The water crisis is just one problem Qiang faces every day living in a low-income apartment block with his mentally ill mother (Chang) and his beloved little sister Hui Shan (a maturely mischievous Angel Chan). Back home, Mom is obsessing about washing clothes that are not dirty. ![]() 'Shuttle Life' ('Fen Bei Ren Sheng'): Review| Shanghai 2017. Jul 3, 2017 - A poor family unravels during one traumatic night in 'Shuttle Life.' The big winner at the Asian New Talent Awards, starring Sylvia Chang and Jack Tan. From Heat Celeb News via IFTTT. The sun-dried raw Ren Shen is called Sheng Sai Shen. It is combined with Ge Jie or Hu Tao Ren respectively in Ren Shen Ge. Such as Sheng Di Huang, Tian Hua Fen. Ah Qiang lives in the big city and struggles to take care of his mentally unstable mother and his 5-year-old sister, Hui. When a speeding car kills Hui in an accident. A poor family unravels during one traumatic night in the big winner at the Asian New Talent Awards, starring Sylvia Chang and Jack Tan. She’s a seamstress living in a remote world of her own, and the tenderness of Qiang and Hui Shan as they try to coax her into taking her medicine is a touching intro to their extremely difficult but caring family life. As if things weren’t dramatic enough, on his sister's sixth birthday, Qiang and his buddies, who live on the edge of the law working at odd jobs and stealing car parts, take her motorcycle riding. After an accident, Qiang wakes up in the hospital. There is no sign of Hui Shan, who seems to have vanished into thin air. The rest of the film is a merciless trip through hell, and young Tan makes the audience part of his anguished, hopeless odyssey searching for Hui Shan while he tries to control his hair-trigger emotions and keep his mother safely at home. He wages an uphill battle against bureaucracy at the hospital, drug store and police station, where his poverty and lack of influence translate into helplessness. ![]() Tan Seng Kiat holds the directing reins rock-steady, never compromising on the stressful horror of the boy’s situation. Only a few scenes appear tacked on, like the bulldozing of a shanty town that has no narrative connection to the story, and the glaringly obvious class gap when Qiang and his pals are taken to a swanky rich man's party. For a story that works best when it's most believable, these late scenes of class resentment feel pushed way too far. ![]() But the ending is subtle and controlled; apparently open, but not when you think about it. And you do think about this film. Production companies: More Entertainment, Golden Wheel Trading, Hershlag, Harmonics Cast: Jack Tan, Sylvia Chang, Angel Chan Director: Tan Seng Kiat Screenwriters: Tan Seng-Kiat, Chris Leong Siew Hong Producers: Roland Lee, Jin Ong Director of photography: Chen Ko Chin Production designer: Lim Chik Fong Music: Onn San Editors: Chen Hsiao Tung, Yue Ba Ren Zi Venue: Shanghai Film Festival (Asia New Talent competition) Sales: MM2 Entertainment 90 minutes. It may not boast blockbuster elements but a Malaysian film about a family living on hard times in Pudu has caught the attention of international movie critics, nabbing several accolades in the Asian New Talent portion of the 20th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) in June this year. Shuttle Life (Fen Bei Ren Sheng), which stars Malaysian singer-actor Jack Tan and Taiwanese stalwart Sylvia Chang, and is directed by Tan Seng Kiat, won Best Film, Best Actor and Best Cinematographer, losing only Best Director from its four nominations. Made on a budget of RM1.5mil by MM2 Entertainment, it is a hard-hitting social drama with a realistic setting and character portrayal. It is also Seng Kiat’s first feature film, having directed a few short films in the past. He wrote the screenplay some years ago and entered it for the Shanghai Projects Promotion in 2013, which went on to win the grand prize award. After spending more than one-and-a-half years rewriting it, filming commenced in May 2016. For Jack, 26, acting in the movie was a huge challenge as the director has very specific requirements. “Most of the characters that I played in the past were ‘packaged’ nicely. I just needed to look cool and smart,” remarks Jack, who is one-half of the singing duo Thomas Jack. “But not so for my character Ah Qiang in Shuttle Life. He is a regular guy who just happens to come from a poor family.”. Shuttle Life is the second collaboration between Seng Kiat (left) and Jack He says Seng Kiat is very different from the directors he has worked before although this was the second time they have worked together after the short film, The Gathering. “At first, our styles seemed to clash. I had already memorised the script earlier but on the set, it was not what he wanted. He wanted something more natural from me.” “I know my way of directing is quite peculiar and Jack was not used to it,” admits Seng Kiat. “What I was looking for was that the actor not to act a role but rather internalise the character. I wanted him to search from within himself something that he could relate to his character. ![]() We spent a lot of time discussing the role. It was only much later that we went back to the script.” Jack adds that in the end, he saw what Seng Kiang was getting. “Every day, we were building rapport. Soon I became very engrossed in the role. I became anti-social and wasn’t interacting with others because I needed to be focused on the character. Even my assistant became fearful of me!” he laughs. “He thought I’ve changed suddenly. Seng Kiang really pushed me to another level as an actor.” For his hard work, he earns a pat on the head from the director who says that his acting was organic and realistic. This was probably the reason Jack won the Best Actor award but he was modest enough to say that it was because it was a good role. True grit Shuttle Life was filmed almost entirely on location in Pudu. It zooms in on a poor single-parent family living in a low-cost apartment that keeps experiencing water supply disruption. The water crisis is just one of many problems faced by 19-year-old Qiang. He has to take care of a mother (played by Chang) who is mentally ill, and a much younger sister, Hui Shan (played by newcomer Angel Chan). Things take a turn for the worse when, on Hui Shan’s sixth birthday, she and Qiang meet with a road accident. She dies but Qiang is unable to claim her body because he cannot prove their familial relationship. “I chose Pudu because it is a place with history,” says Seng Kiat. “Even today, many people are still living in their old homes with their families.” Jack admits that he felt overwhelmed when he knew he was going to work with Chang, herself an award-winning actress and director. Chang filmed all her scenes in one week. “She was brilliant and had no airs. There was a lot of interactions between mother and son in the movie, hence we had a lot of scenes together. I’m so glad to have had the opportunity to learn from her,” he gushes. Seng Kiat is equally complimentary of Chang. “She contributed a lot and brought to her performance many unexpected things from her experience as an actress, director and scriptwriter,” he notes. “She really knows her stuff. She understood the characters very well and would always find ways to improve her performance. In fact, she would improvise certain scenes to add more impact.” He cites the time when they were shooting a scene where Jack went home to look for his sister’s birth cert. In the script, Chang was supposed to be cowering in a corner and then grabs at what Jack was holding in his hands. “But on filming day, she was looking and playing with a pair of scissors and told us she would use them. So during filming, she suddenly attacked Jack with them. Caught unaware, Jack reacted by pushing her away, only to get a slap from her! We didn’t anticipate this and Jack was genuinely afraid. But they made the scene so much more effective.” In its review of Shuttle Life, The Hollywood Reporter praised Seng Kiat for “his rock-steady directing, never compromising on the stressful horror of the boy’s situation.” The critic also complimented Jack “for making the audience part of his anguished, hopeless odyssey searching for Hui Shan while he tries to control his hair-trigger emotions and keep his mother safely at home.” Jack says acting has taught him new skills and expanded his horizon as an entertainer. He also expresses his gratitude for this experience with Shuttle Life. “I don’t know if I’ll ever have an opportunity like this again,” he sighs. Was Seng Kiat disappointed in losing Best Director? It was more important that the audience liked the film. I never even thought that it would win Best Film so that was icing on the cake! I just wanted to a good job.” When it comes to filmmaking, Seng Kiat only has one rule: “You have to fall in love with the movie that you’re making first; only then will you protect it and do your best for it.” ‘Shuttle Life’ opens in cinemas nationwide on Oct 12.
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