WONDERLAND (乐园) (2024)

Genre: Drama
Director: Chai Yee Wei
Cast: Mark Lee, Peter Yu, Xenia Tan, Wei Xiang
Runtime: 2 hrs 15 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: mm2 Entertainment
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 8 August 2024

Synopsis: An amusement park that’s closing. A man that’s dying. A choir director who’s hiding. Loke has just sold his house to finance his daughter’s education in America and moved into government housing, where he meets a group of older oddballs. When Loke needs help translating correspondence with his daughter and vice versa, Tan and Loke form a reluctant friendship.

Movie Review:

What makes a Singaporean film local? We believe we have found the answer with Chai Yee Wei’s love letter to our beloved nation – dedicated to a specific time in history that existed during the 1980s.

Life was simpler back then. Loke (a fantastic Mark Lee) is a widower who wants nothing but the best for his only daughter (Xenia Tan), who is about to travel to New York to further her studies. He scrimps and saves, moves out of his kampung home, and also works hard in his incense shop. Meanwhile, he continues to mourn his late wife. Life may be a little hard for Loke, but he has a purpose.

Elsewhere, Tan (Peter Yu, who is just as terrific) is a divorcee who works in a church as a choir director. A former gambling addict, he has turned to religion to sought solace. He stays alone in a small HDB apartment and spends his time with his neighbours, all of whom seem to be individuals with no family members living with them. Life isn’t the best for Tan, but he has a community for support.

And this is a story of how the two men, each struggling with demons from the past, become friends.

The story progresses in an unhurried yet sure handed manner. The 125 minute movie takes its time to let characters interact with each other in the different scenes, while you admire the filmmakers’ efforts in meticulously recreating an era that viewers who are at least 40 years old have fond memories of. Kampung houses, soft drinks in glass bottles, old letter boxes and the karung guni (rag and bone) trade are just some of the elements of the film that will have older viewers remembering what life was like in the past.

Then there is the titular Wonderland Amusement Park which adds a fantastical touch of charm to the story. The amusement park situated in Kallang was closed in 1988 and later demolished. The filmmakers reportedly made a trip to Malaysia to film the scenes.

But what’s most notable about the movie is its use of Hokkien – almost the entire film’s dialogues are spoken in Hokkien. Seeing characters converse comfortably in a dialect that conveys the right emotions is like watching life unfold on the big screen. More importantly, this is a realistic reflection of Singapore in the 1980s. Allowing the theatrical release of this production which was at the 35^th Palm Springs International Film Festival is definitely a commendable decision from the regulatory board. Credit also goes to the filmmakers for not churning out a movie that falls neatly within the language policy boundaries.

Lee and Yu deliver flawless performances in the film. Each actor excels in his own right, and brings unspoken sentiments of grief, loss and that slight glimmer of hope with their exceptional acting. At the 2024 Ho Chi Minh International Film Festival, Lee took home the Best Actor Award, while Yu clinched the Best Supporting Actor Award. We hope that the two men will do Singapore proud by getting recognised with more accolades at other film festivals.

Chai’s latest feature film after That Girl in Pinafore (2013) is a sincere piece of work that shines – there is depth, emotion, and most outstandingly, an authenticity that speaks volumes.

Movie Rating:

(This sincere local film is a love letter to 1980s Singapore, and you will be moved by its depth, emotion and authenticity)

Review by John Li