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Homerun (film)
Encyclopedia
Homerun Chinese: 跑吧！孩子 pinyin
: pǎo bà háizǐ) is a 2003 Singapore
an Mandarin
-language film
. A remake of the award-winning Iran
ian film Children of Heaven
, Homerun is a drama about two poor siblings and their adventures over a lost pair of shoes. Set in 1965, the year Singapore separated from Malaysia, the film satirises political relations between the two countries, leading to its banning
in Malaysia.
The film was written and directed by Singaporean filmmaker Jack Neo
, and produced by MediaCorp Raintree Pictures
. It stars Huang Wenyong
, Xiang Yun
, Shawn Lee
and Megan Zheng
. Filming took place in the rural outskirts of Kuala Lumpur
during November and December 2002, but post-production delays pushed back the film's release date.
Released in cinemas on 7 August 2003, Homerun grossed over S$
2.3 million during its nine-week box office
run. It was nominated for two awards at the 2003 Golden Horse Awards; Megan Zheng, then 10, became the first Singaporean to win a Golden Horse. Generally, however, critical reception
of the film was mixed.
an children, Chew Kiat Kun and his younger sister Seow Fang live with their mother who is late in her third pregnancy and their father who is in debt to a local rice merchant. The children make the best of what little they have, while their father works long hours doing odd jobs.
The family's problems are compounded when Kiat Kun accidentally loses Seow Fang's only pair of shoes after taking them to be repaired. The children conduct a frantic search but find nothing; a karung guni man
had claimed the shoes as unwanted rubbish. The Chew siblings are frustrated by the situation until their father inspires Kiat Kun to share his shoes with his sister, trading off between classes so they can both attend school. Unfortunately, this plan brings additional problems: Seow Fang is chastised for wearing oversized shoes to school, while Kiat Kun is repeatedly late as he must wait for his sister to exchange shoes with him.
At school, a wealthy schoolmate of Kiat Kun's named Tan Beng Soon runs a football
team with his friends. Kiat Kun and his friends strike a bargain with Beng Soon to play on the team using the other boys' football shoes, in exchange for helping them cheat on their homework. However, the boys quarrel, causing an angry Beng Soon to renege on the deal and remove Kiat Kun and his friends from the team.
Without their assistance, Beng Soon and his friends are punished for producing substandard homework. Although the boys try to resolve their differences, they eventually give up on reaching an agreement. Beng Soon's grades continue to fall, and his parents decide to send him away to study in England.
Meanwhile, Seow Fang sees her classmate wearing her lost shoes to school. She and Kiat Kun follow the girl home, but after realising her father is blind and that the family lived in the slums, they decide not to reclaim the shoes. However, a few days later, Seow Fang notices that her classmate is wearing a new pair; upon confronting her, she discovers that the girl has discarded the old pair at the kampung rubbish dump. The Chew siblings frantically search the rubbish dump for her shoes, but only discover them as they are destroyed during a trade union
ist riot.
Kiat Kun is dejected until he learns that the third prize in the 1965 National Primary School Cross Country Competition is a pair of shoes. Because he was sick on the day his school selected representatives for the race, he pleads with his P.E.
teacher to let him enter. The teacher, initially reluctant, relents when Kiat Kun rushes to get his cough medicine, demonstrating his running ability. As the competition begins, Kiat Kun notices that Beng Soon is also participating.
Once the starting gun fires, Kiat Kun pushes himself to the limit and eventually establishes himself among the lead runners. Kiat Kun appears assured of third place, but unexpectedly trips over a stone and thus finishes first. Beng Soon ends the race in third place. While Kiat Kun is running, Mrs Chew goes into labour, forcing Seow Fang to run across a long path littered with broken glass to find a midwife. Finally, Mrs Chew gives birth to a baby boy and Beng Soon gives Kiat Kun and Seow Fang new pairs of shoes before departing.
, Singaporean filmmaker Jack Neo
and his wife were moved to "holding hands and crying after seeing the love shared by the children". Children of Heaven inspired Neo to explore issues faced by Singaporean youths in his 2002 film I Not Stupid
. Following the success of I Not Stupid, he decided to adapt Children of Heaven to a 1960s Singaporean kampung setting, to emphasise the messages of friendship and kinship.
Homerun was produced by MediaCorp Raintree Pictures
on a budget of S$
1.5 million. The production crew
included Titus Ho as executive producer
; Chan Pui Yin
and Daniel Yun
as producer
s; Kane Chen as cinematographer
and Lawrence Ang
as film editor. In addition to writing and directing, Neo also composed the theme song, which was sung by Xu Meixian.
Filming took place in the rural outskirts of Kuala Lumpur
during November and December 2002. The cast endured a rigorous schedule, including extensive travel times to the filming location and many running scenes. The child actors' school commitments made the planning of reshoots difficult; moreover, the production team decided to delay post-production work in Thailand
due to the SARS outbreak.
On 7 August 2003, distributor United International Pictures
released Homerun in 37 theatres, at the time a record for a Singaporean film. Homerun's worldwide theatrical distribution was carried out by the production company, Raintree Pictures
, while the Hong Kong
screenings were carried out by Golden Scene following their previous success with I Not Stupid
. A Chinese language
version was released as both a two-disc VCD
and one-disc DVD
by Panorama Entertainment, one the of the Hong Kong
-based "mainstays" of independent film distribution.
Elements of Homerun compare and contrast Singapore's situations in 1965 and in 2003. For example, while Mrs Chew is giving birth, Lee Kuan Yew
's voice can be heard on a radio in the background, announcing Singapore's separation from Malaysia
. Other events in the film parallel those in Singapore's history, such as the riot at the rubbish dump alluding to the labour strikes and riots of the 1960s, as well as the threat of terrorism
in the new millennium. One of Kiat Kun's friends is nicknamed "Little Red Dot
", a phrase used by former Indonesia
n president Jusuf Habibie
to disparage Singapore. The final scene in the film shows the Chew siblings standing before a long muddy path, which symbolises the uncertainly faced by both the newly independent nation in 1965 and the country in transition in 2003.
A number of scenes in Homerun contain references to political disputes between Singapore and Malaysia. The water dispute
is portrayed by Kiat Kun (Singapore) quarrelling with Beng Soon (Malaysia) over the right to draw water from the kampung well. In another scene, one of Kiat Kun's friends produces a sheet of paper with details of the deal Beng Soon reneged on, prompting one of Beng Soon's friends to remark that this was like "writing a letter to a girlfriend and revealing it to the world". This echoes a comment made by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad
, comparing Singapore's disclosure of letters between the two countries to "revealing letters sent to one's girlfriend". When asked about the references, Jack Neo said: "I'll leave this to the audience's imagination".
On 12 September 2003, Malaysian censors
announced their decision to ban the screening of Homerun in Malaysia, citing scenes which "are easily interpreted by some Malaysian audiences' [sic] as containing political elements related to current issues". Raintree filed an appeal, arguing that the positive messages in the film were more salient than the political satire, but it was unsuccessful. Malaysian moviegoers polled by Life! and the China Press
expressed disappointment with the ban, calling it "unnecessary" and stated a desire to watch the film via pirated VCD
.
110,300 from sneak previews, Homerun made S$610,400 over the National Day weekend, achieving the most successful opening weekend for a local film. It rose to the top of the local box office
, beating American blockbusters such as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
. In total, the film grossed more than S$2.3 million over nine weeks of screenings, the second longest box office run for the year.
Critical reception of Homerun was mixed. Sanjuro of LoveHKFilm.com wrote that the film "succeeds in delivering a relatively simple, intimate story that should prove moving for even the most jaded audience", while Nick England of the San Diego Asian Film Foundation
described Homerun as "a film with certain beauteous qualities that we can genuinely enjoy, but end up choking on when it is all over with". In contrast, FilmsAsia reviewer Soh Yun-Huei panned its use of political satire, which she felt "[causes] the film to be devoid of innocence and replaced with a sense of agenda and manipulation".
The film won several awards, including the Grand Prix Prize at the 2003 Golden Swan Awards, the Golden Butterfly Prize for Best Direction at the Isfahan International Children's Film Festival, and a trio (Best Director, Best Newcomer, and People's Choice Award) at the Montreal Film Festival. It also received two nominations at the 2003 Golden Horse Awards, for Best Theme Song (拥有) and Best New Performer. Megan Zheng
, then 10 years old, became the first Singaporean to win a Golden Horse Award, sharing her Best New Performer award with Wang Baoqiang
of Blind Shaft
.
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: pǎo bà háizǐ) is a 2003 Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
an Mandarin
Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
-language film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
. A remake of the award-winning Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian film Children of Heaven
Children of Heaven
Children of Heaven is a 1997 Iranian adventure comedy-drama film written and directed by Majid Majidi. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1998...
, Homerun is a drama about two poor siblings and their adventures over a lost pair of shoes. Set in 1965, the year Singapore separated from Malaysia, the film satirises political relations between the two countries, leading to its banning
Censorship in Malaysia
Censorship is a growing issue in Malaysia as it attempts to adapt to a modern knowledge-based economy. Malaysia has one of the world's strictest forms of media censorship, with nearly a hundred movies banned in this decade alone on the pretext of upholding morality...
in Malaysia.
The film was written and directed by Singaporean filmmaker Jack Neo
Jack Neo
Jack Neo Chee Keong , PBM, credited as Jack Neo on screen, is a Chinese Singaporean film and television actor, host and director...
, and produced by MediaCorp Raintree Pictures
MediaCorp Raintree Pictures
MediaCorp Raintree Pictures is a film production company based in Singapore. The company, a division of MediaCorp Group, was established in 31 March 1996. The company occasionally ties up with other film companies to produce Asian or Western films...
. It stars Huang Wenyong
Huang Wenyong
Huang Wenyong is a Malaysia-born Chinese Singaporean actor who has appeared in many Chinese drama Series, and is best known by his own generation for his appearance in The Awakening and The Seletar Robbery...
, Xiang Yun
Xiang Yun
Xiang Yun ) is a Singaporean actress from MediaCorp. She is considered as one of the veteran actresses in MediaCorp with 27 years of her career in the Singaporean entertainment industry. She is also deemed as MediaCorp's first "Ah Jie" ....
, Shawn Lee
Shawn Lee
Shawn Lee , born Lee Chuang Rui, is a Singaporean actor. He first came into prominence for his award-winning performance alongside his friend and co-star Joshua Ang in the box office hit I Not Stupid.-Background and career:...
and Megan Zheng
Megan Zheng
Megan Zheng is a Singaporean actress who starred in two Singaporean movies: Homerun and One More Chance...
. Filming took place in the rural outskirts of Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
during November and December 2002, but post-production delays pushed back the film's release date.
Released in cinemas on 7 August 2003, Homerun grossed over S$
Singapore dollar
The Singapore dollar or Dollar is the official currency of Singapore. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
2.3 million during its nine-week box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
run. It was nominated for two awards at the 2003 Golden Horse Awards; Megan Zheng, then 10, became the first Singaporean to win a Golden Horse. Generally, however, critical reception
Film criticism
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films, individually and collectively. In general, this can be divided into journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, and other popular, mass-media outlets and academic criticism by film scholars that is informed by film theory and...
of the film was mixed.
Plot
In 1965, two poor SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
an children, Chew Kiat Kun and his younger sister Seow Fang live with their mother who is late in her third pregnancy and their father who is in debt to a local rice merchant. The children make the best of what little they have, while their father works long hours doing odd jobs.
The family's problems are compounded when Kiat Kun accidentally loses Seow Fang's only pair of shoes after taking them to be repaired. The children conduct a frantic search but find nothing; a karung guni man
Karung guni
The practice of Karung guni is common in Singapore. Its practitioners are a modern form of rag and bone men that visit residences door-to-door. They make visits in carts, collecting old newspapers and other unwanted items. These will be resold at specialized markets and eventually recycled or reused...
had claimed the shoes as unwanted rubbish. The Chew siblings are frustrated by the situation until their father inspires Kiat Kun to share his shoes with his sister, trading off between classes so they can both attend school. Unfortunately, this plan brings additional problems: Seow Fang is chastised for wearing oversized shoes to school, while Kiat Kun is repeatedly late as he must wait for his sister to exchange shoes with him.
At school, a wealthy schoolmate of Kiat Kun's named Tan Beng Soon runs a football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
team with his friends. Kiat Kun and his friends strike a bargain with Beng Soon to play on the team using the other boys' football shoes, in exchange for helping them cheat on their homework. However, the boys quarrel, causing an angry Beng Soon to renege on the deal and remove Kiat Kun and his friends from the team.
Without their assistance, Beng Soon and his friends are punished for producing substandard homework. Although the boys try to resolve their differences, they eventually give up on reaching an agreement. Beng Soon's grades continue to fall, and his parents decide to send him away to study in England.
Meanwhile, Seow Fang sees her classmate wearing her lost shoes to school. She and Kiat Kun follow the girl home, but after realising her father is blind and that the family lived in the slums, they decide not to reclaim the shoes. However, a few days later, Seow Fang notices that her classmate is wearing a new pair; upon confronting her, she discovers that the girl has discarded the old pair at the kampung rubbish dump. The Chew siblings frantically search the rubbish dump for her shoes, but only discover them as they are destroyed during a trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
ist riot.
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
teacher to let him enter. The teacher, initially reluctant, relents when Kiat Kun rushes to get his cough medicine, demonstrating his running ability. As the competition begins, Kiat Kun notices that Beng Soon is also participating.
Once the starting gun fires, Kiat Kun pushes himself to the limit and eventually establishes himself among the lead runners. Kiat Kun appears assured of third place, but unexpectedly trips over a stone and thus finishes first. Beng Soon ends the race in third place. While Kiat Kun is running, Mrs Chew goes into labour, forcing Seow Fang to run across a long path littered with broken glass to find a midwife. Finally, Mrs Chew gives birth to a baby boy and Beng Soon gives Kiat Kun and Seow Fang new pairs of shoes before departing.
Cast
The main characters were played by the following actors:- Shawn LeeShawn LeeShawn Lee , born Lee Chuang Rui, is a Singaporean actor. He first came into prominence for his award-winning performance alongside his friend and co-star Joshua Ang in the box office hit I Not Stupid.-Background and career:...
as Chew Kiat Kun - Megan ZhengMegan ZhengMegan Zheng is a Singaporean actress who starred in two Singaporean movies: Homerun and One More Chance...
as Chew Seow Fang - Joshua AngJoshua AngJoshua Ang Ser Kian is a Mediacorp artiste from Singapore who starred alongside Shawn Lee in the film I Not Stupid and its sequel I Not Stupid Too.Ang studied at Pasir Ris Secondary School....
as Tan Beng Soon - Huang WenyongHuang WenyongHuang Wenyong is a Malaysia-born Chinese Singaporean actor who has appeared in many Chinese drama Series, and is best known by his own generation for his appearance in The Awakening and The Seletar Robbery...
as Mr. Chew - Xiang YunXiang YunXiang Yun ) is a Singaporean actress from MediaCorp. She is considered as one of the veteran actresses in MediaCorp with 27 years of her career in the Singaporean entertainment industry. She is also deemed as MediaCorp's first "Ah Jie" ....
as Mrs. Chew
Production and distribution
While watching the Iranian film Children of HeavenChildren of Heaven
Children of Heaven is a 1997 Iranian adventure comedy-drama film written and directed by Majid Majidi. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1998...
, Singaporean filmmaker Jack Neo
Jack Neo
Jack Neo Chee Keong , PBM, credited as Jack Neo on screen, is a Chinese Singaporean film and television actor, host and director...
and his wife were moved to "holding hands and crying after seeing the love shared by the children". Children of Heaven inspired Neo to explore issues faced by Singaporean youths in his 2002 film I Not Stupid
I Not Stupid
I Not Stupid is a Singaporean comedy film about the lives, struggles, and adventures of three Primary 6 pupils who are placed in the academically inferior EM3 stream. Written and directed by Jack Neo, and produced by MediaCorp Raintree Pictures, the movie stars Xiang Yun, Richard Low, Selena Tan,...
. Following the success of I Not Stupid, he decided to adapt Children of Heaven to a 1960s Singaporean kampung setting, to emphasise the messages of friendship and kinship.
Homerun was produced by MediaCorp Raintree Pictures
MediaCorp Raintree Pictures
MediaCorp Raintree Pictures is a film production company based in Singapore. The company, a division of MediaCorp Group, was established in 31 March 1996. The company occasionally ties up with other film companies to produce Asian or Western films...
on a budget of S$
Singapore dollar
The Singapore dollar or Dollar is the official currency of Singapore. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
1.5 million. The production crew
Film crew
Television crew positions are derived from those of film crew positions.A film crew is a group of people hired by a production company for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture. Crew are distinguished from cast, the Actors who appear in front of the camera or provide voices for...
included Titus Ho as executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
; Chan Pui Yin
Chan Pui Yin
Chan Pui Yin is a film producer. She has been with MediaCorp Raintree Pictures from 2000 to 2008. She has produced Raintree’s movies like I Not Stupid , I Not Stupid Too , Homerun , The Maid and involved in collaborations like The Eye , The Eye 2 , Turn Left Turn Right , Infernal Affairs II and...
and Daniel Yun
Daniel Yun
Daniel Yun is a veteran Singaporean film producer, presenter and managing director for MediaCorp Raintree Pictures. He has gone on to co-produce and finance over 20 films made in China and Hong Kong.-Biography:...
as producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
s; Kane Chen as cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
and Lawrence Ang
Lawrence Ang
Lawrence Ang Boon Kong is a Singaporean lawyer who was Director of the Commercial Affairs Department from 1991 to 1999. He replaced Glenn Knight after the latter came under investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau...
as film editor. In addition to writing and directing, Neo also composed the theme song, which was sung by Xu Meixian.
Filming took place in the rural outskirts of Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
during November and December 2002. The cast endured a rigorous schedule, including extensive travel times to the filming location and many running scenes. The child actors' school commitments made the planning of reshoots difficult; moreover, the production team decided to delay post-production work in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
due to the SARS outbreak.
On 7 August 2003, distributor United International Pictures
United International Pictures
United International Pictures is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios , to distribute some of the two studios' films theatrically outside the United States , Canada, and the Anglophone...
released Homerun in 37 theatres, at the time a record for a Singaporean film. Homerun's worldwide theatrical distribution was carried out by the production company, Raintree Pictures
MediaCorp Raintree Pictures
MediaCorp Raintree Pictures is a film production company based in Singapore. The company, a division of MediaCorp Group, was established in 31 March 1996. The company occasionally ties up with other film companies to produce Asian or Western films...
, while the Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
screenings were carried out by Golden Scene following their previous success with I Not Stupid
I Not Stupid
I Not Stupid is a Singaporean comedy film about the lives, struggles, and adventures of three Primary 6 pupils who are placed in the academically inferior EM3 stream. Written and directed by Jack Neo, and produced by MediaCorp Raintree Pictures, the movie stars Xiang Yun, Richard Low, Selena Tan,...
. A Chinese language
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
version was released as both a two-disc VCD
VCD
VCD is a three-letter abbreviation with multiple meanings, as described below:* VCD Athletic, semi-professional football team* Video CD* Voice command device* Value change dump * Vocal cord dysfunction* Visual Communication and Design...
and one-disc DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
by Panorama Entertainment, one the of the Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
-based "mainstays" of independent film distribution.
Political commentary
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...
's voice can be heard on a radio in the background, announcing Singapore's separation from Malaysia
Singapore in Malaysia
On 16 September 1963, which was also Lee Kuan Yew's 40th birthday, Singapore merged with the Federation of Malaya alongside Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia...
. Other events in the film parallel those in Singapore's history, such as the riot at the rubbish dump alluding to the labour strikes and riots of the 1960s, as well as the threat of terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
in the new millennium. One of Kiat Kun's friends is nicknamed "Little Red Dot
Little red dot
"Little red dot" is an epithet for the nation of Singapore. It describes the manner in which the main and subsidiary islands comprising the Republic, with a total land area of no more than 704 km2 , are marked on many world maps. Originally, it was apparently used to refer to Singapore in a...
", a phrase used by former Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n president Jusuf Habibie
Jusuf Habibie
Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie , also known B. J. Habibie, was the third and shortest-serving President of Indonesia, serving from 1998 to 1999.-Early life and career:...
to disparage Singapore. The final scene in the film shows the Chew siblings standing before a long muddy path, which symbolises the uncertainly faced by both the newly independent nation in 1965 and the country in transition in 2003.
A number of scenes in Homerun contain references to political disputes between Singapore and Malaysia. The water dispute
Water conflicts between Malaysia and Singapore
Singapore and Malaysia have a long standing conflict over water supplies.The first water agreement was signed between His Highness the Sultan and Sovereign Ruler of the State and Territories of Johore and the Municipal Commissioners of the Town of Singapore on 5 December 1927...
is portrayed by Kiat Kun (Singapore) quarrelling with Beng Soon (Malaysia) over the right to draw water from the kampung well. In another scene, one of Kiat Kun's friends produces a sheet of paper with details of the deal Beng Soon reneged on, prompting one of Beng Soon's friends to remark that this was like "writing a letter to a girlfriend and revealing it to the world". This echoes a comment made by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad
Mahathir bin Mohamad
Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad . is a Malaysian politician who was the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the post for 22 years from 1981 to 2003, making him Malaysia's longest serving Prime Minister. His political career spanned almost 40 years.Born and raised in Alor Setar, Kedah, Mahathir...
, comparing Singapore's disclosure of letters between the two countries to "revealing letters sent to one's girlfriend". When asked about the references, Jack Neo said: "I'll leave this to the audience's imagination".
On 12 September 2003, Malaysian censors
Censorship in Malaysia
Censorship is a growing issue in Malaysia as it attempts to adapt to a modern knowledge-based economy. Malaysia has one of the world's strictest forms of media censorship, with nearly a hundred movies banned in this decade alone on the pretext of upholding morality...
announced their decision to ban the screening of Homerun in Malaysia, citing scenes which "are easily interpreted by some Malaysian audiences' [sic] as containing political elements related to current issues". Raintree filed an appeal, arguing that the positive messages in the film were more salient than the political satire, but it was unsuccessful. Malaysian moviegoers polled by Life! and the China Press
China Press
China Press is a Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper set up by Tun Henry Lee Hau Shik and first published on 1 February 1946....
expressed disappointment with the ban, calling it "unnecessary" and stated a desire to watch the film via pirated VCD
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
.
Reception
Having earned S$Singapore dollar
The Singapore dollar or Dollar is the official currency of Singapore. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
110,300 from sneak previews, Homerun made S$610,400 over the National Day weekend, achieving the most successful opening weekend for a local film. It rose to the top of the local box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
, beating American blockbusters such as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is a 2001 adventure thriller film adapted from the Tomb Raider video game series. Directed by Simon West and starring Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, it was released in U.S. theaters on June 15, 2001. The film was a commercial success...
. In total, the film grossed more than S$2.3 million over nine weeks of screenings, the second longest box office run for the year.
Critical reception of Homerun was mixed. Sanjuro of LoveHKFilm.com wrote that the film "succeeds in delivering a relatively simple, intimate story that should prove moving for even the most jaded audience", while Nick England of the San Diego Asian Film Foundation
San Diego Asian Film Festival
The San Diego Asian Film Festival is an annual event organized by the San Diego Asian Film Foundation. The festival was first held in 2000 at the University of San Diego by the Asian American Journalists Association of San Diego.-Organization Overview:...
described Homerun as "a film with certain beauteous qualities that we can genuinely enjoy, but end up choking on when it is all over with". In contrast, FilmsAsia reviewer Soh Yun-Huei panned its use of political satire, which she felt "[causes] the film to be devoid of innocence and replaced with a sense of agenda and manipulation".
The film won several awards, including the Grand Prix Prize at the 2003 Golden Swan Awards, the Golden Butterfly Prize for Best Direction at the Isfahan International Children's Film Festival, and a trio (Best Director, Best Newcomer, and People's Choice Award) at the Montreal Film Festival. It also received two nominations at the 2003 Golden Horse Awards, for Best Theme Song (拥有) and Best New Performer. Megan Zheng
Megan Zheng
Megan Zheng is a Singaporean actress who starred in two Singaporean movies: Homerun and One More Chance...
, then 10 years old, became the first Singaporean to win a Golden Horse Award, sharing her Best New Performer award with Wang Baoqiang
Wang Baoqiang
Wang Baoqiang is a Chinese actor. His debut role was that of Yuan Fengming in the movie Blind Shaft, for which he shared the Best New Performer prize at the 2003 Golden Horse Awards with Megan Tzengwon...
of Blind Shaft
Blind Shaft
Blind Shaft is a 2003 film about a pair of brutal con artists operating in the illegal coal mines of present-day northern China. The film was written and directed by Li Yang , and is based on Chinese writer Liu Qingbang's short novel Shen Mu .-Production history:Most of the filming took place 700...
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