Abang

Once in a while, you find a treasure of a movie and it takes you on a journey. This is one of those movies. There is something in it for everyone to relate with.

One of the things I really appreciate about this movie is the use of Malay language in a manner that is profound yet easy to understand but impactful enough to leave you mesmerised with the beauty of the language. Amazing!

Thank you Dato Rahim Razali and everyone involved for this beautiful craft!

I've seen this film a number of times and it still got to me emotionally. The film captures the essence of family relationships and the intricate balance of love and betrayal.

To be frank, there were several leading characters though. The most prominent ones were the parents, the former lover, the two brothers and the younger sister. Each of these played very important and convincing roles to bring out the drama. And mind you, this is a pretty heavy stuff. Wonder why they categorized it as a comedy as well.

Anyway, I'm thinking of re-writing the script into an English version. Perhaps, a more updated one and to match today's context but still have that essence of family relationships and that heavy drama instilled in it but not to the effect of "sugar-coating" it.

In fact this is the type of drama that is very much suited for the Oscars.

I watched this movie when I was still an adolescent and after watching it again some time ago, I'm very convinced that this is the best contemporary Malay movie ever made (excluding P.Ramlee's glorious 50's -60's era). The plot, though simple, was effective in the story telling of a family trying to come to terms with its past and present. There was no mushy dialogue or lovey dovey scenes and the love story in it (there has to be one!) was subtle and very briefly touched. Fauziah Ahmad Daud displayed spectacular acting as the oblivious only sister in the family of brothers who seemed to be the only one who was genuinely happy with her oldest brother's return. Umi Kalsom and Rommai Noor, 2 of the legends of Malay cinema, play the parents and patriach and matriach of the family who are all but too happy with their son's return but you see subtle signs of the father's hesitation with embracing his son's return to the family home and life. Everyone acted brilliantly and the audience gets a chance to see how Abang returns to his roots in their old village. The ending is surprising, poignant but not too sad. Watch and find out what it is - if you can find it! I'm still trying to find a copy of the movie!