The Leap Years, aka Leap of Love, was a long process in the making. Having tracked this movie for a number of years now, it is going to make its debut this year premiering exactly on Feb 29 no less. While there were the usual production woes, I thought that this was one of those projects that remain in development hell, and given the overlong trailers being played in the cinemas - I didn't time it, but it was more than 3 minutes long - I thought it would be one of those that would sink immediately upon release, despite having international flavour with the casting of Joan Chen and Ananda Everingham. Well, the good news is the Singapore's first English language romance movie passes the litmus test.
Based on the novella by Catherine Lim, The Leap Years tells 2 stories in parallel, but both centered on Li-Ann and her friends through a period of 16 years (4 leap years in total), consisting almost every boy-finds-girl-loves-loses-etc plot point you can think of. And for the most parts, it was almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy of a fortune teller's advice to Li- Ann on her love being one like the wind, which delivered yet another set of clichés like Windows Cafe, mini toy windmills, and moments where long hair gets swept away like Bollywood movies.
Li-Ann actually had three actresses portraying her. The first is Beatrice Chia, who only provides the narration. The second, Wong Li-lin as Li-Ann in her 20s-30s, and Joan Chen playing the same character, now much older. Chen had only a bit role though, which probably didn't challenge her in the acting department, and the short story is about her trying to find some reconciliatory factors with her teenage daughter, and you realize that she probably missed the kind of close-knit mother-daughter relationship that she had when younger, and trying very hard to replicate.
Wong Li-lin anchors the entire movie with her heartfelt portrayal of Li-Ann. Forget about her dismal big screen debut in the horrid German movie which had her almost sleepwalking through it like a zombie. This one showed what she can do, without succumbing to acting cute unnecessarily. Her Li-Ann has never dated and has been holding out for someone special, and chances upon Ananda's Jeremy at an al fresco cafe one day. So the usual games people play begins, with her putting some Irish 29th Feb tradition to the test, and he plays along, towards the goal of setting up a blind date.
Naturally not everything is as rosy as it seems, since the games ended after a magical outing together, with their pledge of meeting at the same place at the same time, every leap year on her birthday. Cliché lines get thrown about, like the frequently used one about better to have loved and lost than to never had loved at all, but the key theme here is about patience. If you deem him or her special, it's well worth the wait, isn't it? Only fools rush in, as they say. So do expect lines being spouted explicitly which might make you cringe a little, or implicitly suggests something that you'd probably already know of, from the wise old sayings of those who have been there and done that.
It's almost like a typical romantic chick flick with the whispers of sweet nothings, promises made, and the quintessential scenes of shopping and lots of clothes. The soundtrack is chock full of lovely ballads by Corrine May, and you'd probably would be enthralled by how familiar locations become quite the romantic backdrops in the movie. Familiar also applies to the supporting cast, with the likes of Nadya Hutagalong and Vernetta Lopez playing good friends, as does Qi Yu Wu as KS (Kiasi? Kiasu? Kana Sai? Anything but actually).
I thought KS was a source of inspiration for those out there still carrying torches for others. It was an easy anchor point for me to dive right into the movie, with the classical example of loving someone who obviously doesn't love you back, and there comes a point in time where you have to wake up and realize your futile efforts. The reality of it is harsh and cruel at that point in time, but to be able to find strength and pick yourself up, that's quite an achievement in itself.
The Leap Years borrows its strength from Catherine Lim's story, and goes to show that no doubt the clichés are abound, this is something of a Singapore movie to be proud of - with a mix of homegrown and international talent, and a story that's purely on love and romance, and not hybrids like romantic-comedies or romantic-tragedies. Love is in the air, and for gimmick's sake, I would recommend this to be watched on the 29th of Feb, and see if you buy into that Irish folklore. I would play along though... but now to have someone make that proposal.. ha!
