15: The Movie

I've seen the short and it was truly great, so I went to see the feature-length version with great expectations. I was totally disappointed.

The first section is actually the short version, where the story of the 3 friends unfolds, but then the director focuses on 1 protagonist. I guess he might not be able to get the other 2 actors to 'complete' the story.

Shaun as the only one remaining acted quite well, but the story would've been much better if it explored deeper into his love-hate relationship with Vynn. The movie fell flat on several scenes because the director just couldn't build the story based on Shaun alone. He introduced 2 new characters but they really couldn't help much.

I guess Royston should've just left the short alone until he managed to build a stronger plot. All in all, 15 is a heart-warming short film, but a disappointing feature-length.

15 gained its film notoriety locally for its content, about the lives and angst of teenage delinquents in Singapore. However, after watching this film, one might think a little deeper about the trials and tribulations that these teenagers face, from the angle that director Royston Tan presents.

The opening credits was stylishly done, and this is very surprising actually, for a local film. The feel of the movie was like a series of short snippets of set pieces, be it gang fights, body piercing, the etching of a tattoo on one's body, body mutilations, the swallowing of condom filled Ecstasy pills, etc. And stringing it all together were manga inspired transitions done Japanese documentary style of huge words smacked across the screen.

While these stylistic techniques drew attention to themselves, the main leads were also infamously rumoured to be in similar dire straits as the characters. The street wise teenagers actually looked sincere in their acting (or were they?) and it's a wonder how Royston managed to coax them into starring in his movie.

The plot, as mentioned, consists of short stories which fell into 3 acts. The first, being the brotherhood between 2 friends who ponder the meaning of their aimless lives. They know that they are condemned in the eyes of society, and find solace in the company of themselves. The second act was a bit comical, as 2 friends helped an ex-enemy to look for a building to commit suicide in. And the last act continued with examining the lives and friendship between the same 2 friends.

Sure, peppered throughout the dialogue are constant swearing, smoking, drug-taking, porn watching, lip piercing (which irked the audience), hokkien song singing, but there's a limit to how much these novelties can disguise a lack of focus in certain parts of the story, especially towards the end. I felt the strength of this film was in the first act, where you could actually feel the desperation and crying out for direction in life, and eventually the succumbing to the belief of what Fate has dealt them.

Nonetheless, for its stark and pointed commentary, this is certainly a departure from the usual stories that one might associate teenagers with. It's gritty, dark, melancholic to the point of despair, this is a glimpse into the troubled lives of the local misguided youth.

basically this is the story of two 15 year old Asian boys living in singapore. they are what we would categorize as "at risk" in the good ole USA. both of them are into drugs and into smuggling drugs. and there is this one scene where a condom filled with pills is being forced down the throat of one of the boys. he is doing this himself and is in obvious pain and discomfort. his eyes are watering and saliva drips from his mouth and he tries to shove this giant pill stuffed condom down his throat. luckily we do not get to see the illegal contraband exiting the other end. but the movie has a lot of comedy in it, for instance when the boys buy a blow up doll and run thru the city center throwing it to the ground and humping it. and then there are scenes where the 2 boys place the doll between them and the guy on the top simulates a violent rape of the doll. the two boys spend a lot of time together but other friends are featured also. eventually the two spend some time in bed together and their attraction for each other is homosexual, and there are some tender scenes where one gently hugs the other one. this movie does not pull any punches, this is the reality for these boys in the circumstances that they are faced with. it is more of a documentary than a movie, sort of like pixote, but not as long or as complex. an excellent examination of teenage boys in singapore.

This was an amazing film.

Many people don't like it, perhaps because they're used to the films that Hollywood keeps spitting out. Fast-paced, over dramatic films (Please note: I'm referring to some, not all) I've seen some terrible films in my lifetime, and 15 is certainly not one of them.

The trailer sums it up well. Unbreakable friendships, the "in-your face" visuals, the drama, the comedy.

There's not many films that I laugh at this much. It was fun to watch, painful at times, but all in all a lovely, amazingly well done, creative, unique film.

While some may find it a disappointment, I wholeheartedly disagree.

It was fantastic. You become attached to the characters. Things were's blatantly obvious, there's some fantastic quotes.

This is everything I thought it would be, and more.

Stunning.

This is one of my favourite movies. Can't wait 'til I can buy it. It is a chockingly beautiful movie, the colours and the camera angles and everything is perfect. It is so close, everytime the actors cut their wrists or try to press down a condom full of pills in their throat, it feels like they're doing it to me.

Even the violence is beautiful. I don't mean kill bill-violence, but in some way the director makes everything seem so realistic but at the same time extraordinary. I don't know how else to describe it.

This is true beauty. See it!