This
is probably the most celebrated “lost” film after Jodorowsky’s Dune, at least if you live in Singapore.
Many local cineastes were expecting Shirkers
to jump-start the nation’s indie film scene, even though it was produced by a
small group of teenagers and their 30-something film-making teacher, Georges
Cardona. Things did not pan out as they hoped when Cardona disappeared with all
their footage. Twenty-five years later, Sandi Tan was reunited with the
original 16mm footage, sans audio. We will probably never be able to see the
film as Tan and her friends intended, but she subsequently repurposed the once
missing video into Shirkers (trailer here), one of the most poignant documentaries of the year,
which premieres this Friday on Netflix and also opens theatrically in New York.
The
earnest nineteen-year-old Tan wore her early 1990s indie influences on her sleeve:
Jarmusch, Tarantino, etc. She would be the first to admit her quirky and
increasingly surreal serial killer road-trip movie was highly derivative of her
heroes’ work. However, it was undeniably a Singaporean production. That alone
made it special at the time. Looking back on the 1992 footage, it also would
have been and sort of still is a time capsule document of a more traditional
Singapore that no longer exists.
Somehow,
Tan’s friends Jasmine Ng and Sophia Siddique allowed themselves to get caught
up in her enthusiasm. Cardona served as director, while they filled just about
every other role, including Tan playing the evil Amelie-like protagonist, “S,”
which Ng and Siddique concede was probably a mistake in retrospect.
Nevertheless, Tan and Ng willing sunk their personal savings into the production
to cover a sudden financing gap. Naturally, they were all devastated when
Cardona disappeared with their film, but it also forged an unusual bond between
them.
Alas,
Cardona is no longer with us (in the land of the living). In fact, his death was
the catalyst for the partial rediscovery of Shirkers.
Nevertheless, the film manages to partly explain what the heck was the deal
with Cardona (but not entirely). Yet, despite the significant role he plays,
the film is not about him. It is about Tan and Siddique and Ng. It is about
Singapore at a time when you could still find old school colonial-era buildings
and mom-and-pop establishments. It is about youthful idealism and an enduring
love of cinema. Most of all it is about the special relationship shared by
three friends who can truly drive each other to distraction.
As
a documentary, Shirkers has mystery
and cultural history elements, but it is also a long-deferred coming of age
story. Tan digs pretty deeply into Cardona’s murky past, but she is even less
sparing when examining her own life. She keeps peeling back the onion,
producing a third act chocked full of epiphanies. Ultimately, it is shockingly
poignant to fully understand how much the unfinished has meant to her, Ng and
Siddique—and maybe even Cardona.
