Fridae

It's not everyday that we get a Tamil-language feature made in Singapore. It's not everyday that such a film is directed by a Chinese filmmaker who doesn't speak a word of Tamil. And most astonishingly of all, that it has become the first Singapore film to compete for the Best Picture award, the Golden Palm, at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.

My Magic is the fourth film by Singapore's most highly acclaimed director, Eric Khoo, but it is not necessarily his best. The movie is based on the life of Indian magician Francis Bosco, who plays himself. The story details Francis' struggle with poverty and alcoholism as he strives to be a better father to his young son (Jathishweran)...

Now the story, to be frank, is pretty thin. There have been other films about alcoholic fathers making good to their sons, for instance, Patrick Tam's After This Our Exile (2006), which are far better. So My Magic doesn't actually offer anything new.

Eric Khoo's direction feels somewhat spare, as if he was content to just let his actors act with minimal interference. But the performances by Francis Bosco and young Jathishweran, while earnest, don't always hit their requisite marks. Other times, they meander in excessive melodrama.

While we are proud of Eric Khoo's achievement, we can't say we enjoyed this film. In many ways, it is flawed and doesn't stand up to scrutiny.