disparage Singapore. The final scene in the film shows the Chew siblings standing before a long muddy path, which symbolises the uncertainty faced by both the newly independent nation in 1965 and the country in transition in 2003. A number of scenes in Homerun contain references to political disputes between Singapore and Malaysia. The water dispute is portrayed by Kiat Kun (Singapore) quarrelling with Beng Soon (Malaysia) over the right to draw water from the kampung well. In another scene, one of Kiat Kun's friends produces a sheet of paper with details of the deal Beng Soon reneged on, prompting one of Beng Soon's friends to remark that this was like "writing a letter to a girlfriend and revealing it to the world". This echoes a comment made by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad, comparing Singapore's disclosure of letters between the two countries to "revealing letters sent to one's girlfriend". When asked about the references, Neo said he would "leave the movie open to interpretation, which will make it more mysterious and beautiful". Nevertheless, Malaysian censors decided to ban the screening of Homerun in Malaysia, citing scenes that will "bring about negative elements and bad examples to education". Raintree filed an appeal, arguing that the positive messages in the film were more salient than the political satire, but it was unsuccessful. Malaysian moviegoers polled by Life! and the China Press expressed disappointment with the ban, calling it "unnecessary" and stated a desire to watch the film via unlicensed VCD. Reception Having earned S$110,300 from sneak previews, Homerun made S$610,400 over the National Day weekend, achieving the most successful opening weekend for a local film. It rose to the top of the local box office, beating American blockbusters such as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. In total, the film grossed more than S$2.3 million over nine weeks of screenings, the second longest box office run for the year. Critical reception of Homerun was mixed. Sanjuro of LoveHKFilm.com wrote that the film "succeeds in delivering a relatively simple, intimate story that should prove moving for even the most jaded audience", while Nick England of the San Diego Asian Film Foundation described Homerun as "a film with certain beauteous qualities that we can genuinely enjoy, but end up choking on when it is all over with". In contrast, FilmsAsia reviewer Soh Yun-Huei panned its use of political satire, which she felt "[causes] the