15 (film)
| 15 | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Royston Tan |
| Written by | Royston Tan |
| Produced by | Tan Fong Cheng Eric Khoo |
| Starring | Shaun Tan Melvin Chen Erick Chun Vynn Soh Melvin Lee |
| Cinematography | Lim Ching Leong |
| Edited by | Jeff Stevens Nigel Fernandez |
| Music by | Yellowbox |
| Distributed by | Zhao Wei Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country | Singapore |
| Languages | Hokkien Mandarin |
15 is a 2003 Singaporean coming-of-age black comedy-drama film about teenage gangsters in the Singapore suburbs. Directed by Royston Tan, the film is an expanded version of Tan's 2002 award-winning short film, also titled 15. It is one of the few Singaporean films to feature brief full-frontal male nudity, together with the Singaporean-Thai film Pleasure Factory and the Singaporean-Hong Kong film Bugis Street.
Plot
The film stars three real-life juvenile gangsters, all aged 15, giving an accurate depiction of Chinese teenage gang-life in the Singapore suburbs. The 2003 film features two more gangsters as characters as well as a fight sequence with more affluent English-educated Singapore youths. Rather than scripting the movie or employing professional actors, Tan attempted to capture the troubled lives of his characters in realistic fashion, apparently without much prior scripting.
Production
The Singapore Film Commission funded 25% of 15's S$200,000 production costs.[1]
Release
In Singapore, the film premiered during the 2003 Singapore International Film Festival.[2] In 2003, it premiered in Canada during the Montreal World Film Festival,[2] and in Britain during the London Film Festival.[2] In 2004, it premiered in the United States during the Sundance Film Festival,[2] and in Australia during the Sydney Film Festival.[2] The film also saw its first US theatrical release in New York City on 13 April 2005.[2][3]
In Singapore, the film is distributed by Zhao Wei Films. In North America, it is distributed by Picture This! Entertainment.[4]
Reception
Censorship
While the Media Development Authority (MDA) ruled that the film should be passed uncut under the then R(A) rating, the Singapore Police Force was concerned that fights could break out given the use of real gang names, locations and secret society chants in the movie, requesting cuts/edits to be made through the MDA for law and order reasons.[5] Under pressure, Tan alleged MDA required 27 cuts to the film which it denied, citing it requested nine cuts but Tan had chosen to cut in a way that it required 27 cuts.[6] Opposition was also raised against the heavy use of Hokkien in the film,[7][8] which is discouraged by the Singapore government in favour of Mandarin and English.[9] These restrictions infuriated Tan, and later led him to create his satirical short film Cut.[6]
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 50% based on 10 reviews.[10] On Metacritic the film has a score of 47% based on six reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[11]
The film has been advertised outside of Singapore in gay publications, due to the heavy homoerotic tension between the characters. However, in an interview segment of the DVD Royston's Shorts, a collection of Tan's short films, Tan affirms that the boys whose lives he portrayed do not identify as gay.
Awards
- FIPRESCI/NETPAC Award, Singapore International Film Festival (2003)[12]
- Best Fiction, Tampere International Short Film Festival (2003)[12]
- Prize of the Youth Film Competition (Special Mention), Oberhausen International Short Film Festival (2003)[13]
- Grand Prix Asturias (nominated), Gijón International Film Festival (2003)[12]
- Best Director, Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema (2004)[12][14]
See also
Notes
- ↑ Aglionby, John (5 January 2004). "Police censor fly-on-wall tale of gang life". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "15: The Movie (2003) - Release info - IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
- ↑ 15 at Box Office Mojo.
- ↑ "15: The Movie (2003) - Company credits - IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
- ↑ 15 at IMDb.
- 1 2 "Take a big breath, you'll survive." Archived 11 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine The Standard. 27 July 2006.
- ↑ Writer, Guest (21 September 2022). "Tattoos of the Singaporean Society: 15: The Movie (2003) by Royston Tan". Asian Movie Pulse. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
- ↑ "Film Review: '15' | ThingsAsian". thingsasian.com. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
- ↑ "Afterimage: The Films of Singapore's Royston Tan". BAMPFA. 21 December 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
Tan's unblinking outlook was new to the island republic and the Singapore Board of Film Censors responded with equal ferocity, requesting dozens of cuts, even objecting to the use of Hokkien, a Chinese dialect scorned by the government.
- ↑ "15". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
- ↑ "15". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 "15: The Movie (2003) - Awards - IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
- ↑ "Internationale Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen: 2003 Award Winners". Archived from the original on 17 October 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ↑ "6th Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente: Winners". Archived from the original on 20 August 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2008.
References
Reviews
- Bradshaw, Peter. Review. The Guardian. 4 February 2005.
- Dawson, Tom. Review. BBC. 1 February 2005.
- Elley, Derek. Sundance 2004 review. Archived 27 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine Variety. 30 September 2003.
- Fox, Ken. Review. TV Guide. 15 April 2005.
- French, Philip. Review. The Observer. 6 February 2005.
- Johnson, G. Allen. Review. San Francisco Chronicle. 10 June 2005.
- Ng, David. "Thirteen+2: Aimless Singaporean rebels in directionless youth flick." The Village Voice. 5 April 2005.
- Smith, Matthew. Review. Film Journal International. 27 October 2005.
- Stevens, Dana. "Young and Adrift in Singapore." The New York Times. 13 April 2005.
- Walsh, Brian. "Street Survivors". Time. 1 September 2003.
External links
- 15: The Movie
- 15 at IMDb
- 15 at Rotten Tomatoes
- 15 at Metacritic
- 15 at Box Office Mojo