10 Best Movies Set in or About Singapore

10 Movies Set in or About Singapore

Foreign-led films whose sustained setting or subject remains centered on Singapore.

1. 

   1. King Rat

   1965

   In the brutal Changi POW camp after Singapore's fall in 1942, an American corporal thrives as a cunning wheeler-dealer, trading and scheming his way to power and comfort while the other prisoners starve. A gripping wartime drama.

   Film notes
2. 

   2. Saint Jack

   1979

   An affable American hustler in 1970s Singapore dreams of running his own brothel and striking it rich, navigating gangsters, expats, and his own conscience. Peter Bogdanovich's atmospheric, humane character study.

   Why & details

   Curator’s note: A Singapore-set expatriate drama whose atmosphere, streets, and vice economy are central to the story.

   Film notes
3. 

   3. Crazy Rich Asians

   2018

   A Chinese-American professor travels to Singapore to meet her boyfriend's family for a wedding, only to discover he is the heir to one of Asia's wealthiest dynasties — and that his disapproving mother sees her as unworthy. A glittering, feel-good romantic comedy.

   Why & details

   Curator’s note: A Singapore-centered romantic comedy built around elite family networks, food culture, architecture, and national image.

   Film notes
4. 

   4. Bujang Lapok

   1957

   The first of a beloved comedy series follows three down-and-out bachelors sharing a room in 1950s Singapore as they chase love, work, and a little dignity. P. Ramlee's classic Malay farce.

   Film notes
5. 

   5. Alone

   Sola · 1931

   A celebrated singer on a world tour crosses paths in Singapore with a young European soldier of fortune who becomes obsessed with her voice. An early sound-era romantic drama.

   Film notes
6. 

   6. Five Ashore in Singapore

   Cinq gars pour Singapour · 1967

   When several Marines vanish while on leave in Singapore, a young secret-service agent and a handful of volunteers set out to investigate their mysterious disappearance. A vintage action-adventure.

   Film notes
7. 

   7. Suicide Mission to Singapore

   Goldsnake: Anonima Killers · 1966

   A secret agent sent to Singapore to recover a coveted formula finds that nearly everyone he trusts is out to betray him. A vintage Eurospy thriller.

   Film notes
8. 

   8. Across to Singapore

   1928

   When a scheming ship's mate abandons a sea captain in Singapore and lies about it, the captain's younger brother — in love with the same woman — sets out to clear his name and rescue him. A silent seafaring adventure.

   Film notes
9. 

   9. Detective Conan: The Fist of Blue Sapphire

   名探偵コナン 紺青の拳（フィスト） · 2019

   The boy-detective Conan travels to Singapore, where the hunt for a legendary sapphire lost in a 19th-century shipwreck leads to murder and a tangle of clues to unravel. An animated mystery adventure.

   Film notes
10. 

    10. Canopy

    2013

    In 1942, an Australian fighter pilot shot down over Japanese-occupied Singapore awakens tangled in the treetops and, with a Chinese resistance fighter, must survive a night in the perilous jungle. A near-wordless, atmospheric war drama.

    Film notes