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Mee Pok Man
Directed byEric Khoo
Written byDamien Sin (as Yu Lei Foong)
Produced byJacqueline Khoo
StarringJoe Ng
Michelle Goh
Lim Kay Tong
David Brazil
Music byJohn David Kompa
Distributed byZhao Wei Films
Release date
  • 1995 (1995)
Running time
98 minutes
CountrySingapore
LanguagesCantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, English
Budget$237,000

Mee Pok Man is a 1995 Singaporean film directed by Eric Khoo. The film is Eric Khoo's debut feature, released under his film production company, Zhao Wei Films, after making award-winning short films for years. It was entered into the 19th Moscow International Film Festival and showed at more than 30 film festivals worldwide, winning the FIPRESCI (The International Federation of Film Critics) Award.[1]

The film stars Joe Ng as the male protagonist Johnny, a Chinese seller of noodles (mee pok), and Michelle Goh, who plays a prostitute. The film was given an "R(A)" rating in Singapore, restricting the movie audience to adults aged 21 and above, but after the change in film ratings in 2004, it was re-rated "M18" (aged 18 and above).

The film's story was inspired by a story by Damien Sin, "One Last Cold Kiss", that appeared in Classic Singapore Horror Stories: Book 2 (1994). Khoo was supposed to illustrate the story about a mortuary attendant who falls in love with a fresh corpse, brings it back home, and has a relationship with it.[2][3]

The soundtrack album was released under BMG and featured the film score by Kevin Mathews and music by Singaporean acts including The Padres (a band fronted by Joe Ng, the film's male lead actor), Opposition Party, Livonia, Etc and Sugarflies.

In November 2015, the film was restored by the Asian Film Archive and presented at the 26th Singapore International Film Festival.[4] The restored film also enjoyed a run at independent cinema The Projector, which also celebrated its legacy with talks.[5]

In 2019, the film was presented at the inaugural New York Asian Film Festival winter showcase.[6]

References

  1. ^ "19th Moscow International Film Festival (1995)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 22 March 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  2. ^ Ong, Terry. "Our Cult Films". I-S Magazine. Asia City. Archived from the original on 17 September 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  3. ^ Marchetti, Gina (2006). From Tian'anmen to Times Square: Transnational China and the Chinese Diaspora on Global Screens, 1989-1997. Temple University Press. p. 150. ISBN 1592132782.
  4. ^ Loh, Genevieve (27 November 2015). "Eric Khoo's Mee Pok Man celebrates 20th anniversary at S'pore International Film Fest". MediaCorp. TODAY. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  5. ^ Lui, John (13 April 2016). "20 years on, Mee Pok Man remains one of the most important Singapore films, say experts". Singapore Press Holdings. The Straits Times. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  6. ^ Chu, Karen (13 January 2019). "New York Asian Film Festival Highlights "Crazy Broke Asians" With Inaugural Winter Showcase". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 31 January 2023.

External links


Films directed by Eric Khoo
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