Through The Peeping Hole

When it comes to its exploration of the theme of voyeurism, there is a lot about Yeo Siew Hua's Stranger Eyes that could make one instantly recall Alfred Hitchcock.

- NAMRATA JOSHI

When it comes to its exploration of the theme of voyeurism, there is a lot about Yeo Siew Hua's Stranger Eyes that could make one instantly recall Alfred Hitchcock. For instance, the Rear Window-like obsessive observation of and suspicions about neighbors across the building. Or an eccentric Psycho-like mother-son duo and the overwhelming fetish for people watching.

However, what makes the film stand apart is the way it intertwines the idea of surveillance and personal privacy with the challenges and responsibilities, insecurities, vulnerabilities and ineptitude of parenthood. The idea of keeping a protective eye on the child and the exploration of the distance between a parent and child, a legacy of sorts, gives the film emotional heft and poignancy. It kicks off with a young couple's—Junyang (Chien-Ho Wu) and Peiying (Anicca Panna)—baby daughter going missing from the playground. Simultaneously, recordings of their daily life, and private moments, covertly filmed by a stranger, start getting delivered to their doorstep. The needle of suspicion falls on the neighbor Wu (Lee Kang-sheng in a brilliantly layered performance).