23 Films & TV Shows Set In Singapore During The 20th Century
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The Diam Diam Era
πΈπ¬ Singapore The 1970s The 1980sThe story of the Lim family from Long Long Time Ago γζ们ηζ δΊγcontinues in this two-part film series. Conflict grows between Ah Kun and his nephew Shun Fa. Themes of a generation gap between those born in the 1950s and the following generation are explored in their varying reactions to nation-building policies implemented from the 1980s to the present day.
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Crazy Rich Asians
π²πΎ Malaysia πΈπ¬ Singapore The 1990s The 2010sThe only thing crazier than love is family. β An American-born Chinese economics professor accompanies her boyfriend to Singapore for his best friend's wedding, only to get thrust into the lives of Asia's rich and famous.
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Shirkers
πΈπ¬ Singapore The 1990sThere are movers, there are shakers, and there are shirkers β In 1992, teenager Sandi Tan shot Singapore's first indie road movie with her enigmatic American mentor Georges β who then vanished with all the footage. Twenty years later, the 16mm film is recovered, sending Tan, now a novelist in Los Angeles, on a personal odyssey in search of Georges' vanishing footprints.
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Wonder Boy
πΈπ¬ Singapore The 1940sIts time to play your own music. β Directed by the Singaporean composer Dick Lee himself, this biopic of his youth, covers three years of his life, from his early years as a teenage singer-songwriter up to the release of his debut album in 1947.
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Long Long Time Ago
πΈπ¬ Singapore The 1960s The 1970sThere was a time when tomorrow was uncertain β The story spans from 1965 to the early 1970s. Heavily pregnant 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 family. She gave birth to a pair of twins, Shun Fatt and Su-mei. As Su-mei had two moles on her face, which was said to be bad luck, she decided to give her up due to the pressure of wanting to build a better life for the rest of her family. Her father, under the advice of a match-maker, married her off to a coffee shop owner Xiao Qie, but after his unfortunate death, she was chased out the door with five young children to look after. 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.
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Long Long Time Ago 2
πΈπ¬ Singapore The 1960s The 1970sZhao Di takes over her family farm with the help of Ah Long after the 1969 floods. After the government started reclaiming land for development in 1977, licensed owners like Zhao Di are compensated but her brother accuses her of having an affair with Ah Long to get the money for himself. Meanwhile, Osman does not approve of his son playing in a rock band as he fears the negative influence, causing his son to run away from home. As for Ah Hee and Rani, they decide to get married but their traditional parents are against it.
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1965
πΈπ¬ Singapore The 1960sThe year when a place became a home β A dramatic thriller that tells the engaging and touching stories of immigrants and natives during the time leading up to the independence of Singapore. The protagonists were a part of history in the making; they become the pioneer generation who live to see beyond the prejudice and fear of racial hatred and ultimately face the challenge of nation building - a mirror reflecting the fragility of racial harmony in our world today.
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In the Room
πΈπ¬ Singapore The 1940sCan you resist temptation? β This sensitive and sensual film draws together several narratives spanning several decades, all of them transpiring in the same room of the same Singaporean hotel β and all of them involving sex.
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Ilo Ilo
πΈπ¬ Singapore The 1990sSet in the mid 1990s in Singapore, ILOILO chronicles the relationship between a family and their maid from Ilo Ilo, a province in the Philippines.
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Ah Boys To Men (Part 2)
πΈπ¬ Singapore The 1970s The 2010sKen is quick to adopt a change in personality by becoming an "on-the-ball" recruit, even more so than "Wayang King" Aloysius. Differing viewpoints sour the friendship between Ken and Lobang. Meanwhile, Ken's father has become partially paralyzed because of his stroke but is determined to make a recovery. After booking out, Aloysius seeks advice from his parents as he feels excluded from the group; his father (Chen Tianwen) tells him the best solution is not to do anything. Back at Tekong, Recruit IP Man learns about "Real Bullet" Zhen Zidan (Benjamin Mok), an "Ah Beng" who stole his girlfriend Mayoki (Sherraine Low). IP Man hits back by criticizing Mayoki for her inferior qualities.
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Canopy
πΈπ¬ Singapore The 1940sDon't get caught β Wartime, 1942. Singapore. An Australian fighter pilot shot down in combat awakens suspended in the treetops. As night devours day, he must navigate through dangerous jungle in search of sanctuary.
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Ah Boys To Men
πΈπ¬ Singapore The 1970s The 2010sThe 'keng' evolution of an 'Ah Boy' to a man. β Ah Boys to Men (ζ°ε ΅ζ£δΌ ) is a 2012β2013 Singaporean two-part comedy film produced and directed by Jack Neo, written by Neo and Link Sng and starring Wang Wei Liang, Noah Yap, Joshua Tan and Maxi Lim. It revolves around a group of army recruits in National Service in Singapore.
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In the Mood for Love
Shanghai ππ° Hong Kong πΈπ¬ Singapore π°π Cambodia The 1960sFeel the heat, keep the feeling burning, let the sensation explode. β A melancholy story set in Hong Kong in 1962. A woman and a man who live in the same crowded apartment building discover that their husband and wife are having an affair.
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Rogue Trader
πΈπ¬ Singapore The 1990sHe'll risk everything to beat the system. β Rogue Trader tells the true story of Nick Leeson, an employee of Barings Bank who--after a successful trading run--ends up accumulating $1.4 billion in losses hidden in account #88888.
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The Mirror
Shanghai ππ° Hong Kong πΉπΌ Taiwan πΈπ¬ Singapore The 1980s The 1990s The 1920s The 2000sThe grandson of a rich widow returns to Hong Kong with his girlfriend. They are charmed by an antique mirror at the grandmother's home. The mirror used to belonged to a famous courtesan in ...
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Forever Fever
πΈπ¬ Singapore The 1970sA romantic comedy with twists and turns. β Kung Fu meets disco in Singapore. Hock is a grocery clerk longing for a motorbike. He lives with his parents and sister; they idolize his younger brother, Beng, a medical student calling himself Leslie. Hock loves Bruce Lee; he works out and imitates his moves. When Hock sees a cheesy local version of "Saturday Night Fever," he gets the disco bug, taking his pal Mei to nightly lessons in hopes of winning a contest and buying the bike. He's blind to Mei's falling in love with him, and, at the last minute asks another woman to be his partner in the contest. Meanwhile, Beng reveals a personal secret to his family and a crisis ensues. Hock, Beng, Mei and her rival: it's Night Fever.
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Bugis Street
πΈπ¬ Singapore The 1960sSet during the 1960s in Singapore, when Bugis Street was the centre for drag clubs and transvestite prostitution. The story centres on Lian, a young 16-year-old from Malacca, who gets a job as a recep-tionist at the Sin-Sin Hotel. Itβs the home of a gaggle of drag queens, all of whom have stories of broken hearts and drunken sailors. Lian learns more about life, lipstick and eyeliner than mostβmainly from Drago, a Paris-based drag queen, back in town to look after her ailing mother.
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Skinny Tiger, Fatty Dragon
ππ° Hong Kong πΈπ¬ Singapore The 1990sTwo righteous detectives, Skinny and Fatty, infuriate their superior by ruining his wedding β King-sized martial arts hero Sammo Hung stars in this wild and wacky blend of action and comedy. Skinny (Karl Maka) and Fatty (Sammo Hung) are a pair of police detectives who soon find themselves on the outs with their boss when they accidentally make a mess of his wedding while chasing Tak, a big league drug trafficker. Skinny and Fatty are forced to leave their jobs, but while on holiday in Singapore, they forget their troubles when they both find love with beautiful women. However, Tak is convinced the former cops are still a threat, and when he abducts their girlfriends, Skinny and Fatty swing into action to rescue them.
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Saint Jack
πΈπ¬ Singapore The 1970s"People make love for so many crazy reasons-- why shouldn't money be one of them?" - The Gospel According To Saint Jack β Jack Flowers is an American hustler trying to make his fortune in 1970s Singapore in small time pimping. His dreams of building a fortune by running a brothel himself and returning to the States is materialized when he is offered the opportunity by the CIA to run a brothel for the R&R activities of U.S. soldiers on leave in Singapore.
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King Rat
πΈπ¬ Singapore The 1940sThey Made the Toughest Among Them... King! β When Singapore surrendered to the Japanese in 1942, the Allied POWs, mostly British but including a few Americans, were incarcerated in Changi prison. Among the American prisoners is Cpl. King, a wheeler-dealer who has managed to establish a pretty good life for himself in the camp. King soon forms a friendship with an upper-class British officer who is fascinated with King's enthusiastic approach to life.
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My Mother-in-Law
πΈπ¬ Singapore The 1960sThe film's story revolves around the tragic love affair between Kassim Selamat, a poor musician, and Sabariah, the only daughter of a wealthy woman. The movie is notable in that the opening act starts out as a light-hearted romantic comedy, but at the 30 minute mark turns into a dramatic tragedy. Like a number of P. Ramlee's works, the film criticizes the unofficial caste system that separates the wealthy from the poor.
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Bujang Lapok
πΈπ¬ Singapore The 1950sThe misadventures of three bachelors as they pursue love and life together. β The first of four 'Bujang Lapok' ('Worn Out Bachelor') movies, this first one chronicles the loves and lives of three bachelors living in '50s Singapore.
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08/15
πΈπ¬ Singapore The 1930sLife in the barracks, drill, harassment, and private Aschβ²s pranks are the ingredients of Hans Hellmut Kirstβ²s successful novel "08/15" (the number of an Army regulation). Shortly before the outbreak of World War II: Private Asch and gunner Vierbein belong to the same unit but could not be more contrary. The instructors use every opportunity to bully the clumsy Vierbein with erratic corporal Platzek leading the way. The harassment starts with minor extra duties but soon the methods become more and more brutal. Finally, Asch comes to Vierbeinβ²s help and takes on his superiors. Joachim Fuchsberger stars in his first major role.
