remembering laichan

Goh Laichan (1962–2025) [FOTOS: laichan_official/Instagram, Freestate Productions; Courtesy of Channel NewsAsia]

a belated remembrance: i interviewed fashion designer Goh Laichan at his boutique for a magazine about 20 years ago, around the time of Wong Kar-wai's In the Mood for Love. amid the cheongsam hype, he stood out to me for quietly continuing, in a fabulous hat, an East Asian tradition with his modern grace, tailoring effortless and comfy spins on the mandarin gown. we never stayed in touch, but these memories (and how i wanted to fit into LAICHAN's “man-pao”) came flooding back in 2017 when i watched 邓宝翠 Eva Tang's short《柳影袈裟》("The Veiled Willow"), as part of Royston Tan's anthology 667, for which Mr. Goh was the costume designer. in a way only Eva can, the film gloriously celebrated myriad facets of Cantonese culture: food, humour, love, language, music, repression, set in an era when the Speak Mandarin Campaign was sewing up expression.

Mr. Goh passed away in April at 62 years old—quietly, of course. Eva has kindly made available her short, here, for streaming for 100 days, the traditional mourning period. do try to watch it and look out for the veteran couturier's creations at every turn. there'll never be another quite like Laichan.

Still from Eva Tang, 《柳影袈裟》("The Veiled Willow"), 2017

PS: Eva's docu《從維多利亞街到宏茂桥》 (From Victoria Street to Ang Mo Kio), one of my faves of 2019, leaves streaming on Netflix today!

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retrospective: Wang Sha & Ye Feng

although they are mostly remembered for their TV skits, the legendary Singaporean comedians Wang Sha & Ye Feng starred in over 40 Hong Kong films. reviewing their transnational body of work for the literary quarterly Mekong Review was a chance to experience the sheer diversity of their legacies that go beyond comedy, the so harsh-it’s-funny socioeconomic realities of 1970s HK, which resonate today globally, and the melodious fangyan of Cantonese and Teochew, still silenced here by the Speak Mandarin Campaign.

out of the 26 films in Asian Film Archive’s retrospective, which continues until 7 April and includes an exhibition and talks, here are a few that stood out: the Crazy Bumpkins series—especially Return of the Crazy Bumpkins (1975) for its moving, almost transcendent ending, and Crazy Bumpkins in Singapore (1976) for its being a rose-tinted time capsule of the expunged, like the National Theatre and Satay Club; another John Lo Mar–directed film The Happy Trio (1975), perhaps the duo’s most well-rounded standalone film; and the historical gem of Farewell to a Warrior (1976), an evocative Teochew opera by the renowned Chor Yuen.

in my writing and research, i was aided by Su Zhangkai’s lovely book on Wang Sha & Ye Feng, 《弟喂，做人阿甲阿甲就好》 (2019). thanks also to Kirsten Han for her editing, the Mekong Review team, Yeo Min Hui, Toh Hun Ping, and the Asian Film Archive. written as part of the ArtsEquator Fellowship, my review is behind a paywall, so do consider subscribing to Mekong Review, or encourage your institution to do so. single issues are also available online and at stores. glad to be in print (!) in an issue with writers i respect, like Philip Holden, Liew Kai Khiun, and profiled subject bani haykal.

my fave films of SGIFF 2023

some thoughts on the limited films i saw at this year's Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), its 34th edition (though we were born in the same year). they were written on the fly, and emerging from the darkness of cinemas, on IG Stories, because we seem to prefer limited words as part of time-limited pictures nowadays!

limited to mid-length and feature films, in no particular order:

Jow Zhi Wei, 'Tomorrow Is a Long Time', 2023

Tulapop Saenjaroen, "Mangosteen", 2023

Badrul Hisham Ismail, 'Maryam Pagi Ke Malam', 2023

Komtouch Napattaloong, 'Hours of Ours', 2023

Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky, 'Werckmeister Harmonies', 2000/2023 (restoration)

Thaiddhi, Nay Wunn Ni, Myo Thar Khin, Aung Min, and Lamin Oo, 'Ten Years Myanmar', 2023

Phạm Thiên Ân, 'Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell', 2023

Amanda Nell Eu, 'Tiger Stripes', 2023

Christian Petzold, 'Afire', 2023

P/S: Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell ended up deservedly winning Best Film!