Long Long Time Ago 2
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Long Long Time Ago 2 ( zh, s=我们的故事2) 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. The film was released on 31 March 2016. It also marks the third 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

Continuing from '' Long Long Time Ago'', Lim Zhao Di (
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 ...
) takes over her family farm with the help of Ah Long (
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 ...
) after the 1969 floods. After the government started reclaiming land for development in 1977, licensed owners like Zhao Di are compensated but her younger brother Lim Ah Kun ( Mark Lee) accuses her of having an affair with Ah Long to get the money for himself. Osman (
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 ...
) does not approve his son playing in a rock band as he fears the negative influence, causing his son to run away from home. Meanwhile, Zhao Di's youngest brother Lim Ah Hee (Benjamin Josiah Tan) and Rani (Bharathi Rani) decide to get married but their traditional fathers Si Shu (Wang Lei) and Shamugen (Silvarajoo Prakasam) object their marriage.


Cast

*
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 ...
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 * Cynthia Kuang as Su Ting, Zhao Di's eldest daughter ** Yan Li Xuan as young Su Ting *
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 ...
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, Ah Hee's girlfriend and later wife * Mastura Ahmad as the
Nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...
attending to Osman and Fatimah * Yoo Ah Min as Si Shu and Shi Shen's good friend and neighbour * Zhang Wei as the Lim's family good friend and neighbour


Production


Filming

The film was 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 together with the first part, starting in May 2015 for over 60 days. While filming a scene of a sister rescuing her younger brother from a toilet he is stuck in, director
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 ...
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
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 ...
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. The scene of Ah Kun ( Mark Lee) slapping his niece and nephew is real. The actors did over ten takes. 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 video

The official music video of the film was released on YouTube on 14 April 2016. It was directed by Shawn Tan and cinematography was by Lincoln Lin of Famegate Studios.


Reception


Critical reception

Reception was mostly positive. John Lui of ''
The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' (also known informally by its abbreviation ''ST'') is a Singaporean daily English-language newspaper owned by the SPH Media Trust. Established on 15 July 1845, it is the most-widely circulated newspaper in the country and ...
'' gave the film 2.5/5. He praised the "personal" "small moments" but criticised how "what little authenticity that can be glimpsed is buried under a treacly layer of television-style drama". In addition, he found that " most every moment is freighted with moral significance, heavily underscored by dialogue and music" and " r all the suffering, shame and strife baked into the story, there's little inner life to the characters". Rating the film 2/5, Whang Yee-ling of '' 8 Days'' noted that Jack Neo "seems emotionally and creatively depleted after putting much of his heart into writing-directing '' Long Long Time Ago''" and that "even Neo's ear for vernacular humour fails him, and the Hokkien exchanges are strained". She also criticised the film's "simplistic lessons on racial harmony in addition to intergenerational strife". She concluded, "The story is merely marking time, the characters remaining one-note types over the decade". Similarly, ''
Yahoo! News Yahoo News (stylized as Yahoo! News) is a news website that originated as an internet-based news aggregator by Yahoo. The site was created by Yahoo software engineer Brad Clawsie in August 1996. Articles originally came from news services such ...
Singapore'' found ''Long Long Time Ago 2'' "not as good" as its first part, giving it a score of 3.5/5. While praising the film's " mpelling family drama" and "refreshing take on relationships in Singapore", they noted that it "doesn’t provide the proper cathartic resolution to the many conflicts that arise", with " o many characters and plots to keep track of", "blatant product placement" and a "downer" of a "weak resolution". Jeremy Sing of ''SINdie'' found the "discrepancy" in the two parts "so great", with Part Two filled with "preachiness, television-style histronics... in-your-face product placements" and "a paper-thin plot". While he praised the film for "bravely tackling a sensitive topic" of the interracial marriage between Ah Hee and Rani, Sing criticised the overall "weak plot development, characterisation, trite direction and its propensity to ‘teach’ the audience what we were supposed to gather from the film".


Box office

''Long Long Time Ago 2'' was ranked second in the Singapore box office to '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' in its opening week. It earned $3.02 million to date. The total local box office of two films is over $7.1 million.


Future

After the previous film and this 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 Hokkien-language films 2020s Mandarin-language films Malay-language films 2020s English-language films Singaporean comedy-drama films Films shot in Singapore Films shot in Malaysia Films set in Singapore Films directed by Jack Neo Films about interracial romance