The Photograph

A humanistic film about a couple of people struggling in their lives, and who find some level of solace from gently supporting one another. The first is a mother (Shanty) who's been forced to leave her mother and daughter to work as a karaoke bar hostess and prostitute. She owes her pimp money and out of desperation, takes an attic room at an elderly photographer's place of business (Lim Kay Tong). The photographer is beginning to falter both mentally and physically, and is haunted by his past from events which we gradually learn about. Meanwhile, the young woman is treated like dirt at the karaoke bar and brutalized by men, so yeah, this is a pretty somber film. Director Nan Achnas exercises restraint, but the scenes where someone throws a beer can into her face while she's singing at the bar, and then later the beginning of a gang rape with her in tears put a lump in my throat.

The quality of the video that I saw was not the highest, but the cinematography and performances from the two leads were solid. I liked how the film didn't take an easy or cliché path with its plot. She doesn't become the photographer's assistant, and they don't become friends in some unrealistic way where suddenly it's all smiles in their lives. On the other hand, the fate of the pimp seemed awfully convenient, and the pace of the film lags a bit in the middle, as if something else was needed to take the film to the next level. All in all though, a sensitive film worth seeing though.