noize23 Having just visited Singapore for an extended stay, one of the first things I did, as an avid movie buff, was to hunt down the best in local cinema. Perth is one of those movies. Not only does it offer the viewer a small glimpse into everyday Singaporean life with it's brilliant use of Singlish dialog, it delivers a great story that gets you right in the gut. (hehe)My only complaint is that the DVD is not (that I can find) multi region so I can buy copies for my friends back home in the States. However, I will settle for the VCD release for the time being.Lets hope this goes into wider release soon. It is a film that needs to be shared, and is yet another example of the need to eliminate region specific coding.

Roger Anthony Saw this at the Village East in NY. The synopsis said TAXI DRIVER IN SINGAPORE. I figure if a film mentions taxi driver, it must have at least something worth watching because that is such a bold statement.Good:Harry Lee by Kay Tong is no Deniro but he's no slouch either. I liked how they included English subtitles, kind of like with the British films, even though its still English. I didn't know Singaporeans swear that much! Bad: Mai was a little undeveloped, and some of the talking got a little long. Plus, when I watch a film called Perth, i expect more then 5 seconds of Perth, bloody hell! Also, this isn't really bad but I found the son character an interesting subplot.Is it just me or do you also find the son character a little gay. I heard that the government openly outlaws homosexuality although many claim to be openly gay. The director obviously was feeling some censorship, and wanted to make a more subtle statement.For one, its like ANG LEE's THE WEDDING BANQUET. We see Darrius the son, but not the wife, implying a marriage of convenience. Again interesting stuff, but perhaps was not realized because of Singapore environment and not because of the poor direction. Not to mention, how many times does one man have to say 'I love my son'? Overall: Worth watching. Not great, but doesn't waste your time, and is entertaining with lots of nice dark humor which I loved. Warning: the ending is pretty graphic in violence.

flea_007 I just caught this last week at some Asian American festival at the Director's guild here in LA.Having spent some years out in Singapore working and being familiar with the seedier side of the city, I was shocked and surprised that such a film could ever come of such a straight jacket society! The characters in the film were very real and raw. The masturbation sequence was a haiku to loneliness.I heard rumors that the film is yet to be release in Singapore by the distributor's because of the violence and its setting in the 'non-existent' sex industry! Somethings don't seem to have changed after all!

saung I saw this at Rotterdam Film Festival. I didn't know what to expect after hearing the storyline and Taxi Driver links. I have to say that while there are links to Taxi Driver, this film is something original of which I did not know were being created in conservative Singapore. The photography is great, and Lim Kay Tong give an outstanding performance of a troubled man nearing retirement who's idealistic goal of a simple life is something we can all relate too. I found the ending quite violent, which might upset some viewers, but it has one of the strongest character developments I've seen. It was one of my favorite films at the festival. I truly hope this gets distributed here in the US both in theaters and DVD.