Long Long Time Ago 2 (2016)

Long Long Time Ago 2 (2016). Long Long Time Ago 2: Directed by Jack Neo. With Aileen Tan, Mark Lee, Wang Lei, Benjamin Josiah Tan. After the 1969 nationwide floods, Zhao Di takes over her father's family farm with the help of reformed gangster Ah Long. As Singapore's economy prospers, the Singaporean mindset is also forced to change with the times. Osman catches his teenage son, Ahmad practicing with his rock band. As a conservative man, Osman believes rock music will have a negative influence on Ahmad. Father and son argue over their different opinions, causing Ahmad to run away. Meanwhile, Ah Hee and Rani decide to get married. But their traditional parents disapprove of their marriage. In 1977, the Government begins expropriating land for redevelopment, forcing villagers from their kampongs. Licensed farmland owners, such as Zhao Di, are financially compensated for their land. Ah Kun, Zhao Di's greedy brother accuses Zhao Di and Ah Long of having an affair to tarnish her name in front of the family. In the midst of Ah Kun's persistent accusations, Zhao Di's health takes a hit. Will Zhao Di be able to keep her hard-earned compensation money? What will become of her family if Zhao Di's health continues to deteriorate? As people change with time, will the kampong spirit remain?

“Of late, Jack Neou0026#39;s stories have gotten longer, but in the case of u0026#39;Long Long Time Agou0026#39; at least, we can reassure you that it isnu0026#39;t because he has gotten more long-winded.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFor the uninitiated, the two-part saga of the trials and tribulations of a family living through the early years of Singaporeu0026#39;s independence is Neou0026#39;s ode to a bygone era in Singaporeu0026#39;s history.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eZhao Di (Aileen Tan) is the eldest daughter, gentle, restrained yet quietly resilient; while Ah Kun (Mark Lee) is her second brother, an opportunistic good-for-nothing ingrate who not only gambles his time away but is consistently getting himself and his family into trouble. Their conflict was the backbone of the story and character dynamics in the first movie, and comes to a boil here as greed takes hold of Ah Kun.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe trigger here is the Governmentu0026#39;s relocation of citizens from u0026#39;kampungsu0026#39; to HDB flats, in order to free up land for national development. Along with that move comes the promise of a generous compensation package, depending on the amount of land that would be expropriated as well as the u0026#39;activitiesu0026#39; on that land such as pig farming etc. Though he had never lifted a finger to help Zhao Di turn their barren front yard into a modest pig farm, Ah Kun demands a share of the compensation that would be given in exchange of the u0026#39;pig farmingu0026#39; licence, and even goes so far as to smear Zhao Diu0026#39;s good name in order to get their family and extended relatives on his side.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLike weu0026#39;ve said about the first movie, Tan and Lee are some of the most seasoned local performers and continue to shine in their respective roles. The usually glamorous Tan deftly underplays her uncharacteristically subdued role with nuance and grace, never once stooping to hysterics to win her audienceu0026#39;s sympathy. On the other hand, Lee was born to play the brash, hot-headed lout, and it is to his credit that we end up loathing his character as much as we sympathise with Tanu0026#39;s. Leeu0026#39;s scenes with Tan are easily the most engaging in the whole film, and it is also in these scenes that Neo holds back the distractions (think: product placements) to allow these two excellent actors to communicate their charactersu0026#39; frustrations, disappointments as well as, in the case of Ah Kun, remorse with absolute clarity.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn contrast, the other narrative strands are understandably – but also regrettably – less fleshed out. Ah Heeu0026#39;s interracial relationship and eventual marriage with Rani (Bharathi Rani) fares best relatively, but Neo treats the potentially controversial subject as comic relief (read: Rani happens to be former health inspector Shamugenu0026#39;s (Silvarajoo Prakasam) daughter) than any serious-minded discourse on the possible tensions that could arise from differences in culture and language. Ah Longu0026#39;s (Ryan Lian) budding romance for Zhao Di never quite goes anywhere, but the most severely underdeveloped subplot has to be Osmanu0026#39;s (Suhaimi Yusof) falling out with his teenage son Ahmad after the former smashes the latteru0026#39;s guitar in a fit of anger.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eJuggling the sheer number of characters is no small feat, and inevitably some like Ah Kunu0026#39;s wife (Charmaine Sei) or Osmanu0026#39;s wife (Nurijah Sahat) will not get much to do at all. Yet as much as one is willing to extend such concessions to the sprawling script by Neo and two of his regular screen writing collaborators Link Sng and Ivan Ho, it is no less lamentable that Wang Leiu0026#39;s Si Shu and Osman are almost completely sidelined here, squandering what time and attention had been placed on developing their characters the first time round. Oh yes, Ah Kunu0026#39;s resentment of Zhao Diu0026#39;s modest successes is compellingly drawn, but every other detail feels a little undercooked to say the very least.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf there is one consolation, it is that this second part doesnu0026#39;t strain as much as its predecessor does in trying to fit the iconic moments in Singaporeu0026#39;s history into its narrative. Aside from the passing references to Wang Sa and Ya Fongu0026#39;s comedy skits on local black-and-white TV, the only milestone which Neo flag-checks here is the relocation of u0026#39;kampongu0026#39; dwellers into HDB flats, which in turn allows Neo the time and space to properly acknowledge its significance to the thousands of affected individuals – and we are not just talking about the thrill of riding up and down for the first time in a lift but also the drastic change in oneu0026#39;s living environment and livelihood.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNo other director has quite so ambitiously tried to capture such moments in Singaporeu0026#39;s fifty years of phenomenal change, and there is no denying the passion, conviction and commitment that Neo brings to the film as a whole, notwithstanding his persistent weaknesses as a storyteller. Indeed, Neo still cannot resist being didactic at the very end, but there is still a perfectly engrossing family drama to be enjoyed, complete with an exemplification of the oft-mentioned u0026#39;kampong spiritu0026#39;. u0026#39;Long Long Time Ago 2u0026#39; brings Neou0026#39;s story of Singapore and Singaporeans to a stronger finish than we would have ever expected, and that alone is reason enough to get your family, your friends, your fellow Singaporeans, your fellow non-Singaporean residents to enjoy, appreciate and discover a uniquely Singaporean slice of history come alive.”