Mention Asian cinema and the first countries that normally get talked about instantly are China, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea. Very rarely will Malaysian cinema come to mind, and save for some hardcore South East Asian cinéphiles, one would be hard-pressed to think of any noteworthy titles to speak of.
People always ask me what would be a good introduction to Malaysian cinema and I must admit that it is an interesting question. One could easily hark back to the period of P.Ramlee and the Shaw Brothers, or even the heyday of melodrama in the 80’s.
But in light of the current turbulent cultural, social and political climate of Malaysia, I believe the groundbreaking work of the late Yasmin Ahmad is what truly captures the essence of Malaysian storytelling via film. Check out this essential Yasmin Ahmad viewing:
Rabun (2003)
A made-for-TV movie in which Yasmin spins a tale of an elderly couple who take the decision to move out of the city to the countryside, with the aspiration towards a more pleasant lifestyle. Once they are out there however, they soon discover things are not only no better, but possibly even worse.
If anything, Rabun ( “failing eyesight”) was a real marker of things to come. Yasmin wove characters laced with compassion and real human flaws, something not just rare in Malaysian cinema, but unheard of in a local TV movie.
Sepet (2005)
2005 was the year of Sepet (A Malaysian insult meaning “slit-eyes” ) in Malaysia. This film broke the mainstream like no other and simultaneously enraged both the censors and conservatives of the country as well as endeared Yasmin to the younger generation.
Telling the story of a Chinese boy (Jason) falling in love with a Malay girl (Orked), Sepet was the first time a local tale of young blooming love also dealt directly with racial, religious and class differences instead of being riddled with cliché and melodrama.
Gubra (2006)
A sequel of sorts to Sepet, Gubra (“Anxiety”) saw Yasmin move into much darker territory, looking at the failure of a relationship as well as the hypocrisy of those who consider themselves to be pious. Accused of being un-Islamic by the right-wing Malay press and for being too convoluted and ambitious by the critics, Gubra is probably the most flawed of Yasmin’s work yet still makes for quite fascinating viewing.
Mukhsin (2007)
Double award-winner at the Berlin International Film festival and her biggest hit in cinemas, Mukhsin was the last film in the “Orked trilogy”. A sweet take on the idea of first love executed in a uniquely humorous and poetic fashion typical of Yasmin, Mukhsin paved the way for the cinematic career she was forging ahead with. If any film was putting Malaysia on the map at the time, this was it.
Muallaf (2008)
Perhaps the most mature and powerful of all her films- a profound meditation on religion told within the story of two sisters on the run from an abusive father and a young Catholic teacher still haunted by his past. Gone is the sentimentality typically found in her previous films, now replaced with a hunger to understand faith and man’s place in being a part of it.
Talentime (2009)
The last of her feature films and one in which some would say Yasmin sold out material wise. Talentime binds together multiple storylines anchored by a school talent competition. Weaving themes of love, life and death, the execution may have been more audience driven but the heart is still classic Yasmin.
At the age of 51, Yasmin Ahmad passed away on 25 July 2009 after suffering a sudden stroke. She was about to shoot a new movie in Japa – Wasurenagusa – and had just been offered a Singaporean movie titled Go Thaddeus.
Many would say she was about to enter the most productive period of her career, and her untimely death meant the loss of one of Malaysia’s most important and courageous filmmakers to date.
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