Toh Cheng Onn	...	Neighbor (segment "Finding Love")
Maximilan Wong	...	Neighbor's Son (segment "Finding Love")
Ezann Lee	...	Jackie (segment "So In Love")
Samantha Tan	...	Sam (segment "So In Love")
Jason Tan	...	Brian (segment "So In Love")

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

Singapore

Language:

Cantonese | English | Hokkien | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

France:U | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Argentina:13 | UK:12A | South Korea:12 | Singapore:M18

Filming Locations:

Singapore

Company:

Zhao Wei Films (I)

Trivia:

The 37th Selection Directors' Fortnight's Opening Film at the 58th Cannes Film Festival.

Silent Inspiration

Be With Me is essentially a quiet film with minimal dialogue and action, but yet radiates a certain degree of power and influence on the audience throughout the course of the show. Three short stories are interwoven around a real-life docu-drama featuring the indomitable Theresa Chan, who although blind and deaf, displays more strength and hope than any of the other characters in the movie.

Did the film make me cry, as it supposedly did to many critics around the world? No it didn't. So you mean the show wasn't touching for me? Wrong. Do we have to cry when something touches the heart? Many times what goes on inside the heart does not translate to what comes out from the eyes. My emotions were stirred and I felt my heart clench at various moments when the characters suffered through the quiet desperation they went through.

It was an enjoyable movie, though the ambiance and overall darkness of the film may suggest otherwise. I felt most amazed at what Theresa Chan was capable of accomplishing despite her most unfortunate disabilities. Not just the physical aspects, where she showed us her astonishing ability to take care of herself, but also the mental and spiritual aspects of her life, where she is so strong in the mind and the faith in her God. It would be so easy to blame the heavens and let go of life but yet she displays a remarkable determination to make the fullest out of her existence. Her situation puts the other characters' plights in the shade and render our own complaints with everything around us irrelevant.

Be With Me not just provides a silent inspiration to audiences, it also showcases the many facets of local life rarely experienced in a busy world where everything revolves around us at breakneck speed. Take a time out and allow yourself to sit through an hour and a half of peaceful contemplation with what is it that really matters most in our lives.