Arranged marriage meets Black Mirror in this 150-minute Singaporean dystopia.
Evan (played by Shawn Thia) and Sarah (played by Xenia Tan) enlist into the Institute of Sustainable Population, a governmental facility that assigns all conscripts a spouse as a drastic measure to increase the country’s population. They both hope to make the best out of their situations, albeit in polar opposite ways. Evan tries to game the system for his benefit, whereas Sarah works towards an honest living when their paths eventually cross - for the worse.
Writing
Evan's calculated scheming vs Sarah's earnest defiance.
Production
Crushingly sterile Institute aesthetics.
Acting
Thia's slippery charm masking desperate emptiness.
Director
Lim Seng Jueh
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Singapore's actual declining birth rates make this hit different—it's satire adjacent to policy reality.
The 150-minute runtime deliberately exhausts you, mirroring the conscripts' endless bureaucratic purgatory.
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