Filming the Singaporean killer: Trauma, murder and modernity in Medium Rare (1991) and God or Dog (1997)

This article considers how two Singapore horror films, Medium Rare (1991) and God or Dog (1997), attempted to make sense of the real-life Adrian Lim ritual murders through two divergent approaches to the co-constitutive relationship between modernity and violence. First, by formulating an image of Singapore as a rational global cosmopolis, Medium Rare positions Lim and his superstitious violence as malignant anomalies that must be expelled to protect Singapore’s modern identity. Conversely, God or Dog portrays Lim’s madness as an unfortunate consequence of the country’s rapid modernization. Put together, these films use Lim and his crimes as vehicles through which they explore Singapore’s troubled endeavours at self-definition within the early fringe of the 1990s Singapore new wave cinema.

Między minimalizmem a melodramatem. Przestrzeń filmowa w kinie rumuńskiej nowej fali

The starting point for considering the means of creating and designing a film space in Romanian New Wave cinema is the thesis that Romanian film art in the 21st century is an artistic response to the times of communism and that images of the post-socialist architectural space – their multi-faceted functionalization in film mise-en-scéne – are the key method of evoking memories of the past. The article discusses, via the example of movies by Crisitian Mungiu, Corneliu Porumboiu and Cristi Puiu, (1) ways of depicting the “closing” of film characters in the cramped interiors of their apartments and (2) film images of individuals’ alienation in public spaces, both of them allusively referring to the times of the oppressive Nicolae Ceaușescu regime. The most important cinematographic devices used bythe authors of the Romanian New Wave cinema include: seemingly static shots, which, however, are filmed with a camera that is constantly gently moving and observing, and tableau shots. A common feature of all the considered works is the panopticism of the film world: the private and public spaces designed in them easily become a place of constant, panoptical observation. In the summary, theauthor remarks on and briefly discusses the coexistence of the aesthetics of minimalism / realism with the melodramatic elements in the cinematic structure of Romanian New Wave films.

Unpacking the ‘Singapore New Wave’

As the cinema of a small nation, Singapore cinema punches above its weight. The series of international film festival awards won by Singaporean filmmakers alongside the multiple books published on Singapore cinema since the 2010s seem to signal a revival of the industry. This editorial introduction unpacks the term ‘Singapore New Wave’ as a starting point for this Special Issue to raise questions about the changes that appear to be happening in Singapore’s film industry. By situating the ‘Singapore New Wave’ within global cinema, this article argues for the importance of considering the issue of survival in the cinema of a small nation, and for an expansion of ways in which film scholars can gain the critical insights traditionally obtained from conventional new wave films. More positively, this more expansive working definition adds to broader new wave literature by exploring unconventional ways in which films can constitute or contribute to a new wave beyond traditional genres, auteurs, styles or themes associated with new wave cinema.

The Lyrical Subversions of Socialist Realism in Đặng Nhật Minh’s New Wave Cinema

This article looks at the career and work of a prominent Vietnamese film director, Đặng Nhật Minh. By taking a closer look at his film When the Tenth Month Comes, this article challenges the Cold War perception of communist art as a mere servant to politics and ideology, with little aesthetic ambition beyond its didactic and propagandist duty. It explores Minh’s use of lyricism as an effective tool of subversion and means to assert his autonomy as a communist artist. It is through the lyrical that the film director reaches back to the core of Vietnamese cultural identity and ancient traditions to provide a poetic affirmation of the resilience of his nation’s culture, while mobilizing a sense of belonging and loyalty to the communist project.