It was a breakout character for the Mandarin-speaking veteran actor. “For so many years, I tried to change my style or play a new character. People have always known me to play the ah beng or gangster,” said Lee.
The Mandarin and Hokkien language film was set in 1980s Singapore and required Lee to speak Hokkien. “I was so happy when the director told me I would be speaking entirely in Hokkien in the movie!” Still, he conceded that there was homework to be done. “The Hokkien spoken then and now are different, so I had to do some research.”
In the same interview, Chang said that the heart-warming film had three layers: The father-daughter relationship; the friendship between Lee’s character, Tan, and Yu’s character, Loke; and “the community that Tan and Loke operate in”.
“There is a very complicated white lie running through the movie. And sometimes in life, we have no choice. In order not to hurt somebody, we have to make up a beautiful lie to help the other party’s life go on,” she said.
Wonderland will be playing in local cinemas from Aug 8.
