Ajoomma: Life as it tumbles along

FOR anyone whose most anticipated film of the year is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ajoomma may come as a shock. This small, low-budget Singapore film opens with – of all things – a shot of a middle-aged woman’s buttocks swaying gently as she practises line dancing in an HDB estate. This is as far from the hyper-sexualised bodies of superheroes as you can get, and much closer to the ordinary bodies you see every day, all around you, all the time.

The rest of the film, as it turns out, is as relatable and unassuming as that opening shot. And yet somehow the film manages to hold your attention right through to the end, and you find yourself – along with other audience members – lingering in the cinema longer than usual as the credits roll, hoping not for some post-credit teasers of a sequel, but more of that humdrum magic the movie effortlessly conjures. 

Considering that we live in the age of snappy YouTube videos and TikTok skits, it’s remarkable that first-time writer-director He Shuming dared to make a 90-minute film about small people with small problems, holding fast to the belief that these characters were somehow warm, funny and interesting enough to captivate an audience.