Being faithfull to one's own identity should be the only logical and honest thing to do, but this isn't possible in every corner of the world. Many people are still stuck in a system that recognizes only male and female gender, and unfortunately, in not such an insignificantly small ammount of countries, the same sex relationships are still incriminated, and in some – even punishable by death. As late as in August this year, it was announced that Singapore was about to end a colonial-era law that criminalized sex between men, but this crucial change that should have brought more rights to gay people was soon overshadowed by the Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's annual speech, who only few days after the introduction of the new law, declared Government's opposition to gay marriage. With words about their aim to “uphold and safeguard the institution of marriage”, it became clear that there is still a long road towards full equality.
Baby Queen is screening at Singapore International Film Festival
When Opera Tang asks her grandmother “Will you make my wedding dress when the moment comes?” in Lei Yuan Bin's documentary “Baby Queen”, the ban on gay sex is still in power (the film was shot in 2020), and she is also unsure about her own identity. “He, she or them” she wonders at one point on her way to a performance, admitting to be sure only about being no-binary. This dilemma will eventually vanish, but the film is less about the search for truth than about being truthfull to one's desires. Adapting of reality to heart's desire is the main driving force of the film's lead, and it's her energy and the uncompromising wish to live to the fullest with every right granted to a heteronormative person that is the driving force of “Baby Queen”.
Opera, who goes by the Christian name Tang Xi Er, lives in the house of her 80-year-old fit as a fiddle grandmother, a seamstress by profession and a joker by nature. It's their uniquely harmonius relationship the film is built around, shot with a hand-held, but most of the time pretty stable camera handled by Wan Ping Loi who already collaborated with Lei on his previous documentaries “I Dream of Singapore” (2019) and “03-Flats” (2014).
The photography is bright and crisp, and the lense is close to its subjects, eyeing them from various angles almost like circling around to avoid missing on a detail. This restlessness is mirroring the spirit of Opera, who is mostly on her feet, trying things on, dancing, rehearsing or giving her grandmother a new, youthfull look in one of the drag costumes. In a way, this approach also allows other characters to walk in and out of the frame freely in what it comes across as accidental appearances, although nothing could be left to improvisation in this captivating portrait of a free-thinking and warm family whose members accept each other the way they are.
Sexuality is not a direct topic, but the gender roles are, and in a hilarious scene in which the mother finds diverse memorabilia from her own wedding, we hear her reading out loud the Christian ‘words of wisdom' about women's role in marriage: “A silent wife is a gift from the lord. No price can be put on the well-trained character. A modest wife is a boon twice over.” Singapore's conservative system of beliefs is clear about the seat order at the table. Opera therefore wishes to explore her background and ethnicity through drag. Costumes and makeup in the film are as impressive as their makers.
The young woman's wish is to get hitched one day, with a lavish ceremony and all. That dream lives on, although her boyfriend is not that outspoken. For the most of his appearances in the film, he's hiding his face behind a medical mask, with the shadow of worry hanging over him. This contrast expressed in the way two lovers are dealing with their sexuality is also an interesting, silent comment on the state of things. Even if the grandmother doesn't quite grasp the nature of their relationship at the beginning, she will comment things only once through a dry remark that church accepts a bond between a woman and a man only.
After its world premiere at the Busan Film Festival, “Baby Queen” will certainly have its fair share of screenings internationally.
