

Director: Royston Tan
Cast: Xiao Li Yuan, Kim Young Jun

It premiered at Berlin International Film Festival.
The most brief synopsis would simply be ... it is a film revolving around a young boy and his Korean tenant ...

My thoughts ...

I thought the film has a number of interesting food for thought ...

(i) Is it reality or is it all but a dream? 
The film succeeds because it feels so real (and strikes a chord in many lonely hearts), yet I humbly think that the film while being real, does drop hints at both reality and "fantasy/dreams" ... let me elaborate ... a lot of scenes can be viewed in "two ways" ... 
- e.g., He attended school and wrote his "diary" everyday ... but if you noticed the month, it was December with no schooling! Does that make you wonder if it is all but a figment of his imagination ...
- e.g., Li Yuan painted a picture (nothing but black brush strokes) and remarked "I have no dreams". Again, does that mean he really has no "dreams" (either at night? or about the future? or about reality?) or can it be simply a symptom of self denial? ... he does have "dreams" all along ... of this man that will come into his life (whether it is a fatherly figure or a friend or ...). At the end of the film, he started painting the window panes with similar black brush strokes ... shattered dreams? or no more dreams? (i.e., he has "lost" his dreams/hopes over the relationship ... or he will stop dreaming/fantasizing about this non existent relationship?)
- e.g., Near the end, as Li Yuan thought of those good old days, objects started "vanishing and disappearing" from sight (a common technique in films/TVs) ... but could these also be interpreted differently (i.e., if you look intently, these items have never existed before in the first place?! ... that is why you only see "emptiness" ... (even the oranges get replaced back) ...
- e.g., Also, Li Yuan repeatedly consumed huge dosage of cough medicine, so he could be really ill or the effects of drugs could be working on him (hence, all these events happening ...)
- e.g., And the time is 4:30 ... late at night ... whereby everything could be real but also, a dream ...

(ii) what exactly is the relationship between the kid and the man?
-- Again, the film is rather "tactful" as most of the audience would like to interpret the entire relationship as a lonely kid seeking a fatherly figure ... (thanks also to the casting and great acting of the two protagonists, the man and the kid) ... The film only mentions the mother and drops hints at the father ... could he possibly be an engineer who have died of cancer (that is why Li Yuan hated smoking) ...
-- Could the relationship border precariously on an "identity issue" of a teenage boy growing up? ... having only a mother to take care and no father ... well, there is a scene of the kid and hiding in the "closet" ... and some scenes/behavior could be interpreted in again "two ways" (either innocent childish pranks ... or not ... ) ... also, the Chinese song that was repeatedly sung was more of a love/romance song (but again, love can be a much bigger thing beyond romance ...) ... anyway, the two actors are great such that it is not exactly clear ... and I think most conservative audience would rather leave it that way and ... most unorthodox audience would credit it for its vaguesness and subtlely ... to have dual interpretations ...
-- it could also be a film about two people of different nationalities/cultures trying to feel for one another ... whereby one actively seeks to learn more about the other ... and given the barriers, all that they could do is through their visual connection, emotional connection, actions and behaviors ...

(iii) belying the simplicity of the plot, the film is also about ...
-- instead of dealing with loneliness and relationship, it could also be a film about valuing the moment in time ... every single moment ... and if only time can be stopped ... (e.g., when the kid stops the time; e.g., when the kid holds the clock in his arms ...)
-- it could also be a film to warn of self destruction (e.g., the drugs, the cough medicine, the smoking, and * a spoiler scene * ... etc)
-- there are others ... 
e.g., if you have watched the previous film "15", you will realize the use of fish tanks (or home aquarium) again ...
e.g., also, I recall seeing the "teardrop" scene somewhere ... but it is still a very nice scene ...
-- while some people may try comparing the film to Tsai Ming Liang's films (which largely dwell on loneliness), I have to qualify that 4:30 is at least more entertaining (and may appeal to mainstream audience) as there are more comical/funny scenes (very believable and not slapstick). The pacing is slightly faster, and the dialogues slightly more ... albeit not too much.

(iv) Finally, a scene that I thought could be better ... instead of showing the audience the note that is written by the Korean man ... and letting those non Korean audience wonders ... (because it is from the perspective of the kid) ... I feel that the film should have shown the back of the note (or simply a portion of it) so that BOTH Korean and non Korean audience can guess (and can share the perspective of the boy ... i.e., of non comprehension) ... As of now, those who understand Korean will have that "fun/puzzle" unravelled/destroyed ...

Conclusion:
Highly Recommended. It is one of the few films by Singapore that is artsy (due to multiple interpetations), but also commercially viable (due to its entertaining scenes).