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
