Songlap (2011)

Five minutes before I begin writing this review, I’ve just finished watching what is unarguably the best modern Malaysian movie I have ever had the pleasure of watching. The fact that I am writing this so soon after watching it speaks volumes of the movie; Songlap. Good god, I don’t know where to begin. The pinpoint casting? The screenplay? The acting? The colourful characters, lead and supporting alike? I’ve been simply blown away. And to think that I’ve waited this long to get the DVD, and then to have waited a little more to crack open the DVD case to actually watch it. Do you remember how I gushed at ‘Chow Kit’? This review is gush of the year, I’m telling you.

Let us start with the plot. The movie tells the story of two brothers; Am (Shaheizy Sam), a runner for a black market baby syndicate whose penchant for gambling throws away what little money he and his younger brother; Ad (Syafie Naswip) make. However, it is evident that Ad does not have the stomach for their line of work, and he has a bigger heart than his brother does, being young, naive and yet to be corrupted by years of slumming in the job. And when Ad’s best friend dies from a drug overdose, he starts thinking of escaping from the decadence and greed that he grew up in. Salvation comes knocking in the form of Hawa (Sara Ali), a pregnant teenager whose unborn baby is earmarked to be sold off by the syndicate the two brothers are working for. As usual, I’m not gonna reveal too much about the plot so as to not give it away. And because I WANT YOU TO GO BUY THE ORIGINAL DVD AND WATCH IT YOURSELF! Go on, stop reading this review and head to the local Speedy to get an original copy. This review’ll still be here when you get back and finish watching the movie. Alright, if you’re not convinced, let me elaborate just a little bit more. The plot is more complicated and layered than I let on, and this is one of the very few Malaysian movies whereby the characters’ motivations and actions are believable, instead of simply executed to advance the plot. More on this later.

Next let’s look at the cast and the characters. I want to begin with the star; Shaheizy Sam. Before Songlap, I knew him from Adnan Sempit and some other forgettable comedies. Never thought much of him. I mean, Bront Palare has more acting chops than him and Aaron Aziz is definitely miles ahead of him in the looks department. But boy was I blown away by Shahiezy’s performance in this movie or what? Guy explodes in the audience’s faces in a very visceral manner. He embodies his character perfectly, a smarmy, unscrupulous man who has to rely on his wits since he’s constantly on the lookout for easy money. The thing is, he is neither charming nor quick on the uptake, so he often finds himself at the receiving end of his bosses and associates’ blows when he fails to con them, which also makes for a genuinely amusing character who is also sympathetic to a certain extent. I don’t know whether he received coaching from the directors during filming or whether he was this good to begin with, but his solid performance carried this movie through to the very end. I wish he’d stop wasting his talents on Adnan Sempit and the likes and concentrate on more movies like this instead, but I guess he’s got to eat.

It is with great pride that I say that this is the first time that I’ve seen a Malaysian movie that pays as much attention to the supporting cast and characters as it does to the lead. Syafie Naswip (I admit I never heard of him before) who plays Ad, holds his own against his on-screen brother’s stellar performance, letting him do much of the talking, while he broods and plays the tortured teenager and conflicted crook. The directors of the movie Effendee Mazlan and Fariza Azlina Isahak, show that they were not simply content on relying on the stellar leads, by also peopling the movie with superb and colourful supporting characters who steal every scene they are in, either with their performance or simply their odd looks. Fauzi Nawawi who plays Chipun; a pimp, provides that very rare breed of nuanced comic relief which would easily be portrayed as an out-and-out funny man in the hands of a less capable director. He explains in ‘The Making of’ section of the DVD (now that’s why I buy original) that he essentially plays the same character that he’s played before, only this one is harder and more layered. Omar Abdullah, a veteran of TV3 primetime melodramas could have easily played his staple father figure characters, but in Songlap he turns in a slightly edgy performance as the taxi driver father of the pregnant Hawa who is seemingly dedicated to returning her safely home, with a dark, big reveal at the end. Also worth mentioning are Am’s best friend; Toyol who is played by Ayam Fared who I think got cast simply because the directors couldn’t resist hiring such an odd-looking actor with an even odder stage name; and a crook by the name of Man Ramos who, in the midst of beating Am up in one scene, gets infuriated at Am for making him have to get his namesake, his well-coiffed hair, tousled, and beats Am up some more.

I mentioned earlier about the plot, which I think is the tightest that I’ve seen in a Malaysian movie. The screenplay is written by Fariza, and I have to also praise this aspect of the movie. All the things that happen in the movie happen for a reason, and when they happen, they affect someone, and you bet someone is going to have to pay. No moments are wasted for the sake of slapping on a heart warming, tear-jerking scene, a big heroic speech, or comic relief. Everything is punctuated subtly and expertly, which puts Songlap miles ahead of even other Malaysian movies that I consider to be good. The characters’ motivation is very realistic and believable. You can see how Ad’s desire to escape his surroundings is not borne out of some tacky selfless ideal, but out of his need to make amends for one particular mistake he makes at the beginning of the movie. Am’s flippant attitude towards the pregnant mothers-for-hire and prostitutes are also explained towards the end of the movie; and it cleverly shows why he is who he is. And the dialogues, they are oh so delicious. From the casual insults hurled by Am at his crook buddies, to the chilling threats made by a key assassin character, to the many jokes cracked by Am (with one making a pot shot at national laughing stock ‘Dr’ Rozmey), they flow smoothly throughout the movie, making you laugh and keeping you focused on the plot at the precise moments. That and the brilliant delivery by the actors, which leads me to believe that the directors had taken it upon themselves to extensively coach the cast to deliver their brilliant vision. Clearly, the directors had already thought of how they wanted to film every single second of ‘Songlap’ before production, leaving nothing to chance. And for that, I congratulate AND thank them.

I also want to say is how excited I am for the near future of Malaysian movie industry. It seems that quite a few movies have broken new grounds, pushed the envelope and raised the standards in the last year. ‘Chow Kit’ with its in-your-face realism and frank portrayal of coarseness, ‘Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa’ with its ambitious epic scale and technical achievements, flawed it may be, ‘Songlap’ which I’ve been raving about, and just recently, ‘Bunohan’ which has garnered international acclaim (also another DVD I’ve bought but yet to watch myself). Next to come is U-Wei Shaari’s ‘Hanyut’, an adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s first novel ‘Almayer’s Folly’ which currently is in post-production, from what I’ve read. Looking forward to the original Malaysian auteur’s next work. 

Also worth noting is that I’ve noticed a sort of formula for these successful new Malaysian movies. Like ‘Chow Kit’, ‘Songlap’ is to a certain extent bilingual, has a number of Chinese supporting characters who speak their native language in the dialogue, and is made by a production team comprising a sizeable number of Chinese Malaysian members. I think this is the way forward for Malaysian movies, and even if they are made for a mostly Malay market, like ‘Songlap’ with its Malay leads and main characters, the Malaysian movie industry can not shy away from being more inclusive in their production stage and in their aesthetics anymore. A movie, by nature, should be relevant, and Malaysian movies can achieve relevance and cultural significance by more realistically reflecting on inter-racial Malaysian interaction and sensibilities. Notice how I’ve avoided calling ‘Songlap’ a Malay movie? This is of course to be more inclusive, but also because I think calling it so doesn’t accurately describe the scope of the movie and its production stage.

That’s it from me on ‘Songlap’ or I’m gonna start sounding like a fanboy. Believe me when I say you should really watch it if you love Malaysian movies and movies in general. Shaheizy Sam is a revelation in it, and the performance of his supporting cast members is top notch. I also want to personally thank a friend of mine, Faiz ‘Kehek’ Fadzil for persistently convincing me to watch it, after he read my ‘Chow Kit’ review.

The GOOD: ALMOST ALL OF THE MOVIE. I mean when talking about most good Malaysian movies, there’s always an “It’s good, but...”, but ‘Songlap’ is almost perfect in every sense.

The BAD: I did say almost. The character of Hawa is a little underdeveloped and underutilised as compared to Am and Ad. She’s written to be a bit too passive for my liking.

My VERDICT: 9/10. It’s not a Malaysian movie nine either, it’s the standard nine I give to international movies.

TRIVIA: the opening scene signifies the transition for the audience from more conventional Malay movies to another kind of movie. The cameos by Lisdawati and Eizlan Yusof hint at this. But I won’t explain much on this as I read it in another Malaysian reviewer’s blog. Go read it here.

Chow Kit (2012)

Apa khabar? How have you been doing? It has been quite sometime since I last reviewed a Malaysian movie so that's what I want to do in this post, and I think you will all be pleased that today I'm going to review a movie that had just come out in the cinemas recently, around two months ago, instead of my usual fares of flicks that are more older. 

I find it odd that most of the movies that I have reviewed in this blog are the ones that I watched through random encounters such as from channel surfing on Astro, and my encounter with this movie occurred from an almost similar happenstance. I was out with my friends, and they had wanted to rewatch The Avengers. But upon arriving at the cinema, we found out that the tickets for all the showings for the rest of that day was out. Disappointed, we decided to watch another movie instead. Going through the listing, we saw the a movie titled 'Chow Kit' and decided that that's the movie we wanted to watch. Not much logic behind the call, I know, but I have an inkling that it was because of the place that the movie is set in (Chow Kit is an area which is considered to be the seedy underbelly of  KL), they might have thought it was one of those gangster movies in the vein of KL Gangster and KL Drift. Not my cup of tea, of course, but I was too tired to protest and the rest of the movies available sucked. And if I had to watch a lousy movie, I'd rather my RM 10 goes to local moviemakers.

So we went inside, and the movie started. And wow, was I surprised from the opening shots! It opened with  a cold opener of a group of children chasing a man with two by fours along the dilapidated store fronts of Chow Kit, and then into the dingy backalleys. They finally have him surrounded, but the man takes out a gun and shoots one of them in the arm. The leader of the pack drops him with a whack, and they all viciously pounced on him with their planks and by good ol' stomp on the head. It is a very visceral scene that also makes the audience wonder about the events leading up to it, and the opener effectively jolts the audience into the realisation that 'Chow Kit' is not like anything that they have seen from any other Malaysian film makers. 

The plot itself is unusual in that it deals with a subsection of the Malaysian society that is rarely featured on film; the seedy underbelly of Kuala Lumpur, drug addicts and dealers, transvestites, prostitutes and pimps and also the unfortunate children of the prostitutes. And when I say rarely featured, I mean featured in a realistic, kitchen-sink manner without glorifying nor condemning them. 

The movie itself is actually two separate stories with the  first story showing the daily lives of a group of the above-mentioned children of prostitutes, their endeavours to find money, and their reaction when one of them, the only female member in the gang, is sexually-assaulted by her mother's boyfriend. The other story concerns two friends; one a recent former convict and gangster, the other a snatch thief, who are looking to score a last payout before leaving the criminal world and to help the latter pay for his mother's surgery. But as the poet Robert Blake wrote, "the best laid schemes of mice and men go often awry" so do the two friends' plan. They are repeatedly double-crossed by the people they deal with, and their predicament keeps escalating; taking them further away from that last payout and putting their lives in danger. The two stories are only connected by the appearance of a number of characters.

Now what I love about this movie is the realism with which the the movie is presented. Malaysian films are reliant on the need to fluff them up, be it with cringe-worthy humour and comic relief, an unnecessary love interest, far-fetched drama or tear-jerker moments; which I find cheap and hammy. That is why I find it refreshing to watch a Malaysian movie that eschews all these to portray things as they are and to just simply let the audience decide for themselves what to feel. And in most of the scenes, I was left not knowing what exactly to feel, even in the more touching scenes. After all, the characters are not exactly blameless for the predicaments that they get into; they are prostitutes and criminals. That the film is successful in producing these layers of reactions and emotions is a testament to the makers' refusal to cheapen the movie by dumbing it down, and also to the depth of the writing.

Another aspect to this realism that I find refreshing is with the dialogue. Now let me just tell you a little bit about my experience as a cinephile. When watching Hollywood and foreign movies alike with adult language, I had wondered to myself whether this sort of thing is ever going to happen in a Malaysian movie. Not that I am glorifying crass and want swear words to be heard in every other line, but purely for the fact that I think it more accurately mirrors the society's speech. Let's not kid ourselves, almost everyone swear when talking nowadays, and so do I. And not just the swearing, I'm also talking about the register of our daily speech. In short, I find the dialogue in Malaysian movies; specifically Malay movies, unrealistic, as if the movies are written by non-native Bahasa Melayu speakers. Anyway, to get back to my point, I had always thought that swearing in our movies is not going to happen in my lifetime. I mean, our damned politicians banned a documentary, for God's sake. That's what you get for letting people who have no interest and knowledge in arts and film regulate any artistic branches. 

So understand my amusement and bewilderment when the first cussing was uttered in the movie; "Babi lah kau". Now you might wonder what the hell I'm giggling like a school girl for; it's just a swear word. I was kind of shocked because that line, I repeat, the first curse to be spoken by any of the characters in the movie, was uttered by one of the prostitutes' children to his playground enemy. Yup, we went straight from the text-book dialogue in our movies to children swearing in them in just one movie. The adults didn't even get a chance. It's as if a human civilisation, which has no mode of vehicular transportation, were to suddenly invent a rocketship within the duration of one lazy weekend. That's why I was really amused. Fortunately the adult characters get their fair share of swearing in the movie later, and swearing is not something that I'm not used to everyday, to actually see and hear it in a Malaysian movie is something that I was strangely proud of, in the sense that there are Malaysian film makers who want to embrace realism in their movies, instead of shying away from it and covering it with fluff.

Still on the topic of realism, this movie is also realistic in its steely portrayal of the seedy underbelly of society. To make it easier, I'll just list down most of the criminal activities that are portrayed in this movie:

- incest, sexual act and prostitution

- child rape (one of the most graphic scenes of the movie)

- drug and alcohol use

- theft and snatch-theft

- drug deals

- physical violence

- oh, there's also a severed head thrown in for good measure

I repeat, although it is quite a long list, they are not in anyway portrayed in a manner that glorifies them. The audience is simply presented with them, and it is the audience alone who should decide what to feel about them. Kudos to the filmmakers for treating us like adults who are able to think for ourselves, for a change.

Which brings me to my next point, how on earth did they sneak this movie past the censorship board?! I am simply amazed at their audacity in getting it into Malaysian movie cinemas, risking their careers and reputation so we can enjoy it. I can't imagine the furore and the pitchfork carrying frenzy the Malaysian society will get into, upon learning that a movie about this underground subsection of the society has been released. The demonstrations, the holier-than-thou Facebook status posts calling for all devout Muslims to boycott this movie, the politicians chiming in to make sure that they are seen as morally righteous by their potential voters. All without having once seen the movie. I shudder at the thought. Or maybe FINAS themselves have adapted to the times and current movie-goers' matured sensitivity and I have simply given them too little credit. After all, the musical 'The Producers' (2005) was shown uncut in Malaysian cinemas despite its overt portrayal of gay men, and that was seven years ago.

However, what happened was the complete opposite of getting the attention of the public, even the negative kind. I talked to a friend who had talked to 'Chow Kit's' producers and the people involved in the making, and he told me that the movie did not make profit. The usual course of action when learning that yet another good Malaysian movie has finished its theatrical run barely noticed by Malaysian movie-goers is to criticise them for ignoring a gem in favour of frivolous comedy or romance movies, but for 'Chow Kit', I'm gonna cut the usual suspects a slack. Prior to going to the cinema with my friends, I had known literally nothing whatsoever about it, which is unusual for me. At the very least, I would learn of the title and the main actors of any recent Malaysian Malay movies from simply being around people and listening to them talking or through the internet, even if I have no intention of catching these movies. But not 'Chow Kit', not a word nor a squeak, which means the movie lacked promotion. I wonder what's up with this. I know that it did not have a sizeable production budget which means that its promotional  budget might have been even more miniscule, but these days you need promotion to ensure the success of any project intended for an audience, and although promotional and advertising works cost money, you need to spend money to make even more money. Could it be that they avoided promoting it to avoid attracting unwanted attention, the kind I mentioned above? Who knows. I hope they are going to get the movie on DVD so I can get a copy for my movie collection.

The GOOD: 

- the lead child actor is wonderful. Brooding and quite handsome. Hopefully he stays in the industry when he grows up

The BAD: sometimes the low-budget makes the more technically challenging to shoot scenes look laughable, like the Mexican stand-off scene

My VERDICT: this movie gets a 7.5/10
TRIVIA: The soundtrack to this movie is composed by Butterfingers' Loque. Maybe that's where their promotional budget went to?

Geng: Pengembaraan Bermula (2009)

As a movie industry, the Malaysian film industry leaves a lot to be desired, quality-wise. Weak acting, implausible plot, exploitative issues and themes are among many issues that have failed to be addressed by those who call themselves the Malaysian filmmakers. However, it’s not my point in this blog to call attention to shoddily-made films; be it international, foreign or local films. I prefer to highlight movies that are made with the desire to set them apart from the rest of the movies, and with that purpose in mind, today we’re gonna look at a Malaysian-made animation film; ‘Geng: Pengembaraan Bermula’ (‘Geng: The Adventure Begins’) which features characters from the by-now immensely popular and ubiquitous TV animation series; ‘Upin & Ipin’.

I remember watching this movie when it came out in the cinemas. My younger siblings were hankering me to take them to watch it one weekend. ‘Upin & Ipin’ had been a staple of Malaysian TV for almost a year by that time, but despite the quality of the animation and the adorable voice acting, it was just a kiddy’s show to me. So I grudgingly relented to my siblings’ pleading, thinking that I wouldn’t enjoy ‘Geng’. After all, a number of Malaysian animation movies have been made in the last decade and each and every single one was disappointing.

However, was I surprised to find myself hysterically laughing only ten minutes into the movie! I was pleasantly amazed at the thought put into the writing; to make sure that the movie is enjoyable to the parents/adults as much as it is to their children. The production team of the studio Les Copaque proves that they weren’t just half-assing it for a quick buck by cashing in from the already popular ‘Upin & Ipin’. The jokes are sincerely funny, the conflict and mystery interesting, and all these on top of what has already made ‘Upin & Ipin’ popular in the region; the titular characters’ adorable shenanigans, charming animation and character design; and hilarious supporting characters. I was actually enjoying the movie!

Now before I get too carried away gushing, let me just tell you about the movie synopsis. When superstitious goings on disrupt the peace and tranquillity of the village of identical twins Upin and Ipin, they enlist the help of their village gang (hence the title), the grandson of their neighbour and his friend to investigate and uncover a sinister plan by a number of bumbling criminals and a portal to another dimension. If the synopsis doesn’t sound anything like a comedy, don’t be alarmed. It is for all intents and purposes a comedy movie, it just so happens that the plot is essentially a horror story happening to characters that are inherently funny.

As a side note, it is worth mentioning and commending the people who came up with the movie; the Shah Alam-based animation studio Les’ Copaque. With ‘Geng’ they proved that their success with ‘Upin & Ipin’ is no fluke and they are run with a pair of steady hands. I’ll definitely be watching out for their future productions. Hopefully they will take over the mantle as the premiere animation studio of this region, if not as its best movie studio.

The GOOD:

- The animation is fluid and the character design is eye-catching. Way ahead than your run-off-the-mill Malaysian animation. Les’ Copaque is no Pixar, sure, but they’ve shown that they have it in themselves to improve and come up with quality films

- It's sincerely funny to children and the adults alike, and not just in a 'kiddy-funny' way

The BAD:

- There’s this awkward musical number that seems to happen for no reason at the beginning. It feels contrived and forced. It’s a good thing it’s at the beginning where things are just about to pick up, so by the end I’ve more or less forgotten about this minor blight.

My VERDICT for ‘Geng’: 7.5/10

TRIVIA: Apparently, ‘Geng’ was in production long before ‘Upin & Ipin’ was made. They decided to come up with an easy-to-made and cheap TV series during a lull in the ‘Geng’ production period when they were securing and negotiating for funding for the film.

Hantu Kak Limah Balik Rumah (2010)

Wow, two posts on one day after almost a half-year hiatus! Can my name and the word 'industrious' finally be uttered in the same breath without the universe imploding unto itself? This time I'd like to review the sequel to a movie I've reviewed earlier, Zombi Kampung Pisang. And frankly speaking, it is a movie I've been waiting for quite sometime considering how much I adored the campiness and enjoyed the humour of its predecessor. If you are wondering what Zombi is about, go read my review of it first. But don't worry, you do not need to watch Zombi to follow the story of Kak Limah.

Kak Limah tells about the return of Husin (Awie) to Kg Pisang from working abroad. Upon his return, he realises that a lot have changed since his departure. Usop the former cultural-dancer is now a paraplegic after a very tragic yet of course very comical mishap and Usop's sweetheart has had her heart broken by him one too many times. Oh, there's also a small matter of him seemingly living next door to the ghost of his neighbour, Kak Limah who is intent on haunting the villagers. Just like their previous run with zombies, this time the villagers of Kg Pisang will have to unite again in facing a horror of comedic proportions in Mamat Khalid's latest film.

The GOOD:

- there’s this running gag that is really funny in its suddenness and abruptness. Mamat knows this and he milks it for all it’s worth

The BAD:

1) the film is essentially a one-trick pony. A lot of the jokes are only mildly funny at best and they seem to drag

2) The love song in the middle of the movie. Although it’s quite nice to see Awie channelling his early 90’s Sembilu persona (complete with the hog and all), the sequence is simply awkward and it does not serve the plot in any way

3) The lack of talents. Zombi benefited from being an ensemble movie, with the job of carrying the movie shared equally among the lead actors and the cameos alike (man, my stomach hurt so MUCH from laughing so HARD at the late Loloque’s cameo as part of a hair-metal band who lost their way on the way to performing at a fun-fair). Whereas the main action of Kak Limah is more focused on Awie’s Husin, the disturbances from Kak Limah which he faces and also the sub-plot of him trying to win back his ex’s heart which I totally do not care about. Awie is fine as an actor in my opinion, but as a comedic actor he still has a lot to learn. Maybe Que Haidar asked for too much money for the sequel

4) As an extension of the previous point, Kak Limah seems to also lack the communal spirit previously portrayed in Zombi. I know there are scenes with the villagers in this film (including scene-stealing smaller characters such as the mini-bus driver and the FPS-obsessed, shotgun wielding boy) these scenes are not as numerous and the characters are not as diverse. I don’t know why, but I’ve always thought that Malay movies benefit from portraying the whole community as opposed to just portraying individuals alone. Not because they promote moral values or things like that, but I’ve always been drawn towards the festiveness and the cacophony generated in such movies such as U-Wei Shaari’s Isteri, Perempuan dan… and the late P Ramlee’s many movies

5) The ending of the movie seems to undo the whole message of this movie. I can’t say it explicitly without spoiling it for those of you who haven’t watched it. It’s enough for me to just say that it’s like attending a speech on Malay supremacy and rights delivered by Nazi Par… I mean PERKASA’s Ibrahim Ali only to have him say as conclusion that everything in this world belongs to God and nobody really has exclusive rights to anything

So my VERDICT for this movie is 5/10. I’ve seen better from Mamat Khalid, and this is proven by the good to bad points ratio that I’ve listed above. I'm disappointed, considering how good the first one was.

TRIVIA: In an interview with The Star during the movie's launch, Mamat jokingly remarked that he only made the movie because he was running out of money. After watching the movie, I'm not quite sure that his remark was just a joke.