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by Leon Overee

“Precious Is the Night” is Singapore’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards. Hoping to achieve the herculean task of getting his film nominated is the much-lauded filmmaker, Wayne Peng. The director, known for his expertise in commercials, helms the title that would be the Southeast Asian nation’s fifteenth entry at the Oscars since “The Kingdom and The Beauty” (1959).

A piercing gaze starts off this dark and moody thriller that oozes art house charm right at the get-go. We are introduced to one contemporary writer (Chuando Tan) who stumbles upon a pile of 1969 newspaper articles detailing the deaths of a wealthy socialite Ku Yang (played by Taiwanese model Nayeli in her film debut) and a physician, Dr Tan (also played by Chuando), who, strangely, is a complete Doppelganger of the writer.

The excited scribe begins to probe into the mystery of...

Promising ingredients for a juicy murder mystery are spoiled by weak plotting and anemic drama in “Precious Is the Night.” Set among Singapore’s wealthy elite and their household servants in 1969, this plodding tale about a randy doctor involved with an unhappily married socialite and her two housemaids is impeccably decorated and handsomely photographed but fails to produce much tension or intrigue. The first narrative feature by renowned commercials director Wayne Peng played local cinemas in April and has been selected as Singapore’s official entry in the 2022 international feature Oscar race.

The film’s framing device involves a contemporary writer (Chuando Tan) discovering old newspaper stories about the violent deaths of wealthy woman Ku Yang and attractive physician Dr. Tan on a dark and stormy night. Intrigued by his uncanny resemblance to Dr. Tan, the Writer begins bashing out a novel based on known facts of the case and...

“The Diam Diam Era Too,” the sequel to current release “The Diam Diam Era” by Singapore superstar Jack Neo, and period thriller “Precious is the Night” are among the upcoming releases from regional mini-conglomerate MM2 Entertainment.

The company revealed a host of titles for 2020-21 release at the ongoing Asian Television Forum, which is part of the Singapore Media Festival.

The “Diam Diam” films continue the story of Neo’s 2016 two-parter “Long Long Time Ago” that followed the Lim family against the backdrop of Singapore’s nation-building policies. “The Diam Diam Era Too” is set for a Lunar New Year release in early 2021. The cast includes Richie Koh, Danny Lee and Mark Lee.

Wayne Peng’s “Precious Is The Night” is a thriller set in 1960s Singapore, starring model-photographer Chuando Tan as a doctor caught in a web of deceit, sex and lies. The Golden Horse nominated film also stars Nanyeli,...