Jeanette Aw moved to tears by Mark Lee’s acting in ‘Ramen Teh’ - 8days Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Jeanette Aw moved to tears by Mark Lee’s acting in ‘Ramen Teh’

No laughing matter: Eric Khoo’s French partners cried watching Mark Lee’s ‘serious acting’ in Ramen Teh

Jeanette Aw moved to tears by Mark Lee’s acting in ‘Ramen Teh’
Photos: Teo Sijia, Golden Village SingaporeHere are a few things Mark Lee is known for: his witty sense of humour, sharp business acumen and wholesome family man image. The local comedian is also capable of reducing grown men and women to tears with his jokes and funny antics but—let’s be honest here—not so much for his acting. But the public’s perception of Mark’s actor-image is going to change (for the better, we think) after Ramen Teh, a Singapore, Japanese and French production directed by Eric Khoo, opens in local cinemas in March.At the press conference for the movie’s trailer launch yesterday afternoon, Eric heaped praises on his Singaporean and Japanese cast for injecting life and bringing a personal touch to the script despite language barriers. The 52-year-old also commended Jeanette Aw for her “beautiful” performance and speaking through her facial,
“When you see Mark in the movie, it’s so good,” said Eric, as he revealed how his French partners had “cried watching” Mark’s “amazing” and “serious acting” performance in the film. A story about a young ramen chef’s journey to find his roots and family in Singapore, Mark plays maternal uncle to male lead and Japanese actor Takumi Satoh, while Jeanette plays Takumi’s Singaporean mother, who passed away when he was 10 years old. And the very scene which brought grown men to tears, we learned, was the reunion and first encounter between nephew and uncle. The movie, which was shot in Japan and Singapore last year over a span of 18 days, also features erstwhile Japanese pop idol Seiko Matsuda as a food blogger who helps the male lead track down his family. (Continued on next page: Mark Lee's acting gave everyone 'the feels')

Mark Lee, Eric Khoo and Jeanette Aw at the trailer launch press conference.



In a small group interview with Toggle after the press conference, Mark revealed that he struggled to find the right emotion for the reunion scene and ultimately decided, after discussions with Eric, that he had to embrace and forgive his nephew for the storyline to progress.

“Whether I did a good job or not depends on the viewers, but this movie and its script is imbued with a lot of emotions – it’s very touching in itself,” said Mark, when we asked him for his thoughts about comments on his “moving” performance.

The comedian also felt that the addition of music effects and colour grading in post-production was probably why Eric’s French partners had ‘the feels.’

Co-star Jeanette let on that she, too, had tears brimming in her eyes when she watched the scene during a recording session.

“Because I saw a different side to his acting and we all know him for his comedic chops. I was touched by what I saw; you could feel his conflict when he laid eyes on his nephew for the first time - he was conflicted but wanted to forgive his sister’s son too… I was like ‘Wow! He did such a great job with this role!’” she quipped during the interview.

The movie also inspired a special dish ‘Ramen Teh’ (combination of Bak Kut Teh and Japanese ramen) created by Keisuke Takeda, founder of Singapore’s biggest ramen chain Ramen Keisuke. Priced at $13.90, it will be available at Ramen Dining Keisuke Suntec City from Feb 1. ​​​​​​​



Both actors believe that Eric brought out their best sides with his guidance and directing style.

“You can say that he brought us to the next level [in terms of acting],” said Mark. “He doesn’t give us instructions to do this or that and that gives actors a lot of freedom to develop their characters. But if you’re going off tangent, he’s also sharp enough to pull us back on track.

“I discovered that I acted really well in this movie,” Mark jokingly added.

And that’s for us to find out come March 29 when Ramen Teh debuts in cinemas.

Ramen Teh is set for an international premiere in February as the closing film for the 68th Berlin Film Festival’s Culinary Cinema section. The movie also inspired a special dish ‘Ramen Teh’ (combination of Bak Kut Teh and Japanese ramen) created by Keisuke Takeda, founder of Singapore’s biggest ramen chain Ramen Keisuke. Priced at $13.90, it will be available at Ramen Dining Keisuke Suntec City from Feb 1.

Advertisement

Shopping

Advertisement

Want More? Check These Out

Watch

You May Also Like