IFFR 2008 - 881
Movie: 881 (Royston Tan, Singapore, Japan, 2007, 105′) 
Date: Feb 2, 2008
Rating: 
(Great musical drama, just a bit too long)
Plot: Read imdb.com user samuelding85’s excellent commentary on the film for more background on the Singapore musical tradition called Getai.
Back to the plot: two young women dream of becoming Getai artists and are willing to sacrifice everything. We see their rise to fame and the inevitable rivalry, drama, fun and loss.
Cast: Strong performances allround.
Visuals: Loved me those performance scenes, over the top costumes and gimmicks. Also, the magic/fantasy special effects were great fun!
Conclusion: It’s been compared to Moulin Rouge and rightly so: a musical drama with entertaining songs, props and drama.
Problem was the duration, 105 minutes was way too long.
I did enjoy this movie for its strengths and didn’t have too much problems with its weaknesses. An excellent festival closer!
