User reviews

This is an excellent movie that I would highly recommend to anyone. At last, an Asian movie that is not a Kong fu flick nor a feel good Bollywood soufflé! The story is engaging and unfolds like a Shakespearean tragedy with comic relief. The heart of the movie is a family drama with an overbearing authority figure who imposes his will on his children and forces them to make personal sacrifices in order to conform to the will of the authority figure for the sake of the family legacy. It is an allegory that asks deep questions about Asian societies like China or Singapore where the ruling party imposes its will on the people – with good intentions but with enormous costs to the freedom and happiness of its people. One only has to look at the protests in Tibet and Xinjiang or even the Tian An Men incident in China to see frequent parallels to the allegory in the movie.

The movie is of high cinematic quality with gorgeous set design and shot with a film noir feel. The rich yet claustrophobic atmosphere created enhances the story of a wealthy family that lives in a gilded cage. Kudos to Larry Smith (DOP) and Ian Baillie (Set Design) for creating a look that transports the audience visually into the story. The original sound track by David Hirschfelder is brilliant and carries the audience when the sometimes dense script needs some help and heightens the drama when the action on the screen becomes increasingly tense.

The acting is theatrical and ironic, with Asian actors speaking perfect Queen's English. Many of us in the West may not be used to proper English being spoken by Asian faces, this is in fact a reality among a certain social strata in Asian countries which were once British colonies like India, Malaysia and Singapore and Hong Kong. The theatrical style and the visual effects create a surrealistic feel that forces the audience to view the film in a detached manner rather than be emotionally manipulated into the personal sagas of the characters. This is an interesting artistic choice – given the interesting characters in the story, the filmmaker could have chosen to milk our emotions as a Hollywood film would. Instead he has chosen to force us to be detached and evaluate each character and their journey unemotionally. Yet at the end of the movie I found myself deeply moved, not by any particular character but by the situation they have found themselves in by the choices they have made.

The movie is not easily pigeon holed into a specific genre. There are moments of comedy, suspense and horror. A family drama, a political metaphor and a comedy all rolled up in one. It took me a while to get used to it but once I allowed let the film take me where it wanted the experience was richly rewarding. There is a particular scene towards the end of the film that is the personification of human ruthlessness in blind pursuit of power that is chilling.

The family drama is one that is not confined to Asian or Confucian cultures. Many families of different ethnic backgrounds in America will identify with it.

In these times when we are in a crisis of confidence in our system in America, when the glittery capitals and the economic juggernauts of Asia seem so threatening, this film is a powerful reminder that beneath the new wealth of Asia, are people who are often brutally suppressed by their governments and who are not allowed the freedom of expression and choices that are as important in making us happy as human beings as material wealth.

I was surprised that this is only the second film of the director Glen Goei as it is the work of a mature director. The movie reminds me of Rashomon of Kurosawa with one story that unfolds so differently when told from different points of view. That film came out in postwar Japan and questioned the "Truth" that we read in newspapers and reminded us that "History" is written by victors. It also reminded us that after the abject misery of a nuclear holocaust, we should not let cynicism take over our view of humanity. The Blue Mansion also unfolds teasingly with different points of view and comes in the aftermath of our global economic crisis and reminds us not to romanticize the success of Asian societies which exercise a higher degree of central control at the expense of individual freedoms. Happiness is not measured only by material wealth and, as those of us who travel frequently to Asia know, the increasing paychecks there have not translated to increasing happiness among many people there.

The movie was marketed as a murder mystery in Singapore. I think that is somewhat misleading. It really is a thinking man's movie and a thinking man who allows this movie to transport him will have a true cinematic experience.

It's been an extremely long pause between Forever Fever (retitiled That's The Way I Like It in the USA) and his latest film The Blue Mansion, some 11 years where he had too many other projects to be listed that were accomplished between these two films, but it was a wait well worth it. Just ask the Japanese fans, who were equally thrilled that they could savour his latest offering just after its world premiere at the Pusan International Film Festival, I've always felt that Forever Fever, which also starred Adrian Pang, was ahead of its time in terms of how a Singapore mass appeal film could be made, without relying on cheap gimmicks, but instead possessed a strong story and an all round excellent delivery from its ensemble cast. The same continues in The Blue Mansion.

On the surface, there's this three act structure, with the first setting the scene with the premise and the introduction of the myriad of characters of the Wee family primed with the basis for some severe family bickering, the second hammering its way in parallel to a detective duo's acting on an anonymous tip regarding foul play with pretty much a Cluedo being played out within the confines of a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Cheong Fatt Sze Mansion in Penang being the titular location, and the last addressing all the secrets that had been furiously buried away, out of sight and out of mind by each character.

But the film isn't as much a comedy and a murder-mystery than it is an excellent character study piece, of who else but ourselves, of the secrets and dreams we harbour, but always giving plenty of leeway to instructions that come ordered from the top, be it from family, companies, and more so from the authorities. The nanny state mentality could well be mirrored with that of the family patriarch, who reserves the last word and instructions, where defying orders would be unthinkable, since they are always made with the best interests of everyone. We're conditioned to be unquestioning "Yes" men, where we're do as we're told from a culture of respecting an elder or a superior, swallowing ego and pride until they seek to explode. This can be seen quite clearly in each of the three siblings in the film.

The Singapore family comes under scrutiny again, In some ways, this is like a continued film exploration into the psyche of contemporary Singaporeans and this society of ours which Colin Goh and Woo Yen Yen embarked upon in Singapore Dreaming in 2006, which examined the trials and tribulations of a heartland family. And like the adage that suggests the rich are bogged down by a different set of challenges in life, the Wee family of The Blue Mansion, headed by the Wee Bak Chuan (Patrick Teoh) the Pineapple King who built his Wee Unlimited empire from scratch, see some fundamentally similar family issues from sibling rivalry to perceived favouritism too, surfacing deep unhappiness beneath the facade of calm, peace and immense material wealth. From a macro-perspective, it's what we normally hear from transient visitors to any country given the short timespan spent would allow for more positive experiences, but I suppose cracks would begin to appear should one stay anywhere long enough.

There are plenty here that reflects the way of our multi-racial and religious harmony, one of which was the schizophrenic way the funeral rites were performed, not only side by side, but simultaneously, leading to great tragic comedy, though admirable in effort which I think wouldn't be pulled off in real life, just an analogy of how far we have progressed in terms of that harmony. Much of the laughs come from the incredibly witty script full of Brit-flavoured ironic humour, which played to the premise of a murder-mystery well, making it wickedly fun as we follow in the footsteps of a wandering Pineapple King spirit as he goes about listening through the thin walls of the mansion in both trying to solve the mystery of his death, as well as the hidden secrets banished to the dark ebbs of memory in episodes best left forgotten, but playing an integral part to its final revelation. And by the way, part of the fun also got derived from connecting the dots with the much talked about allegories seen in the film against that of a prominent family in Singapore too, that is extremely difficult not to have some parallels drawn.

With an international crew and a cast of who's-who from the Singapore-Malaysia theatre scene, it is a battle half-won with quality stamped on the production. Given most of the cast being seasoned thespians on stage, you're guaranteed of some great acting talent under the roof of The Blue Mansion, where the spoken word predominantly in English is proper, though curiously never feeling artificial or forced, perhaps of its theatrical presentation style which was deliberately set out to be. In short, it's a real treat to witness Glen's consolidation of an ensemble who are comfortable in their respective roles, and who knows (and I am wishful thinking here) that this film production could also pave the way for a stage version as well, since the ingredients are all there.

Our local film calendar had ended on a high note with the release of this film, and hopefully this continues well into the new year with a fresh slate of Singapore films raring to go. I only wish that I wouldn't have to wait so long for another film that has in its credits, "A Glen Goei Film". Highly recommended, and definitely a contender in my top films for 2009!

A movie has to be either exceptionally good or bad to elicit from me such strong reactions that I would have to off-load them online. The Blue Mansion falls under the latter category, and I would be remiss not to warn my fellow movie-goers, given the surprising dearth of negative reviews.

A movie is sufferable if merely boring, but The Blue Mansion is excruciatingly annoying. Not only because of the relentless barrage of lame jokes that assault you from the beginning. Not only because of the inane caricaturing of every possible Singaporean stereotype. Not only because of the affected application of perfect English or typical Singlish that renders the characters even less believable. Not only because of the trite message that demonises capitalism - I've had quite enough of that rhetoric in recent times.

But with a cast with such illustrous resumes, you'd think their performances would at least justify a fraction of your ticket's cost. You'd be direly mistaken - my condolences if you've already paid. I don't know whether it's fair to blame the actors given the ridiculous roles written for them. But the deluge of over-acting is nothing more than an embarrassment to all involved. What makes a character is plausibility; what breaks a character is excessive melodrama. I'm a firm believer of knowing your limits - if you think it's out of your capacity to salvage a lousy role, don't even try. You'll only come across as trying too hard, and being even less convincing.

The only saving grace is a score well-written by David Hirschfelder who is impressive in his ability to make sense of the movie's rampant madness.

The least an artist can do for a paying customer is to not insult his intelligence. Just because the protagonist is stupid enough to persist in talking to people even while knowing they can't hear him doesn't mean we viewers are equally dumb.