Singapore's WET SEASON Heading to U.S. Theaters

Submitted by Singapore to the Academy Awards as its candidate for Best International Feature Film, Wet Season did not garner a nomination, but that has not halted release plans. The film is heading to U.S. theaters on April 23, courtesy of Strand Releasing.

Our own Kwenton Bellette saw it last year as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival. He began his review with a very helpful introduction:

"Singapore Director Anthony Chen returns after six years with his sophomore feature Wet Season. His first film Ilo Ilo (2013) is a tender, masterfully shot race-class drama set during the 90s Asian recession. It follows a Malaysian native maid and her role in a Singaporean household with precision period detail. In Wet Season the lens is more focused this time round, focusing on a unique relationship and power dynamic, far more understated and tender in its critique of ethnic relations in the time of the mid-2000s."

Here is the official synopsis from Strand Releasing:

"As Mandarin-language teacher Ling continues with fruitless IVF treatment while taking care of her ailing father-in-law, she finds herself slowly drawn towards a promising student who seems to have been abandoned by his parents. Outside it's monsoon season, but Ling's inner turmoil looks set to get her into a heap of trouble.

"Director Anthony Chen brings this simmering Singapore-set drama to boiling point, whilst using an associative and poetic editing rhythm, repeating colors and shapes to highlight the small parallels that link people, and reveal the profound in lovely and subtle ways. With uniformly sensitive performances from the returning cast of Ilo Ilo, Chen's Wet Season is the classy and well-measured teacher-student drama that will get you weeping."

Plans are for the film to be released at the Village East by Angelika in New York City on April 23, and then expanding to theaters, virtual cinemas and Premium Video On Demand nationwide on April 30. More information is available at the official site.

For now, enjoy the trailer below, which is a perfect way to enjoy a cloudy day.