Loading ...When Guy (played by one of the Directors of Solos Loo Zihan) begins with his sexual curiosity, he falls madly in love with his teacher. Guy finds love for his professor and stays inside the premises without thinking that their relationship is to be greatly punished if someone finds out.
Could a young and innocent love end up with mature eyes and a heavy heart after years of being considered as The One? Solos is an adult film without audio since it is being presented by the great Director Kan Lume and his Co-Director Loo Zihan.
This circumstance is indeed a usual one since the form of idolizing and respecting can be seen in different angles yet Guy knows in his heart that he yearns of Man. Man also tries to protect his young lover by not being too obvious in front of his class but still, they fail. Guy’s mother even got entangled in this web of desire as she finds out for herself that her precious child is cavorting in the arms of a much older man. She could not bear the fact that his son is in love with a man and so she told her son that she is not happy with the unexpected relationship.
The torrid love affair is being consumed in different places without an iota of fear since two lovers with blinded eyes only seek the experience and moment of their time together. Homosexuality is often looked down upon and even in the streets of Singapore where different genders and different sexual preferences happen but still, Man and Guy’s affair is frowned upon.
Everywhere he goes, he craves for new and different relationships at the dismay and complete disgust of his mother. She continuously asks herself what she had done wrong to deserve a son like Guy.
Soon, Guy leaves the comfortable house and seeks new grounds to start with. His mother went out of reasons to claim back her son and just allowed him to be who he is since there is nothing else she could do. Erotic scenes of past relationships still linger in Guy’s mind as he moves from one man to another in search of that familiar touch he once felt with Man.
The remarkable Solos is a film still being argued upon whether to show it without cuts, which provoked many raised eyebrows due to a rather reclusive society when it comes to a different kind of gender relationship. Only the brave of heart has the guts to view it as well as the critics but being filmed with an idea of Art and Expressionism, Solos is one kind of masterpiece everyone should watch.
Are there still loving, passionate and understanding men out there who will show him the true meaning of love? Or are they just there to feed on his lust and leave him cold and worthless?
Interview with Director/Writer/Actor Loo Zihan
Q: In what ways can you relate yourself with Guy?
The character was not that far away from what I was like at that age. I just drew from memories and simply added in observations of how other teenagers behave. I also think that everyone, at one stage or the other in their lives can identify themselves in Guy’s character. I did, and that was how I related to him.
Q: What inspired you to write the story of Solos?
My inspiration is drawn from everyday life. From observing our surroundings, from tabloid newspapers, from popular culture… But I would say that what inspired me to write the story of Solos was the newspaper article about the tuition teacher molesting his guys, and the guys standing up to defend him.
Of course, Solos is not a direct adaptation of the actual events. But what intrigued me the most is what happens inside them and their inner struggle. From there, I started writing out the characters and building up the plot.
Q: This is your second time working with Kan Lume. What propelled the two of you to work with each other again for Solos?
The first time we collaborated together was in the short film, Untitled, which we made at the Soul to Soul Festival 2005 during a Take 5! Guerilla Filmmaking Challenge organised by the Singapore History Museum. We felt that we complemented each other’s working style well, and wanted to see if our partnership could be pushed further.
Q: What do you wish for audiences to take back after watching Solos?
We emphasize on the fact that audiences usually show apathy towards Singaporean films because the films are either too safe, predictable or altogether alienating. We wanted to make a film that show another part of Singaporean society, and then shake people out of their apathy. It is important for this film to elicit a response of any kind, even if it takes the form of disgust. When people take a stand, it means they care enough to do so. I want people to care about Singapore’s film industry.
Loo Zihan – Director / Writer
Within the year of 2005, Zihan directed three short films and edited two others. One of the short films, Untitled (2005), was done in collaboration with Kan Lume and was developed into his debut feature length film, Solos.
Untitled won the top prize at Take 5! Guerrilla Film Making Challenge 2005 with the Singapore History Museum and was subsequently screened in the 3rd Singapore Short Cuts and Short Circuit 2006.
His other short films include Embryo (2006), which was selected by the Asian Film Archive to be screened in a showcase of Singapore Film and Video – “Painkiller for my Foreign Body” with films by other local directors like Tan Pin Pin and Eric Khoo. The screening was held in London, March 2007. Zihan also won the Judges’ Choice Award for Fly-By-Night 2006 with his short film Lucilla (2006).
He is reading at the premises of Art Design and Media, Nanyang Technological University.
Loo Zihan as Guy
Loo Zihan has acted in Pleasure Factory (2007). Besides directing and writing screenplays, he also considers being a dancer as part of his curriculum vitae. He choreographed and danced in Royston Tan’s film CUT! (2005)
