Executive producer and creator Eric Khoo has announced that they just finished shooting a romance / fantasy miniseries of 5 episodes x 45-50 minutes, titled “Hungry Souls: From Hell, With Love”. Directed by Meng Ong and Caleb Huang, the series is produced by Zhao Wei Films Pte Ltd (the company founded in 1995 by pioneer Singaporean filmmaker Eric Khoo) for Cj Enm Hk.
Synopsis:
Set during the annual Hungry Ghost Festival, Hungry Souls: From Hell, with Love tells the tale of Bao, a catering chef with the ability to see spirits. Having been traumatised by hungry souls as a child, Bao has learnt to avoid ghosts or risk being besieged by their endless requests or menacing threats.
During this year’s festival, Bao finds himself followed by the enigmatic and beautiful female spirit, Soo Lian. Having been a lost spirit for nearly 50 years, she has no recollections of her living memories or her untimely death.
Synopsis:
Set during the annual Hungry Ghost Festival, Hungry Souls: From Hell, with Love tells the tale of Bao, a catering chef with the ability to see spirits. Having been traumatised by hungry souls as a child, Bao has learnt to avoid ghosts or risk being besieged by their endless requests or menacing threats.
During this year’s festival, Bao finds himself followed by the enigmatic and beautiful female spirit, Soo Lian. Having been a lost spirit for nearly 50 years, she has no recollections of her living memories or her untimely death.
- 5/26/2022
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
This debut indie feature about a young Chinese woman's experiences after she immigrates to America features a particular device by the filmmaker that is more than a little hard to swallow. Ah Na (Amy Ting) arrives in New York speaking little or no English, and lands a job in a midtown greasy spoon Chinese restaurant. In order to achieve the American dream, she heads to Grand Central Station, where an underground section dubbed the Golden Palace is a veritable smorgasbord of beautiful women, labeled according to their ethnic background (Mexicans are "tacos," Japanese are "sushi," etc.), desperately trying to snare American men. The men also are labeled, this time according their desirability, the range extending from "meat loaf" (fat slobs in jeans) to "escargot" (businessmen in sharp suits). If this review seems a little rushed in its execution, it's only because I'm hurrying to get it done so I can go check out this international version of "The Dating Game" for myself.
So, as filmmaker Meng Ong's screenplay would have it, Ah Na heads to Grand Central, where she attracts the attention of handsome, dashing Jack (James Burns), who promptly takes her to his comfortable home in Westchester where they immediately have sex. Somehow, Ah Na's beatific expression and gentle demeanor makes it all seem very innocent, though it's hard to imagine that even in rural China women possess this degree of naivete. When Ah Na assumes that this is a permanent relationship, even having her visiting mother show up at her lover's house while he's away to let herself in, the exasperated and very married Jack quickly sets her straight.
The film's awkward blending of realism and fantasy in its examination of the harsh realities behind the promise of the American dream simply doesn't work, and, as played by the appealing but emotionally blank newcomer Amy Ting, the central character isn't complex enough to hold our interest. Neither are the supporting characters, such as the bossy restaurant owner played by the lead actress's mother, Sakura Teng (a former pop music star in her native Malaysia). Problematic, too, are the confusing flashbacks, depicting the melodramatic reasons for Ah Na's departure from her village home.
Ultimately, like the title character herself, "Miss Wonton" is far more well meaning than it is explicable.
MISS WONTON
Dreamchamber Films
Director-screenwriter-editor: Meng Ong
Producer: Dave Johnson
Director of Photography: Tsuyoshi Kimoto
Music: Evan Evans
Production designer: Charlotte Bourke
Color/Stereo
Cast:
Ah Na: Amy Ting
Chung: Ben Wang
Jack: James Burns
Ling: Chyna Ng
Mrs. Sum: Sakura Teng
Running time -- 87 minutes
No MPAA rating
Ling: Chyna Ng
Mrs. Sum: Sakura Teng
Running time -- 87 minutes
No MPAA rating...
So, as filmmaker Meng Ong's screenplay would have it, Ah Na heads to Grand Central, where she attracts the attention of handsome, dashing Jack (James Burns), who promptly takes her to his comfortable home in Westchester where they immediately have sex. Somehow, Ah Na's beatific expression and gentle demeanor makes it all seem very innocent, though it's hard to imagine that even in rural China women possess this degree of naivete. When Ah Na assumes that this is a permanent relationship, even having her visiting mother show up at her lover's house while he's away to let herself in, the exasperated and very married Jack quickly sets her straight.
The film's awkward blending of realism and fantasy in its examination of the harsh realities behind the promise of the American dream simply doesn't work, and, as played by the appealing but emotionally blank newcomer Amy Ting, the central character isn't complex enough to hold our interest. Neither are the supporting characters, such as the bossy restaurant owner played by the lead actress's mother, Sakura Teng (a former pop music star in her native Malaysia). Problematic, too, are the confusing flashbacks, depicting the melodramatic reasons for Ah Na's departure from her village home.
Ultimately, like the title character herself, "Miss Wonton" is far more well meaning than it is explicable.
MISS WONTON
Dreamchamber Films
Director-screenwriter-editor: Meng Ong
Producer: Dave Johnson
Director of Photography: Tsuyoshi Kimoto
Music: Evan Evans
Production designer: Charlotte Bourke
Color/Stereo
Cast:
Ah Na: Amy Ting
Chung: Ben Wang
Jack: James Burns
Ling: Chyna Ng
Mrs. Sum: Sakura Teng
Running time -- 87 minutes
No MPAA rating
Ling: Chyna Ng
Mrs. Sum: Sakura Teng
Running time -- 87 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 3/21/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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