kaleurs lab (truth, stories & movies)

Truth, Stories & Movies

Issue 12 November/ December ‘2012

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tun ABDUL RAZAK DATO’ HUSSIN( M a r c h 1 1 , 1 9 2 2 - J a n u a r y 1 4 1 9 7 6 )

tun Dr. ISMAIL( N o v e m b e r 4 , 1 9 1 5 – A u g u s t 2 , 1 9 7 3 )

this issue are dedicated to

004 Tanda Putera Issue

Chapter one

in which we review“TANDA PUTERA”

005

TANDA PUTERA

Director by Datuk Paduka Shuhaimi BabaStarr ing by Rusdi Ramli, Zizan Nin, Che Kem

Released Somewhere 2013


erhaps it is due to the reviewer’s lack of familiarity with local-ly-made films, but she is pretty sure that good films, or at least, a 3-star rated one, do not look anything like “Tanda Putera”. Billed as one of Datin Paduka Shuhaimi Baba’s best, “Tanda Putera” is a feature film foray into Malaysia’s very own his-tory, namely the 13 May 1969 Tragedy. The film tells the story of Tun Razak (Rusdi Ramli), Malaysia’s second Prime Min-ister and his exploits, focusing on his friendship with Tun Dr Ismail (Zizan Nin) and his battle with his advancing disease, in the midst of the country’s own political and social turmoil.

The first thing that audiences should know is that “Tanda Putera” is marketed as an educational film, with extensive re-search done in order for the characters and events depicted in the film to be close to the truth. While this may have worked well should the film have been marketed as a documentary as well, Shuhaimi Baba and the rest of the production team have opted to label it as a fictional film as well, with elements of drama, suspense and action. What could have been an excel-lent cinema verite-styled film ended up being a convoluted mess, with various scenes of momentous occasions such as the initial sparks of the racial wars, Tun Razak’s rise to power as the second Prime Minister and the creation of Ma-laysian Airlines System, mashed unevenly together within the 2-hour running time. For the more patriotic audiences, “Tanda Putera” works, but that is exactly the problem: the film was

Pmade for the patriotic. “Tanda Putera” assumes you already buy into Malaysia’s eventful and at time tragic history, where countless lives and blood have been shed in order to create the country that it is today, coupled with old footage to provide the film the required authenticity. For everyone else, who perhaps are dragged into watching this, this film holds little else other than the half-baked computer-generated imagery and scripting.

The term ‘half-baked’ is used to describe “Tanda Putera” be-cause it tries to do everything yet throws in the towel before it does. For example, there are numerous scenes in the film that depicts the violence done by the locals and communists, but these scenes are spattered with numerous cuts that are done not so tastefully that in the end it ends up being implied violence. Coupled with the erratic pacing of the narrative, the violence seems even more senseless and ‘out of nowhere’. Although not all films need achieve Quentin Tarantino-level of violence, but considering that the film promotes itself as ‘the film to educate audiences on the horrors of the 13 May 1969 Tragedy’, its ea-gerness to please censors for a P13 rating is worthy of a snort. In addition, the frequent use of flashbacks and dream sequences seems a tad unnecessary, not to mention painful to watch because they are so poorly executed. I say necessary because the director has to cram everything into the two hour period, but unneces-sary because they could have just made the film longer or stuck to the scenes that they have chosen instead of trying to please

W o r d s b y M u h d N a z r i n

007

“MY TEAM AND I DID A LOT OF

RESEARCH,TO MAKE SURE THE

SCENES WERE BACKED BY HIS-

TORICAL FACTS,”

009

everyone by padding out the film. On the other hand, Shuhaimi has incorporated a few satirical touches in her film that will sure-ly bring a smile to locals, such as the jab at Tun Dr. Mahathir.

If there is anything that “Tanda Putera” does well, it is the cast-ing. Rusdi Ramli stars as a despairing yet determined leader who did his best to protect his country. He is the embodiment of the late Tun Razak, from his mannerisms down to his re-solve to save Malaysia amid all the unhappy people desper-ate for a lifeline and his ailing condition. Meanwhile, Zizan Nin is superb as Tun Dr Ismail, his best friend and trusted right hand man, whose condition is also faltering, but nevertheless, he endeavours to hide it as best he could from Tun Razak and trudge on. However, the rest of the cast are not so memorable.

In conclusion, there are incredible performances from the cast all round, particularly Rusdi Ramli as Tun Razak and Zizan Nin as his best friend and aide, Tun Dr Ismail, but the subject matter that “Tanda Putera” eschews is ultimate-ly, a tad too sensitive to make for effective film material.

Synopsis

A historical film based on true events in Malaysia. It re-counts the close friendship between the second Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak and his second-in-command, Tun Dr Ismail who are forced to put their personal issues aside and concentrate on re-storing the country after the tragedy of 13 May 1969. Tun Razak, who is suffering from leukaemia, hides his illness from his family because he did not want them to be burdened, as well as for the sake of the country. He shares a doctor with Tun Dr Ismail, and the two are treated in the latter’s study room by Dr Macpherson in secret. Despite knowing that he will die within two years, Tun Razak is thankful for Tun Dr Ismail, his most trusted, who prom-ised to continue his legacy of rebuilding the country after his death as well as look after his family. But when an unexpected incident strikes that also causes his health to take a turn for the worse, Tun Razak is forced into a race against time to carry out his plans...

Anticipation. Any new film from Suhaimi Baba is a cinematicevent, and Tanda Putera comes with politician controversial.

Enjoyment. This is another biopic film which potrayal iconic Politicianand part of Malaysia History.

53

“ I t has been painful for us to receive such nega-

t ive comments, especial ly from young Malaysians

who made judgments after watching the trai ler,”

said Shuhaimi.

Chapter two

in which we introduceourselves.

EditorZarith Arfya

[email protected]

DesignersShrlrdzwn & [email protected]

Junior EditorYui

[email protected]

Words, pictures, thanks...

Cinema Malaysia, FilemKita, CinemaOnline, Wikifilm, PersonaPicture Sdn Bhd,etc..

Published monthly byKaleurs.vgxlabNo.12-407, Blok 12, Jalan Dinar FU3/F Seksyen U3, Subang Perdana 40150 Shah Alam, Selangor.(+603) 64407531

Distributed byMMS- Media (Marketing Services Sdn Bhd)No 1 Jalan PJU 3/45 Sunway Damansara Technology Park, 47810 Petaling Damansara,Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Subscription [email protected] illustration by Stegosauruswww.behance.net/Stegosaurus

The articles appearing within this pub-liation reflect the opinion and attitudes of their respective authors and not necessar-ily those of the publishers or editorial team.-KaleursLab is published in six times a year. ISSN 2189 - 1564

Creative DirectorSahrul Ridzwan

[email protected]

Associate EditorMuhd Nazrin

[email protected]

Editorial InternZamarul

[email protected]

ContributorMohd. Kamal bin Abdullah,

BissmeTheSunHeliza

KALEURS LAB

minimalist . enthusiasm . artistry

Chapter three

in which we discuss themes of uncom-mon interest inpired by our feature

film.

BetweenHistorical,

Biographical&

Political Controversial


THE IMPORTANTCHAPTER

D I R E C T O R D A T U K P A D U K A S H U H A I M I B A B A C A P T U R E D T H E T R U T H M O M E N T T R A V E L S I N M O T I O N .


Before the release of the film, the film sparked controversies about the accuracy of its contents of the film after the release of the trailer in relation to the May 13 ri-ots. Due to sensitivity in political man-ners, the film it was has started with some controversial even its still not release yet.

We get closed to the director, Datin Paduka Shuhaimi Baba or friendly called Shumi, to re-veal the story behind this controver-sial and to understands the film itself.“I wanted the younger generation to be aware of the May 13 incident, how ra-cial riots almost destroyed our country and why we shouldn’t let this happen again.” she said. We must now selfish-ly safeguard the peace of this country.“This is not a political film. It’s a film about humanity. No country in the world has faced a similar situation like ours, where both the prime minister and deputy prime minister had to brace a critical illness (Razak was suffering from leukaemia and Ismail had a heart problem) while having to handle tension among various racial groups.

“These leaders put the nation before their health. There were allegations that Razak had orchestrated the racial riots just to win the election. But I believe that was impossible.”

I don’t understand much about politics. But what I do know is that in politics, you have camps and you want to safeguard your power base, so you create conspiracy theories.Our research shows that after Singapore left Malaysia (in 1965), there had been many efforts to destabilise this country.The young people today do not understand that at that time, the threat of communism and radical elements were very real. It’s difficult to imagine the situation today, because our country is so peaceful now.

*Comments have been made that you make the Chinese look bad in this film. What do you have to say to that?

You cannot judge the en-tire film by just looking at the trailer. In the movie, I highlight the communists who create chaos but I also feature Ma-

021

lay gangsters who cause discord too.There is also a rally before the 1969 elec-tion where some people are singing songs that praise Mao Tse-tung. Some are holding placards that belittle the Malays. It’s clear the rival groups are going beyond the limit.What upset me most were the remarks I received (via Facebook). They were rac-ist, rude and vulgar. I didn’t create those images in the film out of nothing. I have done much research [on the subject].”

I learnt of Razak’s great love for the people, especially the poor and the destitute. He al-ways carried a book with him wherever he went. The book was called The Pathology of Leadership and it tells about leaders around the world who are suffering from critical illnesses and how they are dealing with it.These leaders believed that they should not make their ailments public as it could destabilise the country. So, Razak kept his illness a secret because he didn’t want to weaken the country.As for Ismail, I found out that he had given his Chinese maid a loan so that she could buy her own house. Apparently, she is still keep-ing the house in remembrance of Ismail.

I was also always under the impres-sion that it was Tunku Abdul Rahman who gave former prime minister Dr Ma-hathir Mohamad the boot from Umno.“But I was wrong. It was Ismail.”

*Is there any other historical event in our country that you would like to make a film on?

I would like to make a film on how Mahathir saved our coun-try from economic disaster in 1998 when the world economy crashed.Then there was the sacking of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim by Mahathir, which gave rise to another dramatic chronol-ogy of events in Malaysia’s history.

Tanda Putera means

"Mark of a Leader"

“Incurable Hero”

It doesn’t make sense at to postpone the re-lease of the movie because of “activities”. It was previewed to a selected audience including me-dia on 17 July. Almost all who prevalently exit-ed out from the cinema after the movie screened, were teary-eyed. They saw how the two leaders’ challenges and sacrifices to put Malaysia back on the rail towards unity, togetherness, progress and most important of all, mending the wounds of bloody racial riot of 13-16 May in the path of challenges from the extremists, subversive ele-ments and communist terrorism. And all agreed that Tanda Putera is a great movie and its sense of historical events and all the mitigating circum-stances of these events should be portrayed to Malaysians, especially the younger generation, so that the nation shall not repeat these events.

If it is that good, then it should sell. Malaysians would want to see this movie. In short, it would be a very commercially viable, come-what-may what ever ‘activities’ that some would think that it would distract or impair the sale-ability of this movie. The minister-in-charge of Infor-mation, Communications and Multimedia, who is also responsible for the archives and antiqui-ties, should ensure that the movie is out during this Hari Raya Aidil Fitri period, which also co-incide with school holidays. The Minister should use all the media available and friendly to him to promote and ‘sell’ this movie. More over, when National Film Board (FINAS) and Multimedia Development Corporation (MDEC) are collaborative partners to Pesona Production in making this much awaited movie happened.Unless the minister-in-charge has some po-litical motives for not being bold enough to challenge the younger Malaysians’ reaction as an outcome from the public screening of this

movie. Then, the Prime Minister should be aware of what Tun Dr Ismail used to sound out if he had to face such an issue or situa-tion; “Don’t sweep things under the carpet”. It is a matter of principle. Majority of Malay-sians don’t even know what Tun Razak did, how he did it and what challenges he faced. Let alone Tun Dr Ismail. His service as the Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister only lasted a little over four years. The duos’ contribution to what Malaysia is today from the decisions made within the five-and-half years are immense and very strategic. Some of their policies are still implemented till pre-sent day, as important tools of nation building.Screen this movie. It is worth it. Commer-cially worth it. Historically worth it. Yes, to some people the truth hurts. But to major-ity of the people, this movie is so enlighten-ing. Better to bite the bullet now, than later. It is the perfect ‘gift’ for Malaysians in this 55 years commemoration of nationhood.

Words by Mohd. Kamal bin Abdullah

PATRIOTISM

TRUTHFULNESS

FILMin

and the

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PATRIOTISM

57Hati Malaya

19H E A R T o f M A L A Y A

The film goes back and forth as it transits from the current day Malaysia to the struggling Tanah Melayu then Malaya back in the mid 1940s up to the moment of independence. Because the story evolves around the picture book, many of its scenes connect through photographs captured dur-ing the actual event. I think that’s what made the the

1957: Hati Malaya (Malay for 1957: Heart of Malaya) is a Malaysian historical film released on 25 October 2007.

script stronger. The sets were properly designed and props used were all necessary in or-der to bring the mood to live, although Kg Baru was a bit too surreal. Costumes worn by the actors made me felt like going down to the tailor to get one myself too. An Al-most perfect mise en scene.... And of course, Suhaimi Baba’s films would always have good cinematography.

A Shuhaimi Baba’s film

Throughout the film, viewers will find sever-al events that may have been forgotten. The fact that the story in the film was built from Dato’ Onn’s struggle to gather the people is already an essence to the film. I feel that of-ten times when we talk about independence, typically the one person that would come to mind is the late Tunku Abdul Rahman and often that we forget to acknowledge the figures that were less famous but had strug-gled for the same cause as well . The film recalls forgotten characters and moments that took part in the route to independence.

The casting for this film is excellent. Maya Karin and Rusdi Ramli is once again paired up after ‘Waris Jari Hantu’ and ‘Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam 2”. Well, their on-screen chemistry is quite visible. I think

Maya Karin has onscreen pesona on top of an agreeable talent in acting. Her eyes is very expressive that you can tell her emo-tions at a particular time by just looking into her eyes. Her eye movements and stretches can be very demure. I have yet to see that in Heliza. Maybe she does have that but then again, beauti-ful eyes does not mean it has character. The actors that played the 2 ‘Heroes’ are just relatively new or rather unknown names Zaefrul Nordin (Dato’ Onn Ja’afar) and Kamarulzaman Taib (Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj). But despite being the un-derdog, their performances are simply remarkable. Well, consid-ering that they had to potray personalities we all familiar with.

Director : Datuk Paduka Shuhaimi BabaProducer Company : Pesona Pictures Sdn. Bhd.Language : Malaycategories : Feature FilmGenre : History, Patriotic

Classification : U - General viewing for all agesDuration : 117 minAudio : DolbyFormat : 35mm

BUKIT KEPONG

Based on the true story about the hard-fought bat-tle between the police force and the locals against the communists at Bukit Kepong, in the year 1950. The battle reaches its climax on 23 Febru-ary at the Bukit Kepong police station, which has only 18 members, when they are attacked by 180 violent communists. Directed by Jins Shamsud-din, “Bukit Kepong” won the Best Film Award in the 3rd Malaysian Film Festival in 1982.

Jins played Sergeant Jamil Mohd Shah, one of the 25 who were killed on Feb 23 1950, when 180 communists attacked a police station in Bukit Ke-

pong, near the Muar River, Johor, just before dawn.

Director : Jins ShamsudinProducer Company : Jins Shamsudin Productions Sdn. Bhd.Language : MalayCategories : Feature FilmGenre : Patriotic, History, Action, WarClassification : U - General viewing for all agesRelease Date : 1982Duration : 120 minFormat : 35mm

S S

MIRROR MIRROR

I F TANDA PUTERA HAS LEFT YOU REFLECTING ON THE PATRIOT-ISM OF YOUR SOUL, TRY THESE CULT-CLASSICS PATRIOTIC F ILMS.

SARJAN HASSAN (1958)DIRECTOR BY TAN SRI P.RAMLEE, LAMBERTO AVELLANA

LEFTENAN ADNAN (2000)DIRECTOR BY AZIZ M.OSMAN

EMBUN (2002)DIRECTOR BY ERMA FATIMA

PALOH (2003)DIRECTOR BY ADMAN SALLEH

Hassan was 10 years old when his father died. His mother died when he was much younger. His late father’s employ-er took pity and took him in under his care and guidance. However, his son Aziz felt envious and soon grew up with ill feelings towards Hassan. When they grew up, Aziz and Buang (Salleh Kamil) often find trouble with Hassan. Sal-mah fell in love with Hassan which made Aziz even angrier.

When II was at Malaya’s doorstep, the “Askar Melayu” called for volunteers. Aziz and Hassan responded but Has-san was forced to stay to take care of the plantation by his step father. The village people started calling him a coward. Hassan decided to run away and become a soldier when he couldn’t stand the heckling any longer. Hassan proved to be an able soldier and was soon promoted to the rank of Sergeant.

When the Japanese attacked Malaya, Hassan fought bravely with his comrades and even rescued Aziz when he became a POW. In the meantime, Buang decided to betray his own people and joined the Japanese as a Kempeitai. Buang used his position to harass the village people and forced Salmah to marry him. Did Hassan managed to save Salmah in time?

This is a film about a Malaysian soldier, Lt. Adnan, who gave his life in defending Malaya from the Japanese invasion during World War II. It exemplifies an example of the patriotic spirit that should be in every Malaysian. Lt. Adnan was a courageous individual who was willing to give everything, including his life, for the people and nation. He also succeeded in destroying the widely held myth that Malays were good only as rebels and pi-rates. He believed that no matter what, as a patriotic citizen, one had to fight until the last drop of blood to defend the nation.

Set in Malaya during the Japanese occupation in the 1940s, this film tells the story of a girl, Embun, who’s thrown into the forefront of the struggle against the Japanese when her freedom-fighter brother, Bayu, and father are detained by the Japanese. In the midst of it all, she’s also caught in a romantic liaison with the Japanese army public relations man, Koishi, who is assigned to explain the Japanese propaganda to the Malays and win their sup-port. Koishi also has a personal mission to fulfils in Malaya: to find the Malay man who married his mother (in other words, his father) when she served as a Japanese spy prior to the occupation.

Set during the confrontation between the Japanese Army and the Communist Party of Malaya in the year 1944. Four friends - Ahmad, Osman , Puteh and Harun choose to serve the Japanese Police Force in order to survive. Amidst a sea of uncertain-ties, Ahmad falls in love with Siew Lan and Puteh falls in love with Fatimah - both girls from different worlds , different cul-tures, even opposing sides. And Osman - a friend of theirs and a spy for the Japanese Police - chooses to serve his own vendetta.

Chapter four

in which we review the latest film & upcoming releases.

031

Istanbul Aku Datang

A trip to Istanbul inspired writer-actor-host Rafidah Abdullah to make a Korean style comedy movie titled “Istanbul Aku Datang!”.

In the beginning, the film plays out like most roman-tic comedies, where the girl takes a trip overseas in order to find her boyfriend in the hopes of studying together and eventually, getting married. Dian (Lisa Surihani) is also an urban blogger who constantly updates her status on her blog. Sounds like 80% of the female population in Kuala Lumpur right?

But that is not all. Even their love story plays out like a fairytale with Dian being the childish yet endearing personality while Azad (Tomok) is slightly nerdy.

The only difference is the quality of the cinema-tography in “Istanbul Aku Datang” compared with other local films, which looks expensive and breathtaking. Bernard Chauly’s filming in Istabul for two weeks has paid off with its pre-sent ability to attract audiences with the gor-geous scenery that cannot be found locally.Applause should also be given to the costume de-signer as he or she managed to bring out a different side of Lisa Surihani, one that is still a young girl at heart who is still studying but has elaborate plans in making her dream wedding become a reality.

However, what the writer is waiting for is the appearance of Harris, who is played by Beto

Kusyairy. It is still not known what it is about him that appeals him to viewers so much so that they scream whenever he comes onscreen. Perhaps it is his romantic nature, which is the personality that was given to Harris, and which works, despite the fact that Beto plays it so casually. In the writer’s opin-ion, Beto should be classed as one of the new gen-eration of Romeos that may surpass Rosyam Nor.

Written by Rafidah Abdullah, the contemporary phrases that are thrown around are more than ap-propriate for the contemporary story. Last but not least, the theme song of the film is also fitting and well done, titled “Aku Datang” by Tomok.

Director by Bernard Chauly, Rafidah Abdullah Starr ing by Lisa Surihani, Beto Kusyairy, Tomok, AizatReleased November 2012


Rock Ooo (Rimba Bara Kembali)

Jiwa Taiko

Rock Ooo is a sequel from Rock (2005) directed by Mamat Khalid. It’s still a story about the band called Rimba Bara as the main subject and they were about to kick-ass the stage back. This time Amy Mat Piah (played by Que Haidar) who was the vocalist for the band ambitiously want to reform the band after Zack (lead guitar) left the band to focus his marriage life. The film set still in 80’s rock vibes. Mamat want viewers to

His mistakes may have landed him in jail, but for Firman, it is also the catalyst for a new beginning in life. Trisya is a girl who longs to be loved, but it is only when she meets the one that she realizes that true love is not a bed of roses. Freez is a carefree guy who only thinks about hanging out with his friends and being happy, while Lara is a

travel back in time when the 80’s ruled by rock era. The song, as the main sub-ject of the film were the best-picked to give a musical taste itself. Some of the song would be an epic nostalgic to the viewers and not to forget to the fash-ion. More leather jeans, patches jack-ets, Glam-Hairdo to give a real picture of that era especially on its hey-day. What is rock without fashion huh? With the great promising actor, were this film ready to rock back it ass out?

Director by Mamat Khalid Starr ing by Que Haidar, Khir Rahman, Shoffi Jikan, PekinReleased January 2013

Director by Osman Ali Starr ing by Remy Ishak, Bront PalaraeReleased June 2012

Anticipation. The biopic musical comedy of the year perhaps.

Enjoyment. Nostalgic package in one movie espe-cially for ex-Rockers in 80’s era.

In Retrospect. This film very lightly to the Ma-laysia viewers.

4

5

2

(NOT RATE YET)

free spirit who wants to make her way in the world on her own. The four of them meet in Wira Cinta, a club that is owned by Kak Pora where all of them learn martial arts from and also discover themselves, when Pinto, Firman’s brother-in-arms from his dark past turns up at the club and demands that Firman returns to the gang or face the consequences. Os-

man Ali’s “Jiwa Taiko” is a social drama about discovering the mean-ing of friendship and love, which is often taken for granted. Overall, Os-man Ali gave his best to make this film one with its own strengths rather than cliche, accompanied by good performances from all the cast and a strong plot. It is hoped that with this film, it will give audience some food for thought on what is shown here, and they can see for themselves

033

KIL

Sepah The Movie

Akil (KIL) is a depressed young man who has suicidal tendencies. But, he could never bring himself to commit suicide. His attempts to die always fail miserably until he finds the per-fect solution: A quirky assassination agency that helps kill suicidal people. KIL agrees with the terms of the company. The assassination will be anonymous. He wouldn’t know the de-tails about who the assassin is, even when or where he will die. This was ideal for KIL, until he falls for a girl he meets, Zara. Suddenly, he starts to have second thoughts on taking his life.

The one-liner for Flux Visual’s KIL sim-ply states it’s a feel good movie about a suicidal young man. Watching the first few seconds of the trailer, you’d get a strong indie flick vibe off it –

Jepp Sepah, Shuib Sepah and Ma-mat Sepah star in this film as three bumbling motorcross racers who are best friends that also work in the same electronics manufacturing company. Of course, like all unu-sually close male friends, they are also single, which sets up the stage for conflicts when the trio fall for their beautiful new trainer named

Director by Nik Amir MustaphaProduced by Rewan Ishak, Jeremy LittleStarr ing by Redza Minhat, Cristina Suzanne StockstillReleased TBA

Director by Rosli Starr ing by Jepp Sepah, Shuib Sepah, Mamat SepahReleased November 2012

Anticipation. A must see indie vibe film.

Enjoyment. A very well Cinematography looks to give a very good shot.

In Retrospect. Could be a kickstart for a young filmakers to make more such as this genre.

(NOT RATE YET)

(NOT RATE YET)

Ayu Sofea (Anzalna). To make things worse, the trio face tough competition in the form of their new manager, Based (Jehan Miskin), who is not only rich, educated and good-looking, he is also the head of a shady motorcross gang.

It is not good form for a movie when the antagonist turns out to be much more likeable than the main protago-

nists, much so when there are three protagonists. Jepp, Shuib and Ma-mat, in their similarly named characters, are not delightful or endear-ing to watch as they fumble and stumble their way through scene after scene. While for some films, blame can be heaped upon either the writ-ing or the acting, but in the case of “Sepah The Movie”, it is hard to distinguish which for there is hardly any plot or dialogue to comment

depressed protagonist whose life changes af-ter meeting manic pixie chick, heck it’s even complete with mournful indie soundtrack.By the time you realised that there’s a com-pany specialising in suicidal aid in the movie, the trailer immediately switches gear to high-concept thriller. Stars Redza Minhat (Pisau Cukur, numerous plays) and newcomer Cristina Suzanne Stock-still, whose Bambi eyes are destined for Zooey Deschanel-level of fame among hipsters, and directed by Nik Amir Musta-

pha. KIL will see release sometime this year.


Zaiton Ceritaku

Isma Daniel replaces Fauziah Nawi in the di-rector’s chair for the film adaptation of the bi-ography “Zaiton: Ceritaku”. The film tells the life story of primadonna Zaiton Sameon, whose name used to be a household name once upon a time. Known for her song “Menaruh Hara-pan”, the singing sensation was at the height of her career when a tragic incident befell her in the year 1990, which led to the downfall of her popularity and the death of her son Irwan.

The film opens with her performing that song in a concert in 1990, and the camera, prob-ably thinking of that opening shot in Boo-gie Nights, follows her from the stage to the

dressing room in one uninterrupted shot. The actress who plays Zaiton is musi-cal performer Nadia Aqilah, who is making her film debut. Nadia has Zaiton’s hairstyle down pat, but is less curvaceous than the latter.Zaiton remained in a coma for three months after the accident. When she wakes up, she is beset with problems, and having amnesia is the least of them.

Director Esma Danial Mohd Isa’s favourite shot is to film a scene in a house through the windows looking in. There’s a nice shot as the camera moves from the argument upstairs to show Zaiton hearin g it downstairs. The sing-er’s road to recovery is not smooth and there

are bumps along the way, including her mother (Norlia Ghani) getting injured while bathing her.Her younger brother Shamsul (Karl Shafek Ibra-him) looks out for her and also encourages her to regain her footing in the world, so to speak. Viewers who aren’t familiar with Zaiton’s story will wonder if this film is about a down-and-out woman rather or the life of a former top singer.There’s no background story or the fact that she won a 1987 contest on the back of Menaruh Harapan. When Zaiton per-forms in the film, she mainly sings that song.In fact, this film is more about the economic trou-bles of a rejected female singer. Zaiton should have sung She Works Hard For The Money?

Director by Esma Daniel Starr ing by Nadia Aqilah, Norlia Ghani, Wan Maimunah Released November 2012


Afdlin Shauki urgently needs support

12 Nov - Seeing as Malaysian filmmakers are worried about poor box office results since the beginning of the year, famous comedian-director Afdlin Shauki urged locals to lend a helping hand by paying to watch his lat-est horror comedy titled “Pontianak VS Orang Minyak” in cinemas in order to overcome the serious slump in the local film industry.

TV & Film Workshop with KIXNov 11 - KIX hosting a crazy 2 hour workshop as part of the SHOUT MOVEMENT at Publika. They were to talk about our creative process and work for the 1st hour and then they have make a crazy video for the 2nd hour! Entries are free and for all ages.The Kix team consist of three individuals who really put up the team as to create a videography lots of fun.

“Movie is my life, it is our passion. I can tell you that one day if our Malaysian films are not get-ting good reception from audiences, we would have to stop making stories for the big screen because we would not have enough funding,” said Shauki.

Words by Zamarul

NEWS

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8 Nov – The conflict involving the Nation-al Film Development Corporation (FINAS) and The Federation of Film Professionals As-sociation of Malaysia (GAFIM) on the is-sue of organising the 25th Malaysian Film Festival (FFM25) has finally come to an end.

According to FINAS Director-General, Mohd Na-guib Razak, a misunderstanding had occurred after

GAFIM sent a report regarding organising FFM24 last year, but a consensus has been reached in a meet-ing held on 5 November between the two parties.

“The issue has been taken care of and both GAFIM and FINAS have agreed to cooperate in organising FFM25 and celebrating its silver jubilee this year. “Honestly, it was not our intention to dismiss the role of GAFIM in co-organising FFM in the previous years.

FINAS and GAFIM agree on FFM25

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