Be with Me
{{Short description|2005 Singaporean film}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Be with Me
| image = Be with Me.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = Eric Khoo
| producer = Brian Hong
| writer = Theresa Poh Lin Chan
Eric Khoo
Wong Kim Hoh
| starring = Theresa Poh Lin Chan
Samantha Tan
Ezann Lee
Seet Keng Yew
| music = Kevin Mathews
Christine Sham
| cinematography = Adrian Tan
| editing = Low Hwee-Ling
| studio = Zhao Wei Films
| distributor = Warner Bros. Pictures
| released = {{Film date|2005|05|12|Cannes Film Festival|2005|09|08|Singapore|df=yes}}
| runtime = 93 minutes
| country = Singapore
| language = {{ubl|Cantonese|English|Hokkien|Mandarin}}
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Be with Me is a 2005 Singaporean drama film directed by Eric Khoo. The film is inspired by the life of deafblind teacher Theresa Poh Lin Chan. It premiered as the Director's Fortnight selection in the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. It was also the official entry from Singapore for the 78th Academy Awards in the foreign language category. In December 2005, the academy body disqualified the film on grounds that the dialogue is mainly in English.{{Citation | title = Foreign Film Barred from Oscars | work = BBC News | publisher = BBC | date = December 23, 2005 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4555152.stm | access-date =April 8, 2012
}} Out of 93 minutes, the film only has two and a half minutes of dialogue.
Be with Me is the first film in Singapore to explicitly feature a lesbian relationship.{{Cite web |last=Anomalilly |date=2019-04-19 |title=Film Review: Be With Me (2005) by Eric Khoo |url=https://asianmoviepulse.com/2019/04/film-review-be-with-me-2005-by-eric-khoo/ |access-date=2022-09-08 |website=Asian Movie Pulse |language=en-US}}
Cast
- Ng Sway Ah as Father
- Sanwan Bin Rais as Security Supervisor
- Theresa Poh Lin Chan as herself{{Cite news |last=Holden |first=Stephen |date=2006-09-29 |title=Three Tales Revolving Around a Real Life |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/29/movies/29with.html |access-date=2022-09-08 |issn=0362-4331}}
- John Cheong Puk Fai as Sam's father
- Elizabeth Choy as herself
- Leong Kooi Eng as Mother
- Lim Poey Huang as Jackie's mother
- Seet Keng Yew as Fatty Koh
- Shaun Koh as Sam's brother
- Ezann Lee as Jackie
- Poh Huat Lim as Brother
- Sherry Lim as Sam's mother
- Toh Cheng Onn as Neighbour
- Lynn Poh as Ann
- Chiew Sung Ching as Shopkeeper
- Jason Tan as Brian
- Royston Tan
- Samantha Tan as Sam
- Maximilan Wong as Neighbour's son
- Lawrence Yong as Son
- Seet Keng Yew as Security Guard
Release
Reception
Ong Sor Fern of The Straits Times rated the film 4 stars out of 5 and wrote, "The way Khoo has marshalled his technical skills in the service of more characterisation and story marks a new stage in his development."{{cite news |last= Ong|first= Sor Fern|date= 7 September 2005|title= A life less ordinary|url= |work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date=}}
Geoffrey Eu of The Business Times gave the film a rating of "B-" and wrote that "Chan's story overwhelms everything else around it and the result is a film that is elegant but uneven in tempo - the soft-edged style is there in abundance, but the movie's progress is perhaps not as smooth as it could be."{{cite news |last= Eu|first= Geoffrey|date= 9 September 2005|title= Tales of love, lovingly told|url= |work= The Business Times|location= Singapore|access-date=}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://web.archive.org/web/20051001012744/http://zhaowei.com:80/bewithme.html}}
- {{IMDb title|id=0463903|title=Be with Me}}
{{Eric Khoo}}
{{Singaporean submissions for the Academy Award}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Be With Me}}
Category:2000s Cantonese-language films
Category:2000s English-language films
Category:Hokkien-language films
Category:Singaporean independent films
Category:Singaporean LGBTQ-related films
Category:Lesbian-related films
Category:2000s Mandarin-language films
Category:2005 romantic drama films
Category:Tactile signing-language films
Category:Films directed by Eric Khoo
Category:Films about blind people
Category:2005 LGBTQ-related films
Category:English-language romantic drama films
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