A drag queen finds a way to reinvent himself in Ong Kuo Sin’s touching drama.
“Be filial to her? That’s the hardest task on earth!”
Section 377A was a law in Singapore that criminalised sex between adult males. It was repealed in 2022, to align with changing attitudes, but that change has come slowly and painfully. Regardless of the law having close to no actual legal power with almost no convictions between 1988 and 2007, 44% of Singaporean residents supported retaining the law in 2022. To say that the old ways are sticking in Singapore would be an understatement, and it’s the reality that our lead character, Jia Hao, must live with.
Jia Hao (Richie Koh) is a drag queen, with hopes to raise enough money to get a transgender operation. As one imagines, things aren’t easy for him. He’s constantly being harassed on the street for his job and appearance, and even his family keeps their distance. His father was the worst perpetrator, while his mother at least tried to act supportive. Things take a turn, however, when his father passes away and his mother’s dementia begins acting up. He agrees to move in with her, but during a particularly bad episode, decides that this is a perfect time to reinvent himself as his drag persona, fooling his mother into believing she has a daughter.
Adapted from the real life story of Sammi Zhen, A Good Child touches on a lot of different moral issues, as a way to highlight the grim position into which Jia Hao has been placed. His makeup and wig triggers his mother’s dementia, causing her to lash out at a woman she’s never seen before, while also causing him to remember the drama and trauma that resulted from him coming out.
A Good Child plays with a few concepts: at first, Jia Hao has to hide who he really is – drag character Ah Hao – in public, removing any aspect of his drag character, though this doesn’t always protect him from conservative busybodies. This is flipped on its head for the bulk of the movie, with Jia Hao spending most of his time in drag to keep the lie alive for his mother.
Whether you agree on a moral level is another story. Jia Hao and his brother are gaslighting their mother, there’s no other way to describe it, but Singapore’s treatment of its LGBTQ community has left many people without much other choice. There’s hints of progress, though. His online following is largely supportive, only occasionally hindered by a bigot or a fetishist, and the movie is keen to tell us that things will get better. Despite the dementia, Jia Hao tries to patch things up properly with his mother and the film is heartfelt enough to give us something resembling a promising ending. It’s a shame, but a reality, that things have to get to a pretty dire place before anyone really wants to change.
Verdict: If you want a strong, fresh LGBTQ film, then A Good Child is heartfelt, loaded with excellent performances, and brings Singapore more into the conversation
A Good Child (2026)
Mandarin
Director: Ong Kuo-Sin
Writer: Ong Kuo-Sin
CAST
Richie Koh – Jia Hao
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