If there’s one movie to bring your mother/sister/wife/gal pal to this year, it is Love Cuts. Written by former radio deejay Danny Yeo and jointly produced by Clover Films and the Health Promotion Board, it is a movie with a cast that’s as good-looking as its message is important.
Love Cuts stars Singapore’s sweetheart Zoe Tay and Hong Kong’s Kenny Ho (Storm Warriors II) as a couple whose once passionate relationship has fizzled into a marital humdrum given to spats of domestic bickering every now and then. For despite being a doting mother and a caring wife, 40-year-old Sissy (Tay) finds herself not measuring up to the demands of her overworked, perpetually cranky husband who works as a manager in a restaurant. It doesn’t help that her son is going through the defiant phase of teenage-hood.
Things take a turn for the worse when she is diagnosed with terminal stage breast cancer—a silent killer that had taken root in her body in the three years she had gone without a mammogram. As her family makes an about-face and rallies behind her in her fight against the disease, she makes a new friend in the form of up-and-coming model Kristie (Malaysian model Christy Yow) and through her own circumstances, reaches out to her in her time of dire need.
 |
| PHOTOS COURTESY OF CLOVER FILMS |
In terms of story-telling it is a little rough around the edges, occasionally given to over-sentimentalism yet lacking a narrative depth required to navigate the thorny issue of life and death, but there’s no missing the core of the film—that early detection and regular breast cancer screening not only saves your own life, but saves your loved ones from a lifetime of pain and loss.
Love Cuts is currently screening in cinemas.
Did You Know?
• Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Singapore. About 1,100 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year.
• The risk of developing breast cancer increases with age. Women aged 40 years and older should go for regular mammography scereenings for early detection of breast cancer.
• A mammogram is the most effective tool in the early detection of breast cancer as it is able to detect early changes in the breast that may not be felt by hands.
• The recommended screening intervals are once every year for women between 40 to 49 years old and once every two years for women above 50 years old.
• BreastScreen Singapore is a national breast screening programme offering subsidized mammograms to Singaporeans (S$50) and Permanent Residents (S$75).
Source: Health Promotion Board, www.hpb.gov.sg.
