By Jane Ng (25S03D)

This review was written in partnership with CinemaWorld.

Writing good horror is notoriously hard. So is filming it.

Especially so for Austrian directors of Goodnight Mommy (2014), Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala. They have big shoes to fill, left behind by the likes of fellow countrymen Michael Haneke and Ulrich Seidl (who happens to be Franz’ partner and Fiala’s uncle).

By Jane Ng (25S03D)

This review was written in partnership with CinemaWorld.

Richelieu, Temporaries’ (2023) alternative title for Canadian audiences, reflects the name of a city in Quebec. La Vallée-du-Richelieu, which doubled as both the film’s namesake and filming site, is a sprawling river valley plain, known for being home to great boating spots and several industrial hubs.  

For most of us, Richelieu is a far-away land (who’s even heard of it?) and understandably so, seeing as it’s approximately 14,628 km away from Singapore. As for the Central American employees who form the majority of the industrial workforce in Richelieu, it’s marginally better — their homes in Guatemala City or Mexico City are only about 5,000 km away from the manufacturing plants where they spend their days. Yet, home feels just as, if not more, distant. 

By Jane Ng (25S03D)

This review was written as part of the 35th Singapore International Film Festival’s (SGIFF) Cinephile Pass programme.

During the post-screening Q&A session, director Sarah Friedland was asked, “Is there a particular reason you decided on the title “Familiar Touch”? To me, it seemed extremely unfamiliar.”

Curiously enough, the person asking this question had a point. Friedland’s debut brings us along with Ruth, an octogenarian who adjusts to a new chapter of her life in Bella Vista, an assisted living facility for the elderly. She moves from her homey, bookshelf-laden Brooklyn house to Level 3 of Bella Vista dubbed “Memory Lane”, very much befitting the ailment that afflicts Ruth and her floormates: dementia.