Title: The Masseur
Director: Brillante Mendoza
Language: Tagalog | Filipino
Cast:
Coco Martin as Iliac
Jacklyn Jose as Naty
Allan Paule as Alfredo / Marina Hidalgo
Katherine Luna as Tessa
Paolo Rivero as Andrew
Kristoffer King as Lester

Movie Summary:

Illiac (Coco Martin) is a handsome young lad who, because his alcoholic and carousing absentee father cannot support his family, has left his home to work as a masseur in Manila, assuming the financial responsibility of his family. Illiac works in a massage parlor - rooms like closets so close that conversations are easily heard - where he has his regular clients as well as newcomers, each of whom pays for massage an tips for all the 'extras' the boys are more than willing to offer for a price. The film moves back and forth between Illiac's home and his work in Manila and after his father dies, Illiac must return home and be the one who must assist the mortician in preparing his father's body for burial. This tradition becomes an analogy for the work Illiac performs on the massage table and the conversations and physical involvements between Illiac and client mirror the ministrations at the funeral parlor in a powerful and deeply moving way. Illiac is able to cope with both sides of his lot until he discovers some secrets left in his deceased father's belongings.

Subtitles

Director: Kenneth Bi
Producer: Rosa Li, Jackie Chan, Solon So, Willie Chan, Gary Hamilton
Writer: Kenneth Bi
Cast: Sylvia Chang, Martin Yan, Melanie Laurent, LePham Tan, Craig Toh, Alvin Chiang, Maggie Q, Ivy Ling Po, Ronald Bi
Subtitles: Hardcoded English

Movie Summary:

Kenneth Bi, son of the famous Chinese actress Ivy Ling Po, was born in Singapore and educated in the States. Having a reputation as Ang Lee the second, his Rice Rhapsody strikes a chord of resonance with Lee's successful films Eat Drink Man Woman (also starring Sylvia Chang) and The Wedding Banquet, in terms of stylistic elements as well as thematic concerns. Hainan (Hi-Nahn) Chicken Rice is one of the staples of Singaporean cuisine, a Chinese risotto sizzled in a pan and simmered in chicken stock, glistening with chicken essence and fragrant with ginger, every grain plump and separate yet chewy and bursting with juice. After being abandoned by her husband twelve years earlier, Jen (Sylvia Chang: "Eat Drink Man Woman", "The Red Violin". Best Actress of Hong Kong Film Awards 2002 - "Forever and Ever"), raised her three sons alone. She uses her mother's secret Hainan Chicken Rice recipe and opened a restaurant to support the family. Her two older sons, Daniel and Harry are gay. As a woman with traditional values, Jen is fretful that she would have no grandchildren, if Leo, too, turns out to be gay. Together she and her best friend, Kim Chui (Martin Yan: famous Chinese cuisine TV chef "Yan Can Cook") device a plan to keep Leo straight by bringing in a French exchange student to live with them. She is Leo's age and her name is Sabine. Leo develops a strange but intriguing relationship with her, which greatly pleases Jen. However, things begin to crumble for her again when Kim Chui becomes "the toast of the town" with his invention of a new dish deeply challenging her Chicken Rice. Kim Chui becomes a national celebrity overnight, and Jen's self-esteem is threatened. Finally, their conflicts come to a head when Jen participates in a cooking contest with Kim Chui and other chefs from Singapore. Food unexpectedly becomes a medium that not only nourishes their bodies but also opens their hearts...