Case Study: Director Jack Neo

Jack Neo

Jack Neo Chee Keong, a famous director born in Singapore. He is an actor, emcee and filmmaker. He was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 2005 for his achievements in filmmaking. One of his early film, Money Not Enough (1998) remains the highest grossing Singapore film with total box office takings of S$5.8million.

Auteur Theory is when director creates a film that breaks the codes and conversations seen regularly in movies of the same genre. Andrew Sarris, an American who introduced auteur theory. There are three categories in the notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962. There are Technician, Stylist and Auteur. Technician is the 

Technician (technical competence of a director as a criterion of value)

     > Linear editing

        - Story line is easy to understand.

        - Cut out the boring part.

        - Keep good scene.

        - Clear to see the message of the story.

     > Close-up camera shot

        - A shot that keeps only the face full in the frame. Perhaps the most important building block in             cinematic storytelling.

        - Audience can see clearer the facial expression.

           

Stylist (distinguishable personality of the director as a criterion of value)

     > Funny and humour

        - Human nature to be happy.

     > Comparison between rich and poor family

        - Compare the life of rich and poor family in Singapore.

     > Family conflict

        - Every family has to face some problems such as money, education, relationship between family           members and others.

Auteur (personality or tendencies, consciously or unconsciously will become evident)

     > Happy and touching ending

        - Proves that Jack Neo has the happy personality.

        - Emphasis happy ending in his film.

     > Family love

        - Important for every family to improve their relationship.

        - He likes to use this concept in his film.

  

 In conclusion, Jack Neo is a director who has the personality of an auteur because he is repeated use of individual signature characteristic that distinguish a group of films from any other. 

Reference:

Sarris, A 1962, Notes On The Auteur Theory in 1962, New York.