“Long Long Time Ago” is a nostalgic drama set during the kampung years of a young Singapore. But with all the historical elements in the film, why didn’t it come out last year, along with all the other films that paid tribute to Singapore’s 50 years of history?
Jack Neo explained during a press conference on 29 January that there were two reasons for this. Firstly, the production schedule didn’t match.
But his second reason came down to how he viewed our nation’s 50th year. For the filmmaker, SG50 should start from 9 August 2015, and last all the way until 9 August 2016. So with this rationale in mind, “Long Long Time Ago” still qualifies as an SG50 film, given it’s release date.
He also mentioned that it was purely a “kampung story,” with no political overtones, about Singapore’s path to success. To that end, he also ensured that there were Chinese, Malay and Indian elements, because all three races walked this journey together.
A film in two parts
“Long Long Time Ago” will see its story continued in March, when “Long Long Time Ago 2” comes out. It took two years to write and research the script for the film, and the writing began before Jack Neo’s team started work on “Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen.”
It was difficult to put a story that spanned 50 years into one film, said Jack Neo, as it would have only been able to give a very superficial look at the salient points of Singapore’s past. Also, with the cost required to recreate the sets of the mid 1900s, it was easier to work with a budget spread across two films, rather than just one.
Challenges of the kampung set
The kampung set posed its own unique challenges, such as the cold weather at night. The house which belonged to Osman (Suhaimi Yusof) was so cold that once night fell, they had to wear thick jackets inside the building.
Roosters would also crow in unison, with one rooster’s cry triggering a whole series of crowing across the set.
The cast agreed though, that the best days were still those in the kampung, before the advent of smart phones and mobile devices.
Favourite props
When asked what props they would take home from the period set (not that they did that, of course!), the cast had varying answers.
Mark Lee chose the television set, since it was potentially the most valuable of all the items from the kampung set.
The old rattan rocking chair was Wang Lei’s choice, since it was very sturdy and surprisingly comfortable. It even came with a head rest!
Charmaine Sei opted for the sewing machine, as it brought back memories for her. Sewing machines then were operated via a foot pedal, rather than using electricity.
And newcomer Benjamin Tan wanted the cloth hammock that babies were put to bed in, as it looked incredibly comfy and had a mechanism that allowed you to rock babies to sleep.
Kampung days for the cast
Some of the more senior cast members recounted their childhood days growing up in the kampung, so they were no strangers to the kampung set.
Suhaimi Yusof and Nurijah Binte Samat, who play husband-and-wife duo Osman and Fatimah, grew up in kampungs. Suhaimi’s childhood kampung was located in Rivervale, while Nurijah’s was at Kampung Rhu.
Wang Lei himself lived for 14 years in a kampung too.
But the best part about working in old Singapore, quipped Suhaimi Yusof, was one simple fact.
“There were no ERPs.”
“Long Long Time Ago” opens in cinemas 4 February, 2016 (Thursday).
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