Pao ba hai zi

Note to non-Singaporean readers:

Homerun is an official remake of the Iranian film, "Children of Heaven". Melodramatic, nostalgic, and arguably, mildly entertaining, this flick is doing brisk business in Singapore right now. This following piece is not a standard film review, but rather a post-viewing commentary. Any question to the film itself would best be answered in its official website. So here goes.

Unlike some Singaporean critics, who absolutely detested this Un-subtle flick, I was mildly entertained. IMHO, the above-average child performances in this film were its saving graces. Especially liked that small kid in the "Singaporean camp" who talked brash, talked big. He will go far...

The female child lead was surprisingly good too, as this film's abundant "water supply". She kinda reminds me of a kid version of those Chinese weepy soap opera heroines, who can turn on their gushing tear ducts on cue. One word. Scary. She should consider pursuing an acting career in Taiwan.

But seriously, I kinda admired the old-world rustic charm of this flick too. The kampongs (villages), the "old" schools, the large fields and the muddy tracks are all remnant features of a time long before I was born. (Making it all the more ironic that authenticity can only be achieved through location shoots in the lands of my country's neighbour, Malaysia).

Speaking of Malaysia, this is one film that will send "cross-straits" temperatures rising. The film attempted to weave in satiric commentaries, mirroring the tension-filled relationship between Singapore and Malaysia over the years. But it's poorly executed, overtly espoused politics wound up being more offensive than allegorical.

Despite my being a Singaporean, I won't blame Malaysia if they so decide to ban this flick. Since they've already banned such fiery flicks like Zoolander and Daredevils already, they may just as well do likewise for Homerun. At least this flick deserves to be banned for its unreasonably one-sided and almost laughable takes on Malaysia/ Singapore relations. Like I said earlier, I loved the child performances in this movie. It is the adults' fault (principally director Jack Neo) for forcing other alleged, unnecessary agenda on the flick.

The way I look at it, Homerun's director Jack Neo, Singapore's most commercially successful director to date, may have been intoxicated by the positive critical responses to his previous film "I NOT STUPID" (another unsubtly veiled satire, which was warmly received in Hong Kong). As a result, he may have aimed too high with Homerun by inundating the flick with sledgehammer-like symbolism and painfully obvious current affairs laden in-jokes.

Ironically, such efforts greatly diluted the innocence and quality of the original Children of Heaven film, thus bringing a bad distaste to many a discerning film lover in Singapore. This film sort of lost its "local credibility" and arguably marked a critical low for Jack (bringing his `artistic' ambition down a peg or two, that's for sure).

Okay, so far, I have dispensed with the good and the bad. Thankfully there's nothing left to say that will make this piece any uglier. While acknowledging the less than positive critical reaction to this flick, I personally thought Homerun's allegorical elements were too amateurishly handled to be taken seriously. To me, it's just a standard Jack Neo flick, and nothing more. However insidious it's made out to be, I don't think its target audience will bother about its politics. They are merely looking for a good time. And arguably, it delivers in that area.

My above take is written with a deeply entrenched Singaporean perspective. As pointed out by one fellow film lover in Singapore though, this film may possibly even be a break-out hit outside of Malaysia and Singapore because its allegorical elements will not be as detectably `in-your-face' as citizens of both affected countries. And the pedigree of the "Children of heaven" association will not hurt its chances either. I did say it's a mildly entertaining flick, didn't I.

As at time of writing, Homerun has become a certifiably huge commercial hit in Singapore and its company (Raintree) seemed poised to mount a marketing campaign to launch this film regionally (internationally) soon. So look out for it.

In closing, I have this to say about Mr. Jack Neo. Subtlety is an art, which he lacks immeasurably. Hopefully, he will take stock of the myriad spectrum of critical responses generated by this flick and learn to strike a better artistic/ commercial balance in his future projects. As it is, I hold the same view for all local (Singaporean) filmmakers; hopefully, their current product is not their best, not their last

I have watched this movie a few times before in Chinese class. I never really got to truly appreciate and understand this movie until now.

"Homerun" is about two poor siblings who have to share shoes after the brother accidentally loses his sisters' pair of shoes. The plot is simple, but amazingly, the movie managed to get deep and emotional. It's truly a wonder.

This is really an inspiring film. At first, I thought the plot was too over the top and too unrealistic, but after watching the whole film, I realized: How would I know? Myself, like Beng Soon, was born into a fortunate family and (as he put it:) I don't understand what it's like to live without shoes. I have never been in a situation like that, so I don't have any right to decide whether something like this is unrealistic or whatnot.

I love family films and this one, although foreign, is no exception. I really liked the bond that the siblings shared. Even if things would not go the way they wanted it to, they never gave up and always found ways to work through them together. That was inspiring.

The one thing I did not like in this film was the humor that seemed to be trying too hard. There were so many scenes in the movie that could have just been cut and made the film better. The so-called funny scenes with Kun's classmates were unnecessary. The bad humor played a big part in my low score for this movie. Aside from that, I think that the cast could have been improved. The movie would do well without some of the students. The lead actor seemed to be lacking in something. However, the actress who played the sister and the actor who played the rival, did terrific jobs.

Viewed on: June 17, 2011

i have incidentally watched this film from a television channel..and to my surprise i was really so so touched by this film. i was crying the whole time while watching the film. i love the simplicity of the story. it really depicts real life situations as well as emotions. i was so touched how the big brother cared so much for his sister..how the two kids struggled just because they can't replace the lost pair of shoes..whew!the most touching scene was when the two kids would exchange footwear every after class just to get to school with shoes on... a true tearjerker! the film relays many lessons and insights! it teaches about humility, passion, love, care and mostly, HOPE! Every scene is full of emotions. i was able to feel the message that was being sent to viewers like me. i also love the theme song as the film is coming to its climax! everything about the film just amazed me! i can't stop loving it! GREAT! GREAT! GREAT!

Wonderful performances by children, good family messages and some truly funny laugh-out-loud moments ("one, two, three, kick!").

The Singapore vs. Malaysia water politics were completely missed by me, and it was only after my Singaporean friends explained it to me that I understood the controversy. Anyone not from the region will simply not even notice it.

At the same time, the water politics give the movie an interesting aspect, and probably bring light to an issue that most people outside the region would never have heard of previously. So, regardless on your stance on the issue, it can't hurt to bring more attention to the issue.

Definitely see this film with your kids!

Right off the bat, let me say the kids were great. Jack Neo has a way of tugging at the heart strings by getting us to feel for the plight of the children in his movies. And the teacher, played by Marcus, is brilliant! He was easily the best actor in the entire film. But apart from that, it was a TV movie at best. Except for the kids and Marcus, every other character was played so over the top, it made the recent Brothers 4 actually seem good. And it was hard to miss the massive Homerun ads on TV, in cinemas, in magazines. It was a bad move to constantly drill it into us that this was "a remake of the award winning Iranian film, Children of Heaven". Comparisons will obviously be made, and Homerun is far inferior to the magnificent original.