Xiaohai bu ben

Reviewer's background: a nearly 40 mum of 2 girls (8 and 3) from Hong Kong.

At first, I wasn't keen to watch, because this was touted as a kid flick in Hong Kong, and also "must be seen by all parents with their children" -- to me, this sounded hard-sell.

My elder daughter had earlier watched it (English version), and hadn't commented on it, so this added to my speculation that it must be boring.

I was recently recommended to watch it by an un-married female ex-classmate, which was surprising, considering she doesn't have kids of her own.

Her reason -- if you have Singaporean colleagues, please watch it, it's funny.

So I finally watched it (Mandarin version) on video -- and yes, it's well worth a watch.

Here's why -

1. for parents (especially Asians) -- tune in to the hardship of trying to get your kids excel academically (after I watched this, I stopped forcing my elder to get 100% in Chinese dictation ... only asked her to do her best, and enjoy what she's learning ...)

2. for people with Singaporean friends, colleagues, relatives -- you'd understand how / why / what Singies act the way dey do, and why dey dalk like dat ...

3. for people who are wondering / interested to know how Singapore is governed -- an eye-opener that this movie was censored by the local, since it had so many obvious jabs at the government!

4. for Singaporeans -- enjoy your home-grown movie, a well documented dramatic piece

5. for movie-goers -- the kids CAN act! Better than the majors on Potter movie, especially Shawn Lee, he really acts hurt when whipped by his mum

Since I was watching a video version, I was able to pause (and have to pause) many times during the show to attend to kids, so didn't find the themes choppy, tho there are some gaps and the cohesion could be better improved. Maybe Neo was trying to cram as much information in the film, so many parts might had been edited out.

I give this a 6.5 out of 10. (My 10's are for pieces like LOTR, 6th sense...)

I urge all parents to watch this with their children and/or teenagers if possible. This movie is based in Singapore and is mostly targeted against the Singaporean society and government (no chewing gum, etc.), but the struggle between parents and youngsters are universal -- "I'm doing this for your own good", "Why do adults always say I'm wrong?". The defects of an education system that stresses on English and Mathematics are common to most Asian countries as well. Watch it -- and you will certainly find something sweet or bitter you've been through. The message is brought out in a much better way than the government promotions to "lend your child an ear".

Being born and bred in Singapore for my entire life, I understand how the main leads in the movie faced because I was once part of the system years ago. I was once in the EM2 stream myself but yet, I so know how it feels.

Imagine facing the prejudice you will get when you are in EM3 here. Although the government had already kind of modified the primary school streaming system here, this movie will always remind us of despite how much many in the world who admire our education system and how we are always among the top for international mathematics and science competitions, there are always things which the students who were once part of the primary school streaming system will not forget.

But, coming back to the movie. Director Jack Neo had certainly strike a chord with the local audiences with this movie. I remembered back then when I first watched the movie when it was released here, it was one of those movies I know I can fully understand at once what it is talking about. The humour, the parodies...all of it really capture the essence of the movie.

When it was being made into a TV drama version, more things were explored. Definitely the one movie that will make the outside world understand about the humanity side of Singapore's education scene more or less.

Well I have to say that it was very true to life, things like that happen all the time in Singapore (so I really don't know why some people in Singapore call it "creative" since it was lifted straight from life). This movie was set in a primary school, I'm not sure which. I graduated from primary school 3 years ago, but being in a class with some EM3 students, I have to admit that life for an EM3 student was just seriously bad, when you have the misfortune of meeting people who judge you by your results. Even though I was never in EM3, I could still feel for the kids portrayed in the movie because I've seen it before in life, and some of the pressure was also felt by students in the EM2 stream as well (though not as much), which I was in.

More than a month ago, my eyes got all puffy again and I blamed Jack Neo for it. If a law was ever passed against making women cry using movies, he would be in death row by now.

Of course, as you can gather from my reaction, I am actually starting to love Neo (just don't remind me about his Liang Po Po slapstick). After watching Homerun, here was another Neo flick that had my tears streaming down my face uncontrollably - I Not Stupid (I.N.S.). Clever devil. Even his title screams with comic irony.

Compared to the first film aforementioned, I.N.S. is another Singaporean political and, more specifically, social satire. The treatment, however, is more direct though not literal. Without ever having to guess, one would not need to read any background on Singapore to realize that the film is satirical.

The whole movie is full of similes and metaphors - mostly directly injected in dialogue - that pertain to the country's government and its people. For around two hours, we are given a peek, a good peek, at one of Asia's well-known nations. At the same time, neighboring countries may recognize a thing or two about Singapore that resemble(s) a thing or two about themselves.

Strictly speaking, the story is about and narrated by Terry (Huang Po-Ju), a little rich boy who could be so obedient to an annoying fault. Actually, the story revolves not only around Terry, but also around poor toughie Boon Hock (Joshua Ang) and misunderstood artist Kok Pin (Shawn Lee). Well, around them and their parents, to be more exact. The adults have their own sub-plots that cannot be simply ignored. Each of the boys belong to section EM3 where all the kids perceived as lazy, troublesome and dumb always end up and are considered hopeless future adults. The parents, on the other hand, basically play the part of society and government. Special focus is on Singaporean education, both in school and in society.

As a satire, I found I.N.S. simple, direct, and effective in communicating the message. As a non-Singaporean, I cannot, in all honesty agree with all of Neo's opinions. I cannot, simply because I have never been to Singapore, personally talked to anyone who has, discussed the country with online buddies, nor met a Singaporean in the flesh. But as far as freedom of speech is concerned, through the use of a powerful medium, I say, yes, Neo conveyed his message very well. In fact, right at the start, he made it clear through the narration.

However, it wasn't the "underlying" content that got to me. It was Kok Pin and his mother that made me cry. I was doing fine until Kok Pin got up the building and...I should have known it would be about family again or I would have bought some tissue! As for funny moments, even if it was supposed to be comedy, there wasn't a lot to laugh at, literally or not. At least I didn't find much of the story funny. Sorry.

I.N.S. is a brave, intelligent film done in-your-face. It was created not to confuse but rather inform the audience and perhaps, serve as a wake-up call. It is not a stab (in fact, there is an "appreciative" comment near the end regarding "mothers") but rather, just a prick to remind the government to do what is proper and right when it comes to educating its people. No need to beat around the bush. After all, we not stupid.

Therefore, I highly recommend this movie. Not as powerful as I found Homerun, but still a very commendable piece. I can't wait to see another one of Jack's Neo-isms. This guy is not to be missed. After all, he most definitely not stupid! *May 15, 2005*