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Be With Me showcases struggles, strength of love
By Spencer Essey
sessey@mscd.edu

Courtesy of Zhao Wei Films

Hope is powerful. Love is powerful. Film is powerful.

Writer/director Eric Khoo proves all three propositions in his new film, Be With Me, out this month on DVD from Film Movement, a group that distributes “award-winning independent and foreign films.”

Be With Me is a story of hope and love told in thirds. Khoo has taken three stories and woven them together to create a meaningful and motivational film.

The different stories all concern love. Two tales are fictitious and one is factual. All three ultimately tangle together, illustrating that love is never lost as long as there is a will to work at it.

Inspired by actress Theresa Chan, Khoo based one-third of the movie on her life. Chan, who is now 61, has been deaf and blind since the age of 14.

Another story revolves around a shop owner who, after the death of his wife, is afraid to approach the new woman he loves. The third portion deals with two teenage lesbians who stand up to a society that has rejected their lifestyle.

All three stories involve people who long to be with their loved ones but have been spurned either by social taboos, time or acts of fate. The film shows that despite impediments, love is possible and worth the struggle.

While the stories and themes are by no means new, it is the careful manner in which Khoo approaches them that makes this film stand out.

Be With Me is a powerful and emotional film that can convince even the most wretched humbug that love will prevail.

The DVD has no special features, but just owning it is worth the cost. It is available for purchase at filmmovement.com.