Mee Pok Man

Mee Pok Man is a 1995 Singaporean film directed by Eric Khoo.

Mee Pok Man
Directed by	Eric Khoo
Written by	Damien Sin (as Yu Lei Foong)
Produced by	Jacqueline Khoo
Starring	Joe Ng Michelle Goh Lim Kay Tong David Brazil
Music by	John David Kompa
Distributed by	Zhao Wei Films
Release date	1995 (1995)
Running time	98 minutes
Country	Singapore
Languages	Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, English
Budget	$237,000

Background

The film is Eric Khoo's debut feature, released under his film production company, Zhao Wei Films, after making award-winning short films for years. It was entered into the 19th Moscow International Film Festival and showed at more than 30 film festivals worldwide, winning the FIPRESCI (The International Federation of Film Critics) Award.^[1]

Plot

The film stars Joe Ng as the male protagonist Johnny, a Chinese seller of noodles (mee pok), and Michelle Goh, who plays a prostitute. The film was given an "R(A)" rating in Singapore, restricting the movie audience to adults aged 21 and above, but after the change in film ratings in 2004, it was re-rated "M18" (aged 18 and above).

Cast

• Joe Ng as Johnny
• Michelle Goh as Bunny
• Lim Kay Tong as Mike Kor
• David Brazil as Jonathan Reese
• George Chua

Production

The film's story was inspired by a story by Damien Sin, "One Last Cold Kiss", that appeared in Classic Singapore Horror Stories: Book 2 (1994). Khoo was supposed to illustrate the story about a mortuary attendant who falls in love with a fresh corpse, brings it back home, and has a relationship with it.^[2][3] The film was produced under a meager $70,000 budget and a shooting schedule of 16 days. With little room for error, cinematographer Ho Yoke Weng recalled limiting himself to just three takes per scene.^[4]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack album was released under BMG and featured the film score by Kevin Mathews and music by Singaporean acts including The Padres (a band fronted by Joe Ng, the film's male lead actor), Opposition Party, Livonia, Etc and Sugarflies.

Reception

In November 2015, the film was restored by the Asian Film Archive and presented at the 26th Singapore International Film Festival.^[5] The restored film also enjoyed a run at independent cinema The Projector, which also celebrated its legacy with talks.^[6]

In 2019, the film was presented at the inaugural New York Asian Film Festival winter showcase.^[7]