Be With Me
"Be with me" consists of three stories of love vs. solitude: there is an aging, lonesome shopkeeper who doesn't believe in life any more since his wife died. But he is saved from desperation by reading an autobiographical book and meeting its author, a deaf and dumb lady of his own age. Then there is Fatty, a security guard in his fifties who lives for two things: good food and love for a pretty executive living in his block of flats. But, if it is easy to satisfy his first need winning the heart of the distant belle is a horse of another color. And then there are two teenage schoolgirls who get to know each other on the Internet and are soon to fall in love with each other.
"Be With Me" is the new film by Eric Khoo, a tapestry of stories woven around the themes of love, hope and destiny. The characters lead separate lives but are bound by one common desire - to be with their loved one. The protagonists in the movie are fictitious bar one - Theresa Chan, a courageous deaf and blind woman whose life story inspired Be With Me.
Festivals & awards
Quinzaine des Réalisateurs, Film d'ouverture, Cannes 2005
Flanders International Film Festival-Gent, Best Screenplay
Stockholm Filmfestival, Best Cinematography
Prix de la critique international, Stockholm
Toronto International Film Festival
Pusan International Film Festival
Chicago International Film Festival
Tokyo International Film Festival
Credits
Pro Material
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Press voices
Ein grossartiger Film.
Cahiers du cinéma
BE WITH ME ist ein fragiles, moderates Musikstück mit einigen Sforzati. Kommt man aus dem Kino, geht man anders davon.
Martin Walder NZZ am Sonntag
Be With Me ist ein Film zum Entdecken - im wahrsten Sinn des Wortes.
Le Monde
Wenn am Schluss der Ladenbesitzer bei Theresa Trost und Hoffnung findet, dann sind sich in diesem bewegenden Moment nicht nur zwei Menschen nah, dann begegnen sich auch Realität und Fiktion.
Thomas Allenbach, Der Bund
Starke Bilder von betörender Schönheit, ein Rhythmus, so leicht, als würde man schweben, und die Grazie einer jeden Schauspielerin und eines jeden Schauspielers machen den Film zu einem bezaubernden Kunstwerk.
Studio Magazine
Be With Me est un film choral sur des êtres en quête d'amour.
Oliver Pere, Quizaine des Réalisateurs
Be With Me wird dich hypnotisieren und unaufhörlich mit Emotionen und sinnlicher Erfahrung anreichern.
Premiere
"Be With Me" ist eine Ode an die heilende und versöhnende Kraft der Liebe.
Michael Lang, Programmzeitung Basel
I was in tears by the end, which is fairly rare.
The New York Times - Manohla Dargis
Gleichzeitig entführt dieser zutiefst menschliche Film durch die reduzierte Tonspur, die Kommunikation mittels Fingersprache und die Betonung des Geruchs- und Geschmackssinns den Zuschauer in die Erfahrungswelt der Taubblinden und lässt ihn seine eigenen Sinneswahrnehmungen (wieder) bewusster und tiefer empfinden. Independent Pictures, Walter Gasperi
Un film poignant dont la justesse n'égale que la grandeur humaniste.
Première
One small, lovely film from Singapore made human communication its explicit subject Eric Khoo's "Be With Me". Almost silent and mysteriously disjointed at first, the film comes together into something that's as accessible as it is beautiful.
The Wall Street Journal - Joe Morgenstern
Be With Me is an act of romantic longing captured on film. Eric Khoo proves again why he's Singapore's most talented filmmaker.
Time - Bryan Walsh
The true story is of the amazing Theresa Chan, a deaf and blind 61-year-old who is kind of like Southeast Asia's Helen Keller. When Khoo simply focuses on Chan's history and her day-to-day existence, the minimalism is cranked up. Rather than halting the film in its tracks, this elevates Be With Me to another level entirely.
The Globe And Mail Review
we love this film because Be With Me confirms that the best
minimalist films can capture immense perspectives, which are those of the heart and soul.
Oliver Pere
Directors' Fortnight, Cannes
An undelivered love letter
An unanswered, brittle mobile phone
A meal prepared with heart and soul
For your beloved
Or for a stranger.
Through Eric Khoo's camera lens, we can see his mission: finding a way out in a lonely metropolis for the downtrodden, the fragile, and the defeated, who are both among us and like us. Watching the old man's face and his embrace with the blind lady, I am deeply moved.
Tsai Ming-liang