It’s hard to talk about a movie that defies description. Faeryville is one of those movies. Set in an alternate universe that may be more real than you suspect, it can be loosely labelled as a “dystopian coming-of-age teen movie”. Best of all, it’s a local Singapore production, the first full-length feature film by indie director Tzang Merwyn Tong. And that name alone, perhaps, sets this film apart from the crowd.
The official synopsis is as follows:
“Set in an alternate universe, in a college called FAERYVILLE, a group of teenage misfits struggle to find themselves and make sense of their ‘purpose’. They decide that there is no reason in trying to fit-in, trying like ‘everybody’ to be ‘somebody’, choosing instead to mock the establishment, as pranksters – calling themselves The Nobodies. Now, what’s their plan? Frankly, they have no idea, until Laer, a transfer student, joins them and takes them on a warpath of self-discovery and no return.”
Fellow geek Jas caught a preview of the film and in a guest blog, she shares her review with us! Enjoy.
—
“Faeryville”
Director: Tzang Merwyn Tong
Cast: Lyon Sim, Aaron Samuel Yong, Tanya Graham, Jade Griffin, Jae Leung, Farid Assalam, Jordan Prainito, Galen Watts, Rosh G., Nicholas Bloodworth, Tushar Ismail, Alicia Prescott
Rating: M18
I had the pleasure of catching a “secret” preview of Tzang Merwyn Tong’s latest movie, Faeryville, held at SCAPE, as part of their events showcasing the local arts scene. About 4 months after a successful premiere in Hollywood, Tzang’s film finally made it home.
After a successful world premiere in Los Angeles, the film is cleared for screening in Singapore, UNCUT, with a M18 rating.
I don’t want to give away any of the story details, but let’s just say the themes explored in it are universal, and especially relevant to our current time, never mind that it was conceived and has been in the making-of stage for the past 8 years.
The entire film has quite a dream-like quality to it, at times descending into the nightmare realms.
The themes of oppression and power explored in the film are such ubiquitous themes so the fantasy/dystopian setting of the Faeryville College is perfect to me. It doesn’t confine itself to any one setting, just applies itself to the general cliques of outcasts and the popular kids. The lack of a real world based setting breaks the cultural borders which normally confine a local film to its home country, and this works to Faeryville’s appeal.
As someone who’s been both the bullied (oppressed), and the bully (oppressor), I find that I can relate to characters on both cliques. While not exactly part the most popular crowd on campus, I demanded my share of the spotlight for my comedy routines! And some of those jokes probably bruised their fair share of egos! (I’m sorry.)
The soundtrack is beautifully scored by Alex Oh and also features tracks from local bands, such as In Each Hand A Cutlass and The Great Spy Experiment. Good introduction to the local music scene, you should definitely check our bands out.
When was the last time you walked out of a movie wanting to discuss it further with your friends? This film WILL make you do that.
Get your fingers ready, as Faeryville is showing exclusively at Bugis Filmgarde with a limited run. Tickets will be open for pre-booking on May 7th, and the movie officially opens May 26th.
Faeryville is unlike any of the local films that usually hit our cinemas, so don’t miss this opportunity!
#FaeryvilleArmy #FaeryvilleBlitz
