Zaiton: Ceritaku (2012)

Nadia Aqilah is the best thing about Zaiton Ceritaku but it's too little, too late.

At a glance:

Me mum taught me the lyrics to Menaruh Harapan, the powerful ballad that immortalised Zaiton Sameon in that sequined red dress at Juara Lagu 1987, so as a fan I've been followin this project ever since I heard years ago that Upin Dan Ipin mastermind Burhanuddin Razdi and his wife Ainon Ariff paid the troubled songstress some RM10k for the rights to a biopic about her. It pains me to discover it might not be out of order to write that Zaiton Sameon is just plain bad luck. If the Zaiton: Ceritaku (2012) that fell short of grossin even RM 60k in its short-lived theatrical run is the end product that Burhanuddin Radzi dared to put out as his best foot forward, I wonder just how bad the earlier discarded Fauziah Nawi / Mislina Mustaffa version was?
Bad news on the doorstep:

Nadia Aqilah

This is a biopic of a fallen 80s star that everyone in the Malaysian entertainment scene knew - but that's no excuse to make a movie with only a long trackin shot in the openin moments to establish who Zaiton was. The best thing about this movie is Nadia Aqilah Bajuri (she does all the singin herself), so to open with a performance from her doin Zaiton's Kabut Serangkai Mawar is an excellent decision. However to follow that up with a long take that makes her come across as a bitchy primadonna does itself few favours. Why should we care for Zaiton if we're introduced to her as a spoiled star who goes around givin cheek sandwiches, speakin gedik English? It's an uphill battle from thereon in, tryin to connect us emotionally to Zaiton, no matter how hard Nadia cries or how messed up she looks. The direction of this movie under debutante (stand-in?) director Esma Danial is faulty but we can cut him some slack because at least he flat out admitted the movie tanked in its first week and refused to blame Skyfall (2012) for it, or that self-defecation of an unwatchable movie which opened on the same day, Budak Pailang (2012). Perhaps it's the direction of the project in the first place that is ill-conceived. One of the better reviews I've read on this movie happens to be one written by my ex-colleague and you can believe him when he tells you how bein sensitive to the subject, a livin person, has taken the life force out of the movie. The decision to wade in a shallow, soulless narrative has hurt the movie. Fuck larger than life - she appears petty and more mediocre than ever! Anyone in the payin audience who doesn't know who Zaiton Sameon was and is would ask: why does this story deserve to be told? In Zaiton: Ceritaku, instead of showin us somethin interestin like her vocal prowess or even the loss thereof, what came to be after the unfortunate events that almost claimed her life, we're given annoyin family squabbles and banal dialogue about fame and fortune, underscored by that repetitive Menaruh Harapan riff. One of the few scenes in the movie that actually had a little depth was the roundabout confession from Zaiton about wearin susuk. However, Zaiton had already lost us by then.

Perennial wonderment:

I was present at this interview with Mislina Mustaffa.
She claims she did her best and knows not why they didn't like her.

Will we ever get to see the discarded version? For what it's worth, my colleague at Tontonfilem and I both know this can be good business, not that it will ever come close to recoverin the money they spent on the whole project. Producer Burhanuddin Radzi told reporters he'll only let uni kids have a look at it for academic purposes but among the dejected responses you can read on the movie's official Facebook page, you can find one from the admin concedin it may not be out of the question to include the forgotten movie as a DVD extra. As Zaiton is currently makin its VOD run on Astro First, we'll just have to see what happens next.

Reminds me of:

Zaiton in her heydays.

Once I was havin a drink with a pub singer friend of mine and somehow I felt sorry for all the local musicians whose short shelf lives are always starin back at them from the bottom of a beer bottle. Will my friend find herself jobless some day with nobody to help her, I wonder? You can read interviews of Zaiton expressin her disappointment with some scenes in the movie depictin her as crazy, although she generally approves of the picture, concedin that she has signed the indemnity agreements and there isn't much she can do. Her mental state is all the more questionable when you watch videos of producer Burhanuddin denyin any wrongdoin and defendin himself by tellin the press she can even fail to recognise him on the premiere night, but we can give him credit for havin the tact to euphemise it as her "forgetfulness".

I can't remember if I cried:

When I saw production stills of Esma Danial muckin about with the crane on set. Wow. That was a quite a waste, wasn't it? My heart goes out to Burhanuddin Radzi and the hardworkin crew. The man has had no prior experience workin with film people bein largely an animation producer but had the money and the balls to call for a complete redo after the first failure and also to distribute the movie themselves under the banner Bruang Filem Sdn Bhd. I believe his heart was in the right place when he decided to make this movie.

Most memorable line:

None - but I do remember me dad tellin me that he once shared a beer with Zaiton durin her early days as a nightclub singer... or somethin to that effect.

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

If you sat through till the epilogue where Zaiton herself makes a short statement, you'd realise this ain't no Sunset Boulevard (1950). Kak Eton, I wish more could've been done for you but this was probably the wrong time to tell your story. ★★
Bonus material:

Producer Burhanuddin Radzi at the premiere.

Nadia Aqilah and Zaiton Sameon.

Jiwa Taiko (2012)

Sex with strangers: Nadiya Nisaa and Bront Palarae.

At a glance:

I think we have to get to the bad news in the first paragraph itself. If you too thought Osman Ali's Jiwa Taiko (2012) was gonna right all the wrongs in Anak Halal (2009) and combine with the box office sensibilities of KL Gangster (2011), then we're all the same fools who didn't know that fantastic poster actually reads "Jiwang Taiko" ("sentimental triad boss"). Yes, this is a pretty naive outin from the Nuansa stable that has angered no small number of regular Malay cinemagoers, thanks to a grossly misleadin marketin campaign that sought to mask the melodramatic tripe it really is. We follow convalescent ex-con Remy Ishak and his merry band of welfare home misfits as they do battle against his former crime partner Bront Palarae. Throw in a love rectangle or two (could well be a pentagon or hexagon even), some pseudo-silat elements and there you have it - a badly edited RM 620,000 box office disaster. Maybe some of the psychotropic drugs in the movie could help alleviate the shame of havin been outgrossed by M Subash's farcical horror You Believe In Ghost? (2012). My heart goes out to Osman Ali who seems perpetually uninspired in familiar territory.

SOCKKK!!! KAPOWWW!!! BISHHH!!!
Okay, break for lunch!

Bad news on the doorstep:

Like I said - put simply, nobody is buyin the story. Should've kept its old title - Bara Jiwa.

Perennial wonderment:

Apparently some steamy scenes were snipped, so how does a wide-release poster with Bront Palarae prominently holdin a cigarette get passed? I remember the magazine I was with, we were receivin warnin letters from the Home Ministry over a tiny movie still of Tarantino's Grindhouse (2007) in which someone is holdin a cigarette. Guess they're still makin it up on the go.

Reminds me of:

Anti-AIDS and anti-drugs community service ads from Malaysia's 90s.

Watch out for:

I have some sympathy for Bront Palarae, who relishes these psychotic antagonist roles and acts his heart out here. His take on a skinny, doped-up gangster is done with conviction, even if it's actually nothin we ain't seen 30 years ago in Hong Kong triad movies. I guess we have to really scrape the bottom of the barrel for any positivity in a paper-thin script like this. Special mention here for Nadiyatul Nisaa a.k.a. Nadiya Nisaa who plays problem girl Lara. The poor girl is completely out of her depth, although her beauty mole does exude some dirty girl appeal, sorta like a Malay Blake Lively. I shit you not, this Malaysian Film Festival Pelakon Harapan winner for Cun (2011) would've done better for herself if she turned in a mute performance, instead of shriekin English lines like "I need to think!!!" and bein generally very annoyin at a high-pitch.

"How do you know it was me
who passed the herpes to you?"

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

Readin Osman Ali's defence doesn't help. The jury is already out on its Facebook fan page. Both action and romance border on comical farce. Gratuitous huggin and kissin invoke the wrath of more conservative audiences but on merit alone, this is an insult to the rudimentary plebeian tastes of an already undemandin target crowd. What a huge disappointment.★1/2

Bonus material:

A missed opportunity.

Anak Halal (2007)

Farid Kamil takes advantage of Fasha Sandha.

At a glance:
Brave expansion of early Osman Ali short, starrin Farid Kamil, Maya Karin, Fasha Sandha, Raja Farah, Bront Palarae, Adiputra and too many others. This, I thought, was a great all-in Malaysian package with crime, violence, action, romance and drama. Most notable is its realistic everyday dialogue, somethin many producers seem to neglect in Malay movies. Leaps and bounds better than most of the crap we're used to.

"Give me back my nasi kerabu!"

Bad news on the doorstep:
Anak Halal (2007) bombed at Malaysian box office, nowhere recoverin its RM 1.8 mil budget. Distributor Tayangan Unggul attributed the failure to its unusual title. I just thought the movie tried to do too much. Some of the character crowdin caused a few odd character decisions.
Perennial wonderment:
Where is Fasha Sandha now? She was frontrunner as a true screen queen replacement for Erra Fazira at one point before pissin off the local press, who now shun her at every event. Seems to have packed a coupla kilos now as well. In this movie, she plays a rich man's daughter who falls prey to psychotropic drugs. Nope, nothin too sexy from this role (though there is a Raja Farah rape scene) - except maybe her voice. It doesn't sound quite as annoyin as usual.

Because heroes don't catch colds.

Watch out for:
Adiputra, the best performance of the lot, as a swearin good man. Of course Maya Karin is always watchable on any level.
Most memorable line:
Oh I can't remember now.
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
Couldda been a solid four with better editin.★★★1/2
Bonus material:

Still sexy as fuck, no?