Movie review: Wet Season
Set during the monsoon season in Singapore, Ilo Ilo director Anthony Chen dives deep into the uncharted waters of local cinema with his latest film.
It follows the plight of Ling (Yeo Yann Yann, whose brilliant performance recently won her a Golden Horse Award for Best Actress), a Chinese-language teacher whose marriage and school life are fraying apart as she is unable to bear a child.
Things get messier when she forms an unlikely friendship with her student Wei Lun (Koh Jia Ler).
Being raised in a generation where the importance of Mandarin is undervalued and where there are social expectations to what an appropriate student-teacher relationship should be, younger local moviegoers will identify well with Wet Season.
Despite the slow, nuanced build-up, it may come as a rude shock for many to see Yeo and Koh, who played her on-screen son in Ilo Ilo, engaging in illicit behaviour and sharing a sex scene.
However, the emotions on display are so powerful and naked when it comes to the woes the unlikely pair face that they will resonate with anyone.
Rating: M18
Score: 4/5
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