Pop Aye
Film poster
Directed byKirsten Tan
Written byKirsten Tan
Produced byWenhong Huang
Zhang Jianbin
Weijie Lai
Deng Li
StarringThaneth Warakulnukroh
Bong
Penpak Sirikul
CinematographyChananun Chotrungroj
Edited byLee Chatametikool
Music byMatthew James Kelly
Release dates
  • 19 January 2017 (2017-01-19) (Sundance)
  • 13 April 2017 (2017-04-13) (Singapore)
Running time
104 minutes
CountriesSingapore
Thailand
LanguageThai
Box office$132,534[1]

Pop Aye is a 2017 Singaporean-Thai drama film directed by Kirsten Tan. A debut feature by Tan, the road film tells the story of a man as he tries to take his long-lost elephant back to their rural hometown. The first Singaporean film selected to screen at the Sundance, it competed and won a Special Jury Prize in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.[2][3][4] It was selected as the Singaporean entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.[5]

Tan's success at pursuing her dreams and interests in filmmaking was mentioned in Parliament in April 2017 by Ong Ye Kung, the Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills), as he highlighted the need for parents in allowing their children to pursue their interests.

Plot

Thana (Thaneth Warakulnukroh), a middle-aged architect, is disillusioned at work as well as at home with his wife Bo (Penpak Sirikul). One day, as he wanders the Bangkok city, he chances upon an elephant which turns out to be his childhood companion, Pop Aye. He then decides to take the elephant back to the rural village where they both grew up and into his uncle Peak's (Narong Pongpab) care. They embark on their homecoming journey through the rural Thailand to their hometown in Loei Province, Isan together.[6][2]

Cast

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 90% based on 29 reviews, with a weighted average rating of 6.7/10.[7] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 73 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8]

Pop Aye screened to positive reviews in The Hollywood Reporter, Variety (magazine), Roger Ebert,[9] and Screen International.[10]

"Loneliness, alienation, the ache of nostalgia and the everyday absurdity of life infuse every encounter in the unconventional road trip. Like the journey it depicts, the first feature by New York-based, Singapore-raised writer-director Kirsten Tan is unhurried and unforgettable."[11] The Hollywood Reporter

"Warm yet unsentimental, graced with the lightest touch of surrealism... (Tan) has also distilled her bohemian travels around the country into a fictional journey that's both authentically off-the-beaten track and something more metaphorical, with the elephant Pop Aye gradually assuming a significance on the level of Rosebud in “Citizen Kane.”[12] Variety

Accolades

Pop Aye premiered in competition at Sundance as the opening film of the World Dramatic selection, and was awarded a Special Jury Prize for Screenwriting. It went on to pick up the Golden Eye at the Zurich Film Festival for Best International Feature Film[13] and the VPRO Big Screen Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.[14] Pop Aye was the first Singaporean film to win a major award at Sundance[15] and also at Rotterdam Film Festival.[16] The film was also Singapore's official submission to the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Pop Aye". The Numbers. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  2. 1 2 Soh, Joanne (12 April 2017). "Long road to success for Pop Aye director Kirsten Tan". The New Paper. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  3. ↑ Erbland, Kate (30 November 2016). "Sundance 2017 Announces Competition and NEXT Lineups, Including Returning Favorites and Major Contenders". IndieWire. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  4. ↑ Frater, Patrick. "Singapore's Maiden Sundance Selection 'Pop Aye' Picked Up by Cercamon". Variety. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  5. ↑ Frater, Patrick (24 September 2017). "Singapore Picks 'Pop Aye' for Foreign-Language Oscar Contention". Variety. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  6. ↑ Lee, Maggie (19 October 2015). "Sundance Film Review: Pop Aye". Variety. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  7. ↑ "Pop Aye (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes)Fandango Media). Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  8. ↑ "Pop Aye Reviews". Metacritic (CBS Interactive). Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  9. ↑ Murthi, Vikram. "Pop Aye Movie Review & Film Summary (2017) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com.
  10. ↑ "'Pop Aye': Review". Screen. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  11. ↑ "'Pop Aye': Film Review | Sundance 2017". The Hollywood Reporter.
  12. ↑ Lee, Maggie (20 January 2017). "Film Review: 'Pop Aye'". Variety.
  13. ↑ "'Pop Aye' wins best international film at 2017 Zurich Film Festival". Screen.
  14. ↑ "Pop Aye - vpro cinema". VPRO (in Dutch).
  15. ↑ "Kirsten Tan's Pop Aye wins screenwriting award at Sundance". TODAYonline.
  16. ↑ "Another international award for Singapore film Pop Aye". The Straits Times. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  17. ↑ "Singapore picks Pop Aye for foreign-language Oscar contention". Channel NewsAsia.
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