Captain Thomas Lee Chun Ming (Darius Tan) of Singapore Army is struggling to come to terms with an accident in the line of duty caused by his malpractice and resulted in the death of young Sargent Koh. Shocked and traumatised, Thomas is going through a military trial but he's unable to explain his actions. His mind is troubled by horrific flashbacks of the event mixed with guilt, regrets and the frightening prospect of spending the next few years in jail. A brief encounter with the grieving mother of the young soldier makes things worse, triggering memories and more flashbacks. But while the military trial is about something that happened in the past, a more challenging trial is happening in the present. Thomas must confront his 10-yer-old son Jonathan (Karlsson Tan) who always considered him as his hero, and show his vulnerable side. Will he understand?
“Last Wave By” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
“Last Wave By”, directed by Aloysius Ong and co-written with Zen Chie, deals with a mix of very complex feelings and states of mind, and addresses the consequences of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. But also, and more prominently, it focuses on the relationship between father and son when the role-model duty is in crisis. Constricted by the curse of masculinity stereotypes, Thomas is expected to be the hero, but he is only human, and his fragility is inevitably hurting little Jon. It is up to him now to restore a nurturing connection with the child.
Opening with an impressive transition from comic book images and live action, the film is split in two distinct parts. The first one mimics Thomas' state of mind with gritty flashback scenes and other dream sequences that complement the pressing interrogation of the trial, while the second and final part is about reconnecting and repairing. It is cleverly re-linked to the opening shot, in water, making it a full circle, and it is aptly calm, in contrast with the stressful first half.
However, despite the strong content, the first part seems to be the weakest of the two. The different techniques and textures of the sequences (the gaming point, the fight with a woman in the street, the flashback of the event as opposite to vivid visions) show a certain lack of connective tissue or stylistic coherence that prevent them to work together in synergy, and make them confusing at times.
The end is bright and positive, aided by a naturalistic and muted cinematography; ruptures can make relationships stronger when handled with humanity, finding solutions, forgiving and reconnecting. Dialogues gets a bit lost between pauses, but they hit the spot; the comic book hero is a lovely medium between father and son and kudos to the visual artist.
With some bumps in the storytelling “Last Wave By” is still a challenging project that show a certain courage of the filmmaker in confronting it.
