The Red Kebaya

Watched this movie last week with a bunch of people in One-Utama. And my opinion keeps changing as time goes by. Even checked out comments at Suanie & Sultan Muzaffar’s sites.

Firstly, I love the cinematography. It’s cool. And I like the first bit with close ups of – what else? – the red kebaya and special effects when the rooms transform. Really nice.

Costumes – I like…

Acting – very theatrical. Well, all of them are from the theatre scene anyway. I won’t say too much about this. It’s exaggerated, like theatre on film.

Realism – because it’s basically “offstage theatre”, they took lots of artistic license with this film. There’s one scene where it’s supposed to be “Maghrib” but it’s terang benderang out there. Plus the “call to prayer” is actually bacaan Quran. And seriously – our journalists DO NOT ask the kind of questions like in the movie. Totally fantasy, pure fiction. Some things just came out of thin air. Like the Chinese boy – who was he? And one key scene is totally illogical, it just isn’t done. Guess they needed it la, otherwise the whole story couldn’t proceed.

Memorable scenes - There were a few hilarious scenes in the movie. Good slices of Malaysian humor there.

Storyline –It’s an art movie, no doubt about that. You have no choice but to read between the lines. At first I thought the movie was rather pointless, like – “That’s it? Like, what’s the point here??” There are no clear-cut “Here’s the crisis” and cumulating “Yeah, you’re the hero” sort of thing here. There’s no hero, even; just the main character. You need to stew over it a little before it makes any sense. Now I can see that it’s more like a short story, the kind that tells you about a certain episode in someone’s life. An enlightening episode. It doesn’t make major changes, but it answers questions the guy didn’t realize he had. And he simply feels good after. Works for me…

As for comments – saw one guy totally hating the movie on Sultan Muzaffar’s site. Said something about glorifying the orang putih and Malay chicks “giving out” (his exact words are simply too crude to put here) to white losers. I so disagree. Nak comment kat situ, it’s a bit late in the day la. I don’t think this movie glorifies whites at all.

Because in this movie, the orang putih not even hero is a lembik, hen-pecked, civil service husband whose only redeeming virtue is his gentleness and sincerity. No Malay guy with a shred of pride would stand for the ridicule he was letting his wife get away with. What I see is that his growing affection for a Malay woman, Azizah, helped him become a stronger person who is willing to stand up to his bitchy wife. I think it’s actually a tribute to Malay women, because she is portrayed to be a sincere, warm and sensitive woman who accepted the poor old mat saleh as he was.

In any case, what’s the problem with this guy? We’re not all SPGs la. Wish he would look at the reasons why many local guys turn us off. Seriously. Besides, the gatal half-Mat Saleh who happily takes advantage of the locals was also portrayed. He was NOT the hero though he played a part in bringing her into the picture, literally.

Azizah did not condemn her deceased ex-husband for abandoning her. Instead, she blamed his idealistic passion. She probably loved the Mat saleh for his down-to-earth behaviour, his connection with her son and his obvious adoration for her. Consider that by supporting her and her son, he is liberating her from an unsavoury job. This protection is a significant proof of his love. Can’t fault that, can you?

Interestingly, the producers have cleverly made it such that there were no scenes that portrayed adultery between the two. The son was always present in the scenes. Even if he was not, there was nothing of an overtly sexual nature in their behaviour. Of course it is quite obvious that if someone moves in with another party, something HAS TO BE going on la. Don’t be so naïve, right? But then, it is a large house, they could have slept in separate rooms, could they not? Even in the last bit, the son was sleeping on the bed occupied by the orang putih. Does this mean the mother will be sleeping elsewhere? Hear no evil, see no evil…? There is no proof that she is the gundik what… Ha ha. Go figure. Clever, guys.

One thing that strikes many after seeing this movie is that there wasn’t anything much to do with the red kebaya, actually. Using it as a title suggests that it’s a key element in the story, but actually, it’s not. There IS a red kebaya, but it is not the FOCUS of the story. Unless… hmm… Unless, the red kebaya symbolizes the RELATIONSHIP. Red is the colour of love. The garment, which is demure yet at the same time sexy, suggests a beautiful relationship which retains a sense of the traditional. As such, the kebaya is not the POINT of the story, but an UNDERLYING THEME for the short story it is based on. Hmm… this movie has many layers… most interesting.

I may be guilty of disclosing too much here, sorry about that. For those who have not seen the movie, pergi tengok la. It’s not perfect, but it’s a refreshing change from the usual rubbish we usually get… I like!