12 Storeys

As he did with his previous venture Mee Pok Man (1995), filmmaker Eric Khoo presents a look at the darker side of Singapore life, but this time he injects a sense of humor missing from the former. Comprised of three intercut, but unrelated stories, it is a chronicle of life in a large apartment block. The film begins on an early morning when a man quietly leaps from a 12-story apartment building while a radio cheerfully blares about the greatness of his native island. In one of the stories, a middle-aged fumbler of a husband tries to contend with his new bride, a self-absorbed gold digger looking only for fun. In another, a hyper-responsible, old-fashioned older brother, left in charge by his vacationing parents, tries to cope with his sexually active little sister and his baby brother. The third and briefest story deals with a lonely, overweight and depressive young woman who tries miserably to contend with a domineering, overly critical mother.~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide