I am glad to have caught The Promise 《向日葵的约定》 on Channel U.

Synopsis

Born with mild intellectual disability (MID), slow in learning and often gullible, 19-year-old Shan Shan is an innocent and friendly girl. Like any teenager, Shan Shan is going through a coming of age, yearning for a special someone.

Tan Mei Juan, Shan Shan’s mother, is a single-parent mother who has raised her daughter single handedly. Extremely protective of Shan Shan, Mei Juan devises a “sunflower pact”. If she ever falls in love and the boy she loves can fulfill the conditions as laid down in the “sunflower pact”, Mei Juan will give her blessings.

In a chance encounter, Shan Shan falls in love with 19-year-old Wen Yuan who happened to be a slacker in his studies and life. Her innocence and attitude to life changed Wen Yuan. However will Wen Yuan accept a MID girl as his girlfriend? Is he the one to fulfill the “sunflower’s pact”?

Cast

Lee Shan Shan 李姗姗 : Played by Julie Tan 陈绍茵

** Julie Tan is the 1st runner up for this year's New Paper New Face! **

19-year-old Lee Shan Shan is born with mild intellectual disability with an IQ between 60-75, equivalent to that of a 9-10-year-old . A happy-go-lucky girl she brings smile to the people around her. Although slow in learning, she has a strong sense of determination to achieve her goals.

Shan Shan is naïve in many ways and hence she risked getting cheated by others from time to time. Her mother is her protector in her daily life.

Since young, Shan Shan has been introduced to sunflowers by her mum, and she has grown to love them. Her room, collectibles and tastes revolve around sunflowers. Her greatest wish is to travel to a big sunflower field with her loved one and admire the flowers.

Tan Wen Yuan 陈文远 : Played by Lawrence Wong 王冠逸

19-year-old Wen Yuan is one with boyish good looks. He comes from a medium income family but turns out to be a slacker in studies and in life. Easily disinterested in the things he does, Wen Yuan has no concrete idea of what his future holds for him.

His relationship with his dad is turbulent and his dad hated him for failing his expectations, time and again. Wen Yuan withers his time away in comics and drawing, a talent that he is quietly proud of. He keeps to himself and projects a loner image. The fact is, he craves for someone to share his life and someone to appreciate him, as he is.

Lee Mei Juan 李美娟 : Played by Lin Mei Jiao 林梅娇

38-year-old Mei Juan is a young but strong single parent mother. She raised Shan Shan single handedly.

Mei Juan suffered in love when she was young. At 13-years-old, she fell in love and at a young age of 17-year-old, she gave birth to Shan Shan. Her boyfriend disappeared and left her shortly after that.

Feeling responsible for her daughter, Mei Juan worked doubly hard, feeling all that follows in her life, her daughter’s condition and the amount of stress she has to undertake, is a retribution for her wayward behavior when she was young.

Mei Juan wanted a different life for Shan Shan. She created a bright and sunny world for her daughter, hoping to raise her “normal”, find her a normal job and to be independent. But there is one thing she will not allow her daughter to get into - falling in love.

http://featurefilm.mediacorptv.sg/featurefilm_thepromise_cast.htm

It is a simple yet sincere movie. Although the story is not likely to happen in real life, I found myself truly touched by the show in more ways than I could have imagined.

Also, not forgetting the theme song《受保护》 by new artiste Serene Koong 龚芝怡 from Funkie Monkies Productions - It is really a nice and meaningful song!

Those who have enjoyed the telemovie and song as much as I did can email Funkie Monkies Productions for the full version of the song!



Anyway, I will end of this entry with some of the 对白 that I like from the show :

"不是你太笨, 是其它人太复杂了."

"如果你能比我更爱她, 我愿意让你来作她的太阳."

"四十八分钟后的微笑."