Long Long Time Ago ( zh, s=我们的故事;

Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...

: 我儂个故事; POJ: ''Guá-lâng ê kòo-sīr''; literally "Our Story") is a 2016 Singaporean

period film A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

and

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Jack Neo Jack Neo Chee Keong (born 24 January 1960) is a Singaporean filmmaker, comedian and actor who was a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 1983 to 2003. He established a unique presence with his genuine and relatable stories that highlight societa ...

. The film commemorates Singapore's 50th birthday or SG50 and stars

Aileen Tan Aileen Tan Lay Ching (born 18 October 1966) is a Singaporean actress. Life and career Tan studied at Willow Secondary School. Tan worked in sales for more than a year before becoming an office administrator at an advertising agency. Tan pa ...

, Mark Lee and Wang Lei as the main casts. It is released on 4 February 2016 in Singapore. It also marks the second on-screen reunion of Mark Lee and

Suhaimi Yusof Suhaimi bin Yusof (born 4 September 1969) is a Singaporean actor, comedian, entertainer and radio DJ, known for playing exaggerated Malay stereotype characters and for his spontaneity. Life and career Early life Suhaimi was born on 4 Septemb ...

after they starred alongside together in the popular Singaporean

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

named ''

Police & Thief ''Police & Thief'' (also spelled as ''Police and Thief'') was a Singaporean sitcom that aired on MediaCorp Channel 5 from 2004 to 2010. It was also the third and final locally produced English sitcom after '' Under One Roof'' and ''Phua Chu Kang ...

''.

Plot

The story spans from 1965 to the early 1970s. Heavily pregnant Lim Zhao Di (

), the unwanted second wife of an older man, was chased out by her husband's family and forced to return to her own Lim family whom are all living in a

kampong A kampong (this term is in Za'aba Spelling, ''kampung'' in both modern Malay and Indonesian) is a term for a type of village in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore and a "dock" in Cambodia. The term applies to traditional villages, especi ...

, consisting of her father Si Shu (Wang Lei), her mother Si Shen (Ng Suan Loi), and 2 younger brothers Lim Ah Kun ( Mark Lee) and Lim Ah Hee (Benjamin Josiah Tan). Ah Kun is a

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

driver and Ah Hee is helping Zhao Di out with her

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source o ...

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

selling soya bean milk and soya bean curd and serving

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

as well. She eventually gave birth to twins, Shun Fa and Su Fang. As Su Fang had two moles on her face, which was said to be bad luck, Zhao Di decided to give her up due to the pressure of wanting to build a better life for the rest of her family. With Zhao Di's indomitable spirit, and with the help of her family, they went through adversities, witnessed the changes through the years, and accompanied every step of the nation's growth in its early years.

Cast

as Lim Zhao Di * Mark Lee as Lim Ah Kun, Zhao Di's younger brother * Wang Lei as Si Shu, Zhao Di's father * Ng Suan Loi as Si Shen, Zhao Di's mother * Charmaine Sei as Ah Feng, Ah Kun's wife * Benjamin Josiah Tan as Lim Ah Hee, Zhao Di's youngest brother who is among the first batch of

National Servicemen In the United Kingdom, military conscription has existed for two periods in modern times. The first was from 1916 to 1920, and the second from 1939 to 1960. The last conscription term ended in 1963 although many soldiers chose to continue in th ...

Ryan Lian Ryan Lian Yong Yi (born 4 September 1985) is a Singaporean actor, singer and host. Career Lian is managed by J Team productions under mm2 Entertainment. Lian had been taking on minor roles in Mediacorp dramas for more than 15 years before he ...

as Ah Long, a

Loan Shark A loan shark is a person who offers loans at Usury, extremely high or illegal interest rates, has strict terms of debt collection, collection, and generally operates criminal, outside the law, often using the threat of violence or other illegal, ...

and Gangster Boss * Yan Li Xuan as young Su Ting, Zhao Di's eldest daughter *

as Osman, a

Nasi Lemak Nasi lemak ( Jawi: ; ) is a dish originating in Malay cuisine that consists of rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf. It is commonly found in Malaysia, where it is considered the national dish. It is also a native dish in neighbouring ...

Seller Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. A period during which goods are sold for a reduced price may also be referred ...

* Nurijah Binte Sahat as Fatimah, Osman's wife * Silvarajoo Prakasam as Shamugen, a Hawker

Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...

turned

People's Association The People's Association (PA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) of the Government of Singapore that oversees neighbourhood communities and social organisations. Established in 1960, it was part of ...

Officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

* Bharathi Rani as Rani, Shamugen's daughter and Ah Hee's love interest and later wife *

Roy Li Roy Li Fey Huei, more commonly or affectionally known as Li Fei Hui (Traditional Chinese: 黎沸揮), is a singer from Singapore. For the past two decades, besides penning his own songs and producing his own albums, the musician has been writi ...

as Mr Zhang, Zhao Di and Osman's Benefactor *

Dawn Gan Yan Liming (; 15 April 1963 – 22 September 2018), also known as Dawn Gan, was a Singaporean ''xinyao'' singer. She was one of the pioneer ''xinyao'' singers in Singapore. Early life and education Gan was born on 15 April 1963 and studied at ...

as Ah Kun's Private

Taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

Passenger A passenger is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The vehicles may be bicycles, ...

*Justin Dominic Misson as

Police Officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

Tosh Zhang Tosh Zhang Zhiyang (born 23 May 1989) is a Singaporean actor and musician. Zhang is most well-known for his catchy songs which garnered millions of views on YouTube and for playing the role of 'Sergeant Ong' in the record-breaking ''Ah Boys to ...

as 3SG Alex Ong reprising his role from ''

Ah Boys to Men ''Ah Boys to Men'' () is a 2012 Singaporean Military fiction, military comedy film produced and directed by Jack Neo, written by Neo and Link Sng. It stars Joshua Tan, Maxi Lim, Noah Yap, Wang Weiliang, Ridhwan Azman, Aizuddiin Nasser, Charlie Goh ...

'' and ''

Ah Boys to Men 2 ''Ah Boys to Men 2'' () is a 2013 Singaporean military comedy film produced and directed by Jack Neo, written by Neo, Lim Teck and Leonard Lai. It stars Joshua Tan, Maxi Lim, Noah Yap, Wang Weiliang, Ridhwan Azman, Aizuddiin Nasser, Charlie Goh a ...

'' ( cameo) *

Wang Weiliang Wang Weiliang (born 11 October 1987) is a Singaporean comedian, host, actor, singer and businessman. A getai performer-turned-actor, Wang grew prominence with the box-office successes of the '' Ah Boys to Men'' film series by director Jack Neo. ...

as CPL Bang "Lobang" Lee Onn reprising his role from ''

'' and ''

'' ( cameo) *

Joshua Tan Joshua Tan Wei En (born 19 August 1990) is an Australian actor and singer based in Singapore. Career Tan has become a local celebrity after the successes of '' Ah Boys to Men'' movie series as Ken Chow by director Jack Neo. Personal life ...

as CPL Ken Chow reprising his role from '' Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen'' ( cameo) *

Jaspers Lai Jaspers Lai Yit Hann (born 7 March 1987) is a Singaporean actor and comedian. Early life Lai attended Nanyang Junior College. Thereafter, Lai went to Hong Kong to be trained in acting, hosting, singing and songwriting when he was 18, and wa ...

as CPL Handsome reprising his role from '' Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen'' ( cameo) *

as Rich Man bringing away Su Fang and looking after her ( cameo) *Irene Kng (Jack Neo's Wife) as Rich Woman bringing away Su Fang and looking after her ( cameo)

Production

Casting

To prepare for her role, Aileen Tan had to improve on her Hokkien and learn some Malay. Due to an accident, she chipped her tooth, but Neo forbade her to fix the chipped upper lateral incisor because he said it gave her character a stronger personality. Meanwhile, Wang Lei had to wear prosthetic teeth and facial hair, and dye his hair white to play the role of a 60 to 70-year-old.

Filming

The film was inspired by Neo's own childhood of growing up in Kampong Chai Chee, and some scenes were filmed in

Ipoh Ipoh (, ) is the capital city of the Malaysian States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Perak. Located on the Kinta River, it is nearly north of Kuala Lumpur and southeast of George Town, Penang, George Town in neighbouring Penang ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, especially in Kampung Cina Pusing. Filming started in May 2015, with the first and second film shot back-to-back for over 60 days. The first and second film's total budget was initially $5 million, but because Neo "wanted to make improvements", he "took a cut from my director's fee to make things happen", as a result, it went up to $6 million. A huge amount of resources was involved in the making, such as the construction of a 30m-by-30m pool that is 1.5m deep to film scenes recreating the 1969 Singapore flood. It also introduced

Auro-3D Auro-3D is an immersive 3D audio format developed by the Belgium-based company Auro Technologies. Technology It is designed along three layers of sound ( surround, height and overhead ceiling), building on the single horizontal layer used in ...

for clearer sounds. While filming a scene of a sister rescuing her younger brother from a toilet he is stuck in, director

insisted on a close-up shot of real faeces to show audiences what toilets in the 1960s were really like. For historical accuracy, Neo also requested actress

to grow her armpit hair for a brief show of it when her character, wearing a sleeveless blouse, raises her arms to tie her hair while working at a coal mine. Familiar to

Vasantham ''Vasantam'' () is a 2003 Indian Telugu-language drama film written and directed by Vikraman. Produced by N. V. Prasad and Sanam Naga Ashok Kumar, the film starred Venkatesh, Arti Agarwal, and Kalyani. The music was composed by S. A. Rajkum ...

viewers, actress Bharathi Rani plays Rani in her first non-Tamil production.

Music

The theme song for the film, "Our Memories" (我们的回忆), is composed by Matthew Tang with lyrics by Jack Neo and Ivan Ho, and is sung by

Getai Getai () refers to boisterous live stage performances typically held during the Ghost Festival in the seventh lunar month and on the birthdays of Chinese deities. These shows typically last from 7.30pm to after 10pm and are commonly organised ...

singers Desmond Ng, Leon Lim, Febe Huang and Sherraine Law.

Reception

Critical reception

Critical reception was mostly positive. ''

The New Paper ''The New Paper'' is a Singaporean newspaper. It was originally published in tabloid format as a "noon paper", then from 2016 as a freesheet in the morning from 7 a.m. onwards. In December 2021 the paper went to digital only. History Firs ...

'' gave it a 4/5 rating, calling it a "tender, fitting paean to our hardworking pioneer generation" and finding that compared to his previous movies, "there is no over-sentimentality in this one". ''inSing'' also gave it 4/5, praising how the performances of the film's veteran actors,

and Mark Lee, "keep the viewer engrossed, as well as help to lift the heavily plotted and sometimes meandering film". ''F***'' magazine gave the film 3.5/5, surprised to find "a solid, well-assembled film in its own right, with a swashbuckling cast at the top of its game that shows up the Ah Boys...for the acting lightweights that they are". ''SINdie'' noted how although "the inevitable family melodrama in Neo’s films may be ictedious, but that doesn’t dissipate the warmth that drives this project... there is the sense that the people behind ''Long Long Time Ago'' are more than collaborators, but rather a collaborative community akin to a family". Whang Yee-Ling of '' 8 Days'' awarded it 3.5/5, praising the "strongly played" performances of Aileen Tan, Mark Lee and Wang Lei and calling the film "equal parts heartfelt and calculating in manipulating our lump-in-the-throat nostalgia. It's a winner, the Hokkien dialect especially a treat".

Box office

''Long Long Time Ago'' was released on 4 February 2016 during the

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival (see also #Names, § Names), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holi ...

. It topped the local box office in Singapore, grossing $1.65 million in six days, beating films like ''

The Monkey King 2 ''The Monkey King 2'' () is a 2016 Hong Kong action cinema, action fantasy film based on the classic 16th-century novel ''Journey to the West'' by Wu Cheng'en. A Hong Kong-Chinese co-production, the film was shot in 3-D film, 3D and is a sequel t ...

'' and '' The Mermaid''. The film managed to gross over $4.13 million at the Singapore box office. Its sequel, ''

Long Long Time Ago 2 Long Long Time Ago 2 ( zh, s=我们的故事2) is a 2016 Singaporean period film and comedy film directed by Jack Neo. The film commemorates Singapore's 50th birthday or SG50 and stars Aileen Tan, Mark Lee and Wang Lei as the main casts. The fi ...

'' was released two month later on 31 March 2016, and grossed over $3.02 million. The total local box office of two films is over $7.1 million.

Sequel

The second part of the film, ''

'', was released on 31 March 2016. After this film and its sequel film, Director Jack Neo and producers have planned for four instalments for this film series, but production of parts 3 and 4 depends on the box office results of the first two films. Neo states he still has many more stories from 1978 to 2016 to explore. And after he explored, he eventually made parts 3 and 4 known as ''

The Diam Diam Era ''The Diam Diam Era'' () is a 2020 Singaporean comedy film directed by Jack Neo. Set in 1980s, it tells the story of the Lim family moving from kampong to HDB flats. Through major policy changes and political climate in the era, they experience ...

'' and ''

The Diam Diam Era Two ''The Diam Diam Era Two'' () is a 2021 Singaporean comedy film directed by Jack Neo. Continuing the story of the Lim family, set in 1988 election year, it tells the story as Lim Ah Kun, Osman and Shamugam form a seemingly funny but serious opposi ...

''.

References

External links

* {{Jack Neo 2016 films Singaporean comedy-drama films Hokkien-language films 2010s Mandarin-language films Malay-language films 2010s English-language films Films shot in Singapore Films shot in Malaysia Films set in Singapore Films directed by Jack Neo