SINdie Review: From Print to Animation in Utter 20152 min read

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Screened over the weekend, from 28 to 30 Aug, were 5 short films which had origins in literary works of 5 very accomplished writers. These 5 short films were part of 5 Utter 2015, a segment of the Singapore Writers’ Festival that brought to screen works from print. This year’s films were all animation pieces. Here are our reviews of the 5 short films.

The Tiger of 142B

Inspired by: The Tiger of 142B by Dave Chua

Published in The Beating and Other Stories (2011) by Ethos Books

Author: Dave Chua

Animators:Henry & Harry Zhuang

The story begins dramatically ““ a grisly resident murder. And no less by a tiger on the loose in a typical HDB housing estate. We then cutaway to witness the deteriorating relationship between an unemployed man and his girlfriend / wife.  The couple look to be struggling to communicate with each other. Where as he tries to overcompensate for his lack of employment, she seems to grow increasingly tired and frustrated of his inability to move on. The back story is never fully explained but the exchanges between the couple are realistic and heavy with meaning. As the story progresses, the tiger re-appears to commit a number of additional murders including that of a loan-shark. Residents then begin to wonder if the tiger is indeed a protector of the estate ““ a theme further developed in an alternate reality sequence which ends with a stand off between man and tiger. There is tension, which concludes with the tiger sparing the man’s life , only to have that kindness repaid when he in turn saves the tiger’s life. While the story holds no immediate start or conclusive ending, it weaves in elements of hope as one goes through individual everyday struggles. The story text is complex and this is mirrored in the clever use of animated close ups, and visual and sound effects to give equal animation depth.

Read the full article here>> via SINdie
Image Source: Singapore Writers Festival