Lullaby
From the Archives
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22-Jan-2018
A Singaporean boy and his grandmother spend some days alone together in this lovely, understated short film by director Stanley Xu Ruiyang. While the mother and father are hard at work to support their comfortable existence, the boy and his grandmother are left alone with feelings of neglect, portrayed visually as we never see the father or the mother on-screen, only hear their voices. As a series of commonplace scenes — the grandmother feeds her grandson oatmeal, shows him old photographs, he plays with his toys as she rests — much of the films delicate power comes from details of a quiet life. But for all its ordinary qualities, a gravity slowly reveals itself as the boy’s father suggests a family trip to Hong Kong while it’s still possible and then begins preparations to make it so. In the meantime, life slips on around them.
Written & Directed by Stanley Xu Ruiyang. Produced by Valerie Ong.
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