Small Hours of the Night

Singapore, late 1960s. The newly independent country is still grappling with its identity. In a dark room, a woman is trapped, being interrogated by a man. Over the course of one long night, identities and duration start to blur. Ghosts from the future haunt their conversation, telling of a bizarre tombstone trial that speaks to the state’s nascent political and legal landscape. “With its hypnotic chiaroscuro cinematography and fastidious sound, the film works up a meditative intensity that transforms an interrogation into something resembling a metaphysical trial.” (Srikanth Srinivasan)