Popagandhi

If you’ve grown up or lived in Singapore, the documentary that was released this weekend — Tan Pin Pin’s Singapore Gaga — might just be the one you’ve always wished someone got around to making, because I certainly did.

So what is Singapore Gaga about? People are bound to ask. It’s a difficult question to answer. According to the team behind it, or as my friend Qian Xi the film’s publicist will have you believe, it is “a necessary film for all Singaporeans”. A “55-minute paean to the quirkiness of the Singaporean aural landscape.” Avant garde and family friendly at the same time. Too short to be a film, so much delightful, loving meandering that you almost forget it’s the documentary it really is.

Concerned with the sounds of Singapore of modern day and Singapore of the past, there’re buskers of all stripes, Victor Khoo the ventriloquist, the voice of the MRT announcements, various misfits. There are those shared experiences we can all relate to, like cheering at Sports Day, and recorder lessons. It’s the Singapore you know and probably love, assuming you’re not one of those who wander about with their eyes and ears shut. Singapore Gaga is the film you always caught yourself thinking “somebody should make a movie out of it”, and it has been, and lovingly so.

Besides, going to watch it means you’ll be able to die a contented person, to know the name of the “auntie uncle buy my tissue one dollar” lady.

Disclaimer: I caught Singapore Gaga at a for-bloggers screening held by Pin Pin and Qian Xi, but they only paid me in tapioca chips and keropok.

Related
Singapore Gaga official website and trailer
Showtimes and Directions
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