Review of The Blue Mansion, a film directed by Glen Goei and shot at Penang's Cheong Fatt Tze mansion. Released in 2009. The screening was held on April 10 at the Bellevue Hotel on Penang Hill, as part of Bellevue’s 2010 Inaugural Cultural Event.
Drama, intrigue, satire and revelations of family secrets await those who are lucky enough to get a chance to watch director Glen Goei’s latest film, The Blue Mansion.
The ghost of a recently deceased patriarch starts to roam the house where his family is still mourning his passing. He soon realises that his death may not have been all that natural. Two detectives have come to investigate the alleged crime and soon manage to reveal secrets within the family that they would have rather kept hidden.
Set in the impressive mansion in which all family members have congregated, “Pineapple King” Wee Bak Chuan (played by Patrick Teoh) wanders the halls where his widow Wee Siok Lin (Louisa Chong), two sons Liang and Meng (Kay Siu Lim and Adrian Pang, respectively) and daughter Pei Shan (Neo Swee Lin) battle it out amongst themselves for the rights to his fortune and legacy.
The title of the film is inspired by the historical mansion in which it is set. Glen Goei chose to film almost entirely in the Cheong Fatt Tze mansion in Penang because he thought it the perfect backdrop for a story about wealth and opulence in Asian history and culture.
Goei explains: “The mansion itself is very much a character in the film. The Blue Mansion became almost a metaphor for Singapore—glitzy and charming on the outside, but the lives of the people who live in it aren’t as perfect as the surface suggests.”
