It's A Great Great World

Kelvin Tong

The story: Ah Meng (Chew Chor Meng) tells a young woman (Olivia Ong) the stories behind four black-and-white pictures her grandmother Ah Hua took a long time ago at Great World Amusement Park: children’s entertainer Ah Boo (Henry Thia) and his mother (Lai Meng); Meijuan (Joanne Peh), who ran a shooting gallery stall, and the medicated oil salesman (Zhang Zhenhuan) she fell in love with; lovelorn nightclub singer Mei Gui (Xiang Yun); and Ah Meng himself and his mute bride (Apple Hong).

In his seventh feature, film-maker Kelvin Tong probes the idea of national identity and grapples with the question of what makes a film Singaporean. And he does this in an entertaining manner.

With a lovingly recreated set of Great World Amusement Park, the film is a nostalgia fest. But Tong also takes care to root it within the larger context of what was happening in the country.

He conveys the pain of separation of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965 by juxtaposing the historic clip of then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew making the announcement in tears with Meijuan sobbing her heart out over the departure of her Malaysian sweetheart.

History is shaped by politics and portentous pronouncements. It is also forged by personal stories of living and loving and this is one juncture where it all comes together.

The film is structured with each vignette unfolding against the backdrop of an iconic Great World attraction such as Sky Theatre, Ghost Train, Flamingo Nite-Club and Wing Choon Yuen Restaurant.

Some segments are stronger than others. The decision not to dub over the actors’ real voices means sitting through some iffy-sounding Teochew from the China-born Zhang Zhenhuan.

It is a pity that we do not get to learn more about the trail-blazing Ah Hua (played by Yvonne Lim) – smoking, wearing trousers and doing a man’s job while juggling her responsibilities to a husband and a child.

Still, it is fun to see the array of local TV stars up on the big screen, from Bryan Wong and Zhang Yaodong yakking in the kitchen as junior cooks to Xiang Yun as a boozy over-the-hill nightclub singer.

Anchoring the entire film is Chew Chor Meng’s poignant portrayal of a former street vendor who now seems, like the amusement park itself, to have been largely forgotten by time and society.

(ST)