Let me be upfront and tell you what “Pleasure Factory” is not. It is not a documentary film about Geylang. Far from it as I think some of the facts are flawed given my limited knowledge of what Geylang is like. It is not a romantic erotica either. Face it, the working girls are not necessarily the prettiest things on earth and definitely not the paying customers. And it is definitely not a movie to watch with your date. You will have better luck with … I don’t know … “Basic Instinct”?
And let me also be upfront about the audience reaction during the screening of the movie. When the gay scene was shown, one old man left the theatre and never came back. Before the show has ended, the couple beside me left the theatre and never came back. When the show has ended, there was a mad rush to the exit. My take is, not many people actually appreciate the film.
“Pleasure Factory” does have its charm. It was selected for the Un Certain Regard competition at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. The Thai director does come with certain credential and the movie has got actors and actresses from outside Singapore such as Taiwan and Thailand. According to the filmmaker, this movie is inspired by true story and real life characters. “Pleasure Factory” has little dialogues. And it is a mixture of three different stories: a virgin army boy and his prostitute, an old prostitute and her daughter with her client, and a red dressed prostitute with her client in fast car and someone who plays guitar. There are parts that I think it is a bit slow. And I feel that some of the editing can be improved as the time dimension seems a bit off to me as an audience.
What I particularly like about this movie is that some of the scenes are just so memorable. The bedroom scene of the army boy and the prostitute is probably the highlight of the movie. The emotional scene between an old prostitute and her daughter at the hawker center is my next favorite scene. And I love the ending scene as it is so symbolic – the fish tank, the girl on the bed, and the wallet.
Having said all that, I think majority of the movie is a bit too slow and I wish it has gone the direction of either a documentary or a romantic erotica. However, it has certainly achieved what the director has set out for: a film to have a vivid sense of realism and honesty.
Is it a film for everybody? I think not. Only for those who has the patience to watch an art movie as well as having an open mind.
PS. One question I have: Is Er Xu, the prostitute in the movie, a prostitute in real life? That interview she had surely seemed like a casting selection process.
Official Site: Pleasure Factory.
I think many people went to watch this movie becos they expected nudity or sex scenes. In Singapore, where got so many ppl want to watch art movies? So slow. everything here is fast fast – fast food style. The controversial sex scene tat got cut from Tony Leung’s movie caused such a scene. Not that it was artistic but ppl are just such peeping Toms! Anyway, I’m gonna watch the full version in HK! hehe….
ECL – Don’t need to watch the full version in HK 🙂 The R21 uncut version of Love, Caution will be shown in Singapore next month (Nov 8).
Perhaps back in HK and even UK, movies are not censored (at least not that much). I long to appreciate what the filmmakers try to depict. Something that is missing in Singapore.
I read the Pleasure Factory director has no actual script for filming. Wow genius huh? They said he just shoot the scenes when he thought of some new ideas. Call it experimental cinematography I suppose. Can be detrimental because the actors can’t really expect what/how to act, which somehow explained they’re not being able to satisfy the taste of the ‘ah pek’ who walked out of the theatre 😀
But then it is really bold to take up a familiar theme yet so little known by the very dwellers of the city. It gave a glimpse to the unknown side. Definitely this courageous spirit can be further expanded by the filmmaker.
Love, Caution and Pleasure Factory seems to me two separate entities, though they touch on similar theme – sex. Love, Caution dwells on far more complex issues and attempts to decipher the inner world of the original work’s author, Zhang Ailing. Even if audience paid only to anticipate explicit sex, they still have to walk out the theatre feeling heavy and unsettled, that is if they didn’t fall asleep.
Whereas Pleasure Factory is a haphazard mix of love and/or sex with no heavy burden of life and death to worry about, which could explain why the director can casually take scenes without a formal script.
Sorry…should be Lust | Caution!
Ghim Seng – I certainly have no idea that the director casually took the scenes without a formal script! That explains why it felt as though the actors and actresses were improvising the scenes. Oh, you got me there, it is cetainly Lust instead of Love … what was I thinking?! Ha ha ha.
Haha..Lianhe Zaobao’s film critics digged everything under the graves!
hmm…. in these weeks, there are quite a lot of good shows… this one is definitely too low in my priority list… hehe…
hey, try STARDUST! It is a very good show with fantasy, adventure, romance, and comedy~! =) Highly recommended! 😉
Lora – Stardust is one of this year’s blockbusters. It is definitely on my to-do list!
you know, my mind sometimes still lingers over the movie… A good show indeed. I may buy the DVD in HK. 🙂
Lora – Do it DO IT … and then lend it to me 🙂
haha! Honestly, are the DVDs in HK really cheaper? Any movie you wish to get from HK? =)
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