(Singapore
Film)
Our Sister Mambo (2015)
Four
sisters, all with names inspired from their father's favorite
actress, are still living at home while trying to find their place in
the world. The mother is delightfully obsessed with Korean dramas, as
well as intent on finding her daughters good husbands. Mambo
surprises everyone when she decides to quit her job as a lawyer to
pursue her true passion: cooking. Will Mrs. Wong allow Mambo to
pursue her dreams, or will her practical side become an overbearing
burden on their family? What happens when the youngest daughter June
starts dating the son of Mrs. Wong's office enemy? How will Mambo's
dinner invitation to her sister Grace's love interest, the divorcee
with a child, go over with the family? Will Rose ever settle down?
*Indian
films are the only ones I've watched where the actors slip in and out
of English dialogue – this film switches between English,
Cantonese, and Chinese, with a handful of Korean phrases just for
fun. It's a little bit difficult to keep up with it, since the
English phrases do not have subtitles while the lilt in their voices,
the vocal pattern, is decidedly Chinese. It was a clean film, but it
also lacked tension – nothing bad happens to anyone. Aside from the
mother's disapproval, the family had very few altercations, keeping
the feel quite calm. Basically, it's a bit on the dull side, but
sometimes that can be a nice break. I might watch it again.*
