881 is a Singaporean musical-comedy-drama film written and directed by Royston Tan, based on the Singapore Getai scene. It is only the second Singaporean film that will be released in Japan[1].
By 13 September 2007, the film had grossed over S$3 million, making it the top grossing Asian film in Singapore in 2007. It was screened at the Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea,[2] and was in competition at the 2007 World Film Festival of Bangkok.[3] The film was also accepted as Singapore's selection for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[4] The film was submitted to the 44th Golden Horse Awards by Mediacorp, and received a nomination for best makeup and costume design.[5]
Plot
Two Singaporean girls join together to form the Papaya Sisters, a getai group that sings at performances during the seventh lunar month. Big Papaya is estranged from her mother, who disapproves of her performances, whilst Little Papaya is an orphan who suffers from terminal cancer. The two are assisted by Auntie Ling and her son, Guan Yin.
Although they live to sing, the duo's act lacks 'feel', and they turn to Auntie Ling's sister, the goddess of getai for help. She provides them with the required 'feel', but on the condition that they accept a set of rules, which includes staying chaste.
With their new-found singing ability, the two soon rise to the top of the Singaporean getai scene singing traditional Hokkien songs, but their fame brings along with it the enmity of the Durian Sisters, a rival group of techno-singing Eurasian girls. Their rivalry soon culminates in a showdown at a getai show, where the girls pull off their most amazing performance yet. However, time has run out for Little Papaya, who succumbs to her illness and passes away after the competition.
Cast
| Actor/Actress |
Role |
| Yeo Yann Yann |
Big Papaya |
| Mindee Ong |
Little Papaya |
| Liu Ling Ling |
Goddess of 'Getai' (Xian Gu)/Aunt Ling |
| Qi Yu Wu |
Guan Yin |
| Chen Weilian |
Chen Weilian |
| Wang Lei |
Wang Lei |
Teh May Wan
Teh Choy Wan |
Durian Sisters |
Production
The film's story was originally conceived as a joke after Royston and the two lead actresses agreed that Getai was one of Singapore's Uniquely Singapore cultural attributes. [6]
It took Royston Tan 22 days to produce the film and only two weeks to write it, which, according to him, was the easiest and fastest script he has written[1].
Critical reception
Even before its official release, 881 garnered good reviews from critics[7].
Costumes
The large variety of costumes used in the production cost upwards of S$100,000.
Cultural significance
The film's name, pronounced in Mandarin, sounds like 'Papaya', which is the name of the main characters' getai group. The largely non-English/Malay speaking audience portrayed in the movie is seen chanting and holding up signboards painted with the numbers instead of the romanised term.
Soundtrack
The official soundtrack was released the evening before the show opened, on the 8th of August. Produced by Eric Ng of Funkie Monkies Productions, the soundtrack consists of 15 songs (1 hidden) and 4 music videos. The theme song, One Half, is sung by Wu Jiahui. A second volume of the original soundtrack has since been released with 18 songs.
Egg pelting incident
While promoting the film from a truck on Orchard Road, the cast was pelted with eggs by an unidentified assailant riding pillion. Lead actress Mindee Ong later suffered from an eye infection from the attack. No charges were pressed.[8]
External links
References
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