Search - Be With Me on DVD

True love, truly considered

Daniel B. Clendenin | www.journeywithjesus.net | 01/26/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Director Eric Khoo mixes fact with three fictional relationships in this remarkable exploration of the human longing to love and be loved. An elderly shopkeeper tenderly cares for his wife in the hospital, then struggles with deep loneliness after she dies. Two teenage girls communicate by email and text-messaging, but their gay relationship ends in tragedy. A middle-age, lecherous security guard stalks a gorgeous woman at a distance and, pathetically, finally writes her a love letter. Parallel to all of this is the real-life story of the deaf and blind Theresa Chan, a 61-year-old teacher of disabled children. Throughout the film she types her life story with deep reflections about love and longing. Fate brings these four stories together in a powerful conclusion. Be with Me won awards at five film festivals. Mainly in English, but some Chinese with English subtitles."

Graceful, Tasteful, and Masterful

Judith T. Krauthamer | 09/05/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Be with me, directed by Singapore's Eric Khoo, provides the best of what cinema has to offer: dialogue that is not dependent on words, acting that is so sublime is transcends acting and cinematography that makes you forget you are watching film. It was the official entry from Singapore for the 78th Academy Awards in the foreign-language category, but was disqualified because the majority of the less than five minutes of dialogue was in English. No matter-- the film could have easily won on the strength of its message, aptly delivered by Theresa Chan, the blind/deaf teacher on whom the film is based.



The film juxtaposes four life stories: a young girls affair with another girl, whose pained love is communicated through text messages, a security guard's stalking obsession with a businesswomen, who desperately tries to write her a love letter, an elderly shopkeeper's longing for his deceased wife, expressed through cooking, and the day to day life and observations about love, as typed by Theresa Chan. The stories are bound together by the common thread for communication and connectedness. While all the characters want so much to be seen and heard, it becomes clear that it is the heart--not eyes or ears- that sees and hears.



The actors are friends and acquaintances of the director. Most are not professional actors. Theresa Chan is played by herself . Perhaps that is why this film feels like the real thing.

"

Life never happens the way we want it to

Reader | Boca Raton, FL | 10/28/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"One has to be very patient with this movie. It moves with its own pace describing three parallel love stories. One is a love of the elderly man for his wife who is dying in the hospital bed and his diffculty of letting her go after lifetime of living together. Second is the story of the security guard in the office building who is obsessed with the young professional woman who works there. He is too shy and insecure to approach her directly as his meekly existance is an outome of the childhood physical abuse from his father and brother. The last story is the love crush between two high school girls and their sexual confusion that causes tragedy of enourmous proportions. What connects them all is a young social worker who tends to these wounded souls with quiet patience and endurance. We learn thru him a story of Theresa Chang a blind and deaf woman living independently. Her story of courage and perseverance teaches all the protagonists an imporant lesson. The second part of the film is extrimely powerful as Theresa's life story unfolds and we observe her life in silence as she gracefuly accepts all the hardships in her life with poise and determination. I would qualify this film as a crossover between fiction and documentary -- which is why I am saying that one will have to be patient while watching this movie. At the end, it all makes sense...And it is a wonderful life lesson to us all."