15 Movie Review:


This extremely raw film ran afoul of Singapore's notoriously strict censorship laws for its frank depiction of teen sex, drugs and violence. It's an extremely gripping film, hard to watch at times, and very honest in its depiction of youthful nihilism.

Melvin, Vynn and Shaun (Chen, Soh and Tan) run with a teen gang, talking about sex, indulging in drugs, getting tattoos and piercings and filling their aimless, pointless lives with nothing but trouble. Then Shaun ditches his friends for a new gang, and Erick and Armani (Chun and Lee) bring with them a whole new kind of angst--mostly because Armani is determined to injure himself, and Erick becomes the object of Shaun's affection.

There's an incredible energy here, both in the bravely daring cast (a lot of the actions are clearly real, such as a face piercing) and in writer-director Tan's enthusiastic filmmaking--choppy editing, kinetic motion, lots of music and witty special effects. It's a whirlwind of activity in which these boys do very little besides talk and dance with death, nursing each other through violent attacks and overdoses.

No, this isn't exactly earth-shattering stuff. Filmmakers all over the world have been documenting troubled youth in exactly the same way; this bears a striking similarity to Gregg Araki's Totally F***ed Up and The Doom Generation. After the relatively comical first half, in which we watch the adventures of the "Stray Cats", the film shifts into much darker territory--these guys don't care if they hurt or even kill themselves, or each other. They believe that if they don't die of Aids they'll get cancer anyway, so why bother?

And yet amid the gloom there's a surprising ray of hope. Tan balances the harsh violence and drug-fuelled grisliness with warm-hearted humour that reminds us these are just boys, after all. It's a tricky balance, but he manages to keep us watching, even though despair is the primary emotion. Visually the film is lush and vibrant, both overwhelmingly brutal and surprisingly tender at the same time. It's not easy to watch, and the characters aren't developed nearly enough for us to care about them, but the urgent filmmaking style demands attention.

Rich Cline

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