Be With Me (2005) - Eric Khoo

Eric Khoo is perhaps one of the most underappreciated contemporary filmmakers when it comes to expressively encapsulating modernity, transnational influence, and the externalities inflicted on the downtrodden and disenfranchised. Be With Me is perhaps his most explicit film in this regard, yet the relatively shapeless narrative structure provides extensive opportunities for his empathetic gaze to express the complexities of class in a time of transnational globalism in which often for many, survival remains an intrinsic part of day-to-day life. Disparate souls in a sea of uncertainty in which even the more subversive characterizations are viewed without judgment and granted the complexities of understanding they deserve. Singapore - "the gateway to Asia", an epicenter of transnational trade, is viewed not from above, but from below, in which the native population provides the contextualization necessary for Khoo's thematic intentions related to class. In the end, the empathy and respect Khoo gives to all of his characters, many of which would be considered fringe or outside of normative notions of society, is what makes this film so piercing, much like all of his early work. They are characters seeking some form of connection, some release from the daily tedium of life - after all, we all just seek this intangible notion of happiness that can fill the void of existence