It was filmed entirely on location in Malaysia at a historical site and has Malaysians in the lead roles. Now, wouldn’t it be a shame if it can’t get past our censors?

SINGAPORE filmmaker Glen Goei is a slow burner – he made his first film, Forever Fever, 10 years ago. And now he’s finally made his second movie, The Blue Mansion.

It cost Goei some US$3mil (RM10mil) and the result is a classy film that looks splendid and sounds fantastic; in fact the great production values help disguise some major flaws in the plot and characters.

The movie was shot at Penang’s Cheong Fatt Tze mansion (yup, the blue mansion that is a designated Unesco Architectural Heritage site). It stars Malaysians Patrick Teoh, Louisa Chong, Huzir Sulaiman, Claire Wong and Steve Yap, as well as Singaporean veterans like Tan Kheng Hua, Neo Swee Lin (both of Phua Chu Kang fame), Lim Kay Siu and Adrian Pang.

The Blue Mansion is a Cluedo-like whodunit that revolves around the sudden and mysterious death of Wee Bak Chuan, a Singaporean tycoon played by Teoh, and how his dysfunctional family deals with it – including suspicions of foul play – as they prepare for his funeral. (The movie was initially titled The Funeral Party.)

There are plenty of holes in the plot but it is an absorbing watch for the most part, thanks to brilliant editing by Kate James, who also edited the films Puteri Gunung Ledang and The Red Kebaya.

The cast in a scene at the stately blue mansion (clockwise from left): Neoh Swee Lin, Lim Kay Siu, Claire Wong, Patrick Teoh, Tan Kheng Hua, Adrian Pang, Denise Chan and Louisa Chong. – Photo from The Blue Mansion official website.

Goei, 47, spent his money wisely by hiring other top-notch talent, including cinematographer Larry Smith who was the director of photography on Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, production designer Ian Bailie who was the art director on Atonement, sound re-recording mixer Glen Butler who was the sound engineer on Australia, and composer David Hirschfelder who also scored the music for Shine and Elizabeth.

Teoh is the mean-spirited tyrant of a father (a rather stereotypical role he seems to relish) whose only good point is his tender relationship with his wife, Siok Lin, played convincingly by Chong.

Both leads are ably supported by the rest of the cast, especially Neo as the dead man’s bitter and disillusioned daughter, Pang as the scorned and frustrated second son, Tan as his neurotic wife, Lim as the eldest son with a secret, and Wong as his slyly ambitious spouse.

The expressive Huzir, supported by the Ah Beng-ish Yap, provides much of the humour as the bumbling cop investigating Wee’s death.

Much has been made about Emma Yong’s nudity which earned the film an NC16 rating but as the 34-year-old Singapore actress – who portrays the spirit of the eldest son’s first wife – said, the scene was not gratuitous but tastefully done.

But that scene, like another involving a sexual encounter between Pang’s character and his mistress which was removed from the Singapore version, is not the reason why The Blue Mansion may not be screened in Malaysia. Those scenes can be pixellated or cut but it is the liberal use of the f-word that will make it impossible to edit out without making the film extremely disjointed.

According to Goei, the censorship board wants 18 cuts from the dialogue and two cuts on kissing scenes. He is appealing the decision.

If he fails, it will be a shame, really, because even though The Blue Mansion is unlikely to do as well as a Jack Neo movie (Money No Enough, I Not Stupid) at local cinemas, Malaysians deserve a chance to see it. It is an extremely well-made movie with characters speaking in Singaporean/Malaysian English that sounds real and natural.

Smith’s cinematography is incredibly beautiful and makes you want to visit Cheong Fatt Tze to see the real thing. But if you do that, you will be disappointed because all the settings do not exist – they were created by Bailie.

In the meantime, while he awaits for a decision on his appeal, Goei is taking his baby abroad and he’s off to a good start. The Blue Mansion was selected to open the “A Window on Asian Cinema” showcase at the recently concluded 14th Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea.

‘The Blue Mansion’ is now playing in Singapore cinemas.

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