A 28-year-old Malay correctional officer is the star of local filmmaker Boo Junfeng’s latest psychological drama. Recently transferred to a top prison, he meets a 65-year-old sergeant and veteran chief executioner, the same man who pulled the plug on his father’s life. Rife with internal struggles, he battles with the ghosts of his past and his conscience when the old man asks him to become his assistant.
Apprentice is Boo’s second full-length feature film after 2010’s Sandcastle, and it’s set in a fictitious Singapore prison. Filmed in abandoned British Colonial facilities in Hunter Valley, Sydney, a corridor in Beach Road, an office in Ayer Rajah, and a gallows set built in Singapore, the story stars Singaporean and Malaysian actors, and took the 32-year-old more than four years to write and produce.
May saw the film making its world premiere at the 69th Cannes Film Festival, where it received a standing ovation and mostly positive reviews from critics, despite not winning any awards. Watch the trailer below for a suspenseful preview.
Apprentice opens in cinemas on Jun 30; sneak previews screen from Jun 24-26.
