Director Nelson Yeo is making Singapore’s first wuxia feature film with “The House on the Moon,” a project that fills a notable gap in the country’s cinema history. While the wuxia genre—characterized by sword-fighting heroes and martial fantasy narratives—has been prominent in international cinema and local television during the late 1980s and early 1990s, Singapore had not previously produced a feature-length film in this style. The project is set to premiere in Locarno’s international competition.
The film presents a reimagining of the Chang’Er myth, traditionally a simple narrative about the moon goddess. Yeo’s adaptation picks up the story after Chang’Er ascends to the moon and follows her journey to the moon’s dark side alongside a bandit character from Earth. Rather than merely honoring the original myth, Yeo sought to expand upon it by exploring the emotional depth and inner lives of the characters, particularly focusing on Chang’Er’s internal journey of self-discovery and finding her own voice. The bandit character, written to speak Singlish, was designed as an entry point for audiences among a cast of immortal beings.
Yeo brings considerable experience to the project, having previously attended Locarno’s Filmmakers Academy and premiered his 2023 debut feature “Dreaming & Dying” at the festival, where it won multiple awards. His approach to “The House on the Moon” was influenced by his childhood exposure to Hong Kong genre cinema and Singaporean wuxia television serials, citing films such as Tsui Hark’s “Zu: Warriors From the Magic Mountain” and Wong Kar-wai’s “Ashes of Time” as touchstones.
Production presented significant challenges, including sourcing appropriate props and finding suitable filming locations in Singapore’s modern urban landscape. These constraints led Yeo to expand filming to Taiwan for the first time, where he collaborated with Taiwanese actor Lee Kang-sheng, a longtime collaborator of director Tsai Ming-liang. The production also employed virtual production techniques, though Yeo expressed caution about such technology and artificial intelligence in filmmaking, emphasizing the value of real locations and actor interaction on set.
The international production involved crew and cast from Singapore, Taiwan, Germany, and Indonesia, reflecting a deliberate expansion of Yeo’s usual working process. Regarding future possibilities, Yeo stated he would not force the creation of sequels and indicated interest in pursuing other projects, including a horror film and a long-gestating project titled “Black Sun.”
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI