Karaoke

Tacky love songs and pop-tinged hymns take on a new meaning for young college leaver Betik who’s decided to return to the rural karaoke bar that’s being successfully run by his widowed mother. Catching the eye of a local gal and also being asked to appear in cheapo karaoke videos, the mixture of a slow-moving lifestyle and a dark secret from his past allow Betik to ponder not only where he stands with his family, but how he should adapt to a rapidly modernising Malaysia. This leisurely debut from experimental filmmaker Chong recalls the dreamy evocations of Apichatpong Weerasethakul, not only in its bucolic, deadpan and softly spoken tenor, but in its willingness to dance on the boundary between reality and fiction.