''Bugis Street'' (妖街皇后) is a 1995 Hong Kong-Singapore co-production directed by Yonfan, about the lives of

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

transvestite Transvestism is the practice of dressing in a manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. In some cultures, transvestism is practiced for religious, traditional, or ceremonial reasons. The term is considered outdated in Western ...

s in a bygone era. It was a minor hit at the box office with a sexually-explicit R(A) (Restricted (Artistic) rating, male full-frontal nudity and its nostalgic evocation of a seedy but colourful aspect of Singaporean culture, prior to the redevelopment of

Bugis Street Bugis (Kampong Bugis in Malay) is an area in Singapore that covers Bugis Street now located within the Bugis Junction shopping mall. Bugis Street was renowned internationally from the 1950s to the 1980s for its nightly gathering of transves ...

into a modern shopping district and the eradication of transvestite activities in the area. In 2015, the restored version of the film was presented at the 26th

Singapore International Film Festival The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) (Chinese: 新加坡国际电影节) is the longest-running film festival in Singapore. Founded in 1987, the festival has a focus on showcasing international films and providing a global platform fo ...

as ''Bugis Street Redux''.

Synopsis

Sixteen-year-old Lien, portrayed by Vietnamese actress

Hiep Thi Le Hiep Thi Le ( vi, Lê Thị Hiệp; February 18, 1971 – December 19, 2017) was an American actress and restaurateur. She is best known for her portrayal of Le Ly in the film '' Heaven & Earth'' (1993). Early life Le was born on February 18, ...

, is the main protagonist. Despite having worked for a time as a servant in a household whose "young master" adored her in her hometown of Malacca in West Malaysia, the young girl comes across as having led a surprisingly sheltered life. She journeys to Singapore to seek employment as a maid in the Sin Sin Hotel along Bugis Street. She seems thoroughly content for a time to possess a naïve, romanticised view of the rambunctious goings-on at the hotel where she witnesses "the sad departure of an American gentleman" from the home-cum-workplace of "his Chinese girl". The guest is actually a presently-sober but angry American sailor who has belatedly discovered that the Singaporean Chinese prostitute he picked up in Bugis Street and spent a drunken night with happens to be a

trans woman A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and s ...

. Before long, the new employee Lien finds out that many of the long-term lodgers of the budget establishment, whose room rental rate is S$3, whether it be for an hour or the entire day and night, are trans women. Although her first reaction to seeing someone with breasts and a penis is one of revulsion which causes her to contemplate fleeing the neighbourhood, she instead listens to and heeds the cajoling and advice of Lola, the trans hotel resident who has treated her well from the start of her stint. She comes to accept the unique, complex personalities of the unorthodox community, who in turn also begin to accept her. As she learns to look beyond the surface, she is rewarded with the generous friendship of the cosmopolitan and sophisticated Drago, who has returned from Paris to minister to his/her dying but loving and tolerant mother. While Lien learns the ways of the world via her encounters with Meng, the slimy, often underdressed boyfriend of Lola, as well as night-time escapades on the town with the Sin Sin Hotel's other denizens, she begins to see beauty in unlikely places and to grow despite the presence of ugliness in an imperfect world.

Cast

as Lien *

Michael Lam Michael Lam Wai-Leung () is a former Hong Kong film actor. He has appeared in numerous films, in several of which he has played the lead role. He first appeared in the film ''The Night Rider''. Lam took his first lead role in the Hong Kong-Sin ...

as Meng * Greg-O as Drago * Ernest Seah as Lola * David Knight as Sailor * Maggie Lye as Maggie * Gerald Chen as Mrs. Hwee * Mavia as Zsa Zsa *Sofia as Sophie * Linden as Linda *

Lily Siew Lin Ong ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...

as Drago's Mother (as Lily Ong) * Matthew Foo as Dr. Toh *

Benedict Goh Benedict Goh Wei Cheh (born in 1969 or 1970) is a Singaporean businessman and a former actor and host. Goh placed fourth at the 2nd edition of '' Manhunt International'' in 1994 and is best known for hosting '' The Pyramid Game'' from 1995 to ...

as Sing (Schoolboy) * Gerald Chen as Mrs. Hwee * Matthew Foo as Dr. Toh * Godfrey Yew as Mr. Wong *

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

as Wah Chai * Kelvin Lua as Drago's Boyfriend * Tyosaurus Club as Male Joggers *

Sharon Chua Sharon ( he, שָׁרוֹן ''Šārôn'' "plain") is a given name as well as an Israeli surname. In English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name. However, historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In I ...

as Sister One *

Jimmy Newton-Lim Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...

as Sister Two * Anthony Yeo as Sister From Bangkok *

Anuar Ethinylestradiol/cyproterone acetate (EE/CPA), also known as co-cyprindiol and sold under the brand names Diane and Diane-35 among others, is a combination of ethinylestradiol (EE), an estrogen, and cyproterone acetate (CPA), a progestin and anti ...

as Sister From Africa *

Sim Wen Chiat, How Sim or SIM may refer to: Computing and technology *SIM card or Subscriber Identity Module, used by mobile telephones *HP Systems Insight Manager, a system management tool * Scientific instrument module in the Apollo command and service module * ...

as 少爷 (Young master)

References

External links

Internet Movie Database (IMDB)

New York Times Review

Popspoken Review , Discussion with cast and director
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bugis Street (Film) 1995 films Chinese LGBT-related films Hong Kong independent films 1995 drama films 1995 LGBT-related films Films set in Singapore Gay-related films LGBT-related drama films Hong Kong LGBT-related films Singaporean independent films Singaporean LGBT-related films 1990s English-language films 1990s Mandarin-language films Films directed by Yonfan Hong Kong drama films Singaporean drama films Films about trans women 1995 independent films 1990s Hong Kong films

Synopsis

Cast

See also

References

External links