Box-office figures for Malaysian films in 2011

1.  KL Gangster - RM11.74 million
2. Ombak Rindu - RM10.9 million
3. Hantu Bonceng - RM8.53 million
4. Kongsi - RM8.1 million
5. Khurafat - RM8.08 million
6. Nasi Lemak 2.0 - RM7 million (estimated)
7. Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa - RM6.5 million
8. Nur Kasih - RM4.93 million
9. Bini-Biniku Gangster - RM4.71 million
10. Great Day - RM4.5 million (estimated)
11. Karak - RM4.3 million
12. Suatu Malam Kubur Berasap - RM4.07 million* 
13. Homecoming - RM4 million
14. Raya Tak Jadi - RM3.64 million
15. Alamak Toyol - RM3.47 million
16. Petaling Street Warriors - RM3.4 million (estimated)
17. Aku Bukan Tomboy - RM2.55 million
18. Al Hijab - RM2.24 million
19. Songlap - RM2.13 million
20. Sekali Lagi - 2.04 million
21. Flat 3A - RM1.44 million
22. Misteri Jalan Lama - RM1.33 million
23. Sini Ada Hantu - RM1.3 million
24. Kembar Siang - RM1.2 million
25. Klip 3GP - RM1.14 million
26=Cun - RM1.1 million
26=Senjakala - RM1.1 million
28. Senario the Movie: Ops Pocot - RM1.06 million
29. Rasuk - 1.03 million
30. 321 Cinta - RM980,000
31.Libas - RM930,000
32. Papa I Love You - RM890,000*
33. Penunggu Istana - RM890,000
34. Seru - RM870,000
35. Haq - RM800,000
36. Tolong! Awek Aku Pontianak - RM760,000
37.Dilarang Masuk - RM750,000
38.... Dalam Botol - RM570,000
39. Momok Jangan Panggil Aku - RM550,000
40. Datin Ghairah - RM350,000
41. Sumpahan Puaka - RM310,000
42. Karipap-Karipap Cinta - RM280,000
43. Abuya - RM210,000
44. Ratu - RM200,000
45=Toyol Nakal - RM190,000
45=Apa Tengok-Tengok - RM190,000

* Still showing 

Gambar daripada sini ; chomel kan?

OMBAK RINDU and PETALING STREET WARRIORS

First off: I enjoyed both Ombak Rindu and Petaling Street Warriors. And they come from different strands of Malaysian cinema.

Ombak Rindu (although it's based on a romantic potboiler novel) reminded me most of the films written by Hamzah Hussin and directed by M. Amin: Rumah Itu Dunia Aku (1963), Dosa Wanita (1967) and Sial Wanita (1969). In all of these, a virtuously suffering young heroine has terrible things done to her by Fate (in general) and a Scheming Older Bitch (in particular). The fact that the heroine is willing to endure torment for most of the movie's running time is meant to make us not only admire her fortitude but appreciate the cathartic ending even more. Thus, Ombak Rindu is a perverse paean to female masochism.

(Malay women love movies in which women get emotionally abused. Malay men don't notice, as they're too busy watching TV wrestling shows in which men get physically abused.)

There's a car-chase sequence in Ombak Rindu that recalls the end of Madu 3, but I couldn't help noticing how much freer the kebaya-wearing women in the 1964 movie were compared to the Western-garbed or tudung-clad ones in 2011. Have superficial Westernisation and Islamisation (both of which are imported values; our ancestors were neither mat salleh nor Arabs) had such a diminishing impact?

In contrast to the sentimental solipsism of Ombak Rindu is Petaling Street Warriors, which affirms that Malaysian cinema in the Chinese language is much more interested to talk about 'Malaysia' than our Malay-language cinema is. 

Although a kinetic fight sequence at the end becomes a catalogue of Chinese pop cinema (such as 黃飛鴻 and 李小龍), Petaling Street Warriors actually reminded me of the robust iconoclasm of Ali Baba Bujang Lapok. Even before the cameo by 孫文 / 孫逸仙, the movie was effortlessly political as it flipped about notions of citizenship and governance. There are even 'illegal' gatherings, and therefore terribly topical.

It's not as frisky and knockabout as Nasi Lemak 2.0 (the movie it would most likely be compared to), but it shows that a mish-mash of pop genres, when handled with wit and verve, can be utterly zany and utterly serious at the same time.

The closing scenes of both movies are significant. Ombak Rindu offers a bumigeois fantasy on a yacht (where I am sure the champagne is halal). The end of Petaling Street Warriors is in the spirit of democratic optimism: it's only when we give up inherited privileges that we can truly live (together).

I am glad I saw these two movies as a double-bill, in the spirit of 1Malaysia or 2Malaysia or oh well whatever nevermind.

Nominations for Poster Terbaik, the most important category of Festival Filem Orang Melayu

This annual event, which presumptuously calls itself Festival Filem Malaysia, looks even more parochial this year because the two most interesting films are shut out from the main nominations due to not being at least 70% in the Malay language.

The best local film of 2011 was the humane and transcendent Great Day, and the most contentious/frisky was Nasi Lemak 2.0. In normal circumstances, these two would have had several nominations each. But since they're mostly in Chinese, we are forced instead to pretend that the films which exist to shore up what passes for the Malay star system are not only worthier but more 'Malaysian'.

As for the posters: I don't think the winner is as clear-cut as the Histeria and Belukar of previous years. I think Dalam Botol is conceptually the strongest (it tells a story) but the red borders diminish its visual impact. So I'd say Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa is the one that stands out.

Short story by Hafiz Noor Shams in the latest SELANGOR TIMES

Hafiz is a columnist at The Malaysian Insider.

8 kelainan Buku Fixi yang ke-8, ZOMBIJAYA

1. Judul paling panjang.
2. Jumlah perkataan paling banyak di muka depan
3. Ilustrasi dan bukannya fotografi di muka depan; juga ada 28 ilustrasi di dalam.
4. Judul yang jika ditanya Lebai Google, ia tak akan merujuk kepada apa-apa selain buku ini.
5. Halaman dedikasi yang menyebut paling ramai orang (16, termasuk George A. Romero)
6. Paling ramai orang mati (i.e. jutaan rakyat Malaysia)
7. Bukan saja mengandungi perkanaan 'zombi' tapi menggunakannya 140 kali.
8. Ada kameo oleh David Hasselhoff (halaman 220-1)

Ada persaingan sengit untuk memilih kulit depan, antara dua nih:

Tapi akhirnya yang sebelah kiri menang, hasil undian ahli Fesbuk kami.

Zombijaya belum masuk mana-mana kedai. Tapi ia boleh dibeli online di Kedai Fixi.

Kalau nak datang beli sendiri dan bersua dengan penulisnya Adib Zaini, sila hadir ke mana-mana daripada 3 acara ni. (Kalau nak jadi groupie dan datang ketiga-tiga pun boley.)

Percuma. Semua dijemput hadir. Kalau datang sebagai zombi, mungkin boleh dapat buku percuma.... atau mungkin pula dipulau dan dikeji oleh tetamu lain.

MALAYSIAN SHORTS (17 Oct), once again hosted by me!

Kelab Seni Filem Malaysia
presents
MALAYSIAN SHORTS

Monday, 17 October
8pm
Auditorium, HELP University College

Pusat Bandar Damansara

Kuala Lumpur.

Entrance: FREE

All are WELCOME
No need to RESERVE SEATS

Facebook event page.

10 new narrative Malaysian short films/videos will be shown, with most of the directors present.

1. EXHALATION/ Edmund Yeo/ Japan-Malaysia/21 min
The death of a former classmate, Yosuke, brings Naoko back to her hometown. Arriving the day before his funeral, Naoko embarks upon a road trip with her friend Sayuri. They visit the site of Yosuke's fatal car accident, and gradually, their journey turns into a surrealistic experience of bittersweet remembrances, tender secrets and unspoken regrets. Dreams become increasingly vivid, memories come in the form of ghosts. They lost themselves in melancholy.

2. SUDU GAN GARFU/ Faiq Khalifa/ 14.5 minutes
Tiada kata secantik bahasa. Menampilkan lakonan oleh Adman Salleh gittew.

3. MOVEMENT IN C/ Ali Lee/ 37 seconds
The shortest short we have ever shown?

4. MARIA/ Afiq Deen/ 11 minutes
Maria is fictional thriller film inspired by the record-breaking cases of baby dumping and abandonment by Malaysian Muslim women.

5. SIX REVISITED/ Timo/ 1 minute
The second-shortest short we have ever shown?

6. MEMORIA/ Yihwen Chen/ 9 minutes
A girl. A bicycle. And a memory.

7. JEMPUT NAIK/ Ng Ken Kin/5.5 minutes
In conjunction with this year's KL 48 Hours Film Project, we present one of last year's entries by a stalwart of Malaysian Shorts. Caution: there will be blood.

8. BROGA RENDEZVOUS/ Ridhwan Saidi/ 8.5 minutes
Teman lelaki mahu ke Broga, tempat mereka pertama kali bercumbu; tetapi teman wanita tidak ingat malah sesat ketika dalam perjalanan. Dalam masa yang sama seorang guru merindui pemergian pelajar cemerlang sekolah mereka di Broga. Sebuah filpen yang melankolik, dengan sedikit unsur jenaka.

9. LE ONION DE NOIR/ Brad Liew/ 11 min
Over a telephone call, a man can be heard justifying his actions in what he sees as a sign from the divine. As he re-accounts his actions, the lines between his reality and ours blur into a mesh of primal violence. Do we question his psychotic cruelty? Or is it truly his higher calling?

10. EPAL HIJAU DI LUAR PAGAR/ Syahrul Musa/ 26 minutes
Mamat (12 tahun) mengambil upah menjaga kambing di sebuah kawasan perkuburan Cina. Satu petang, hujan lebat. Dia membawa kambing-kambing jagaannya berteduh di tokong Cina berdekatan. Kelaparan membuatkan dia terpaksa mengambil sebiji epal hijau dari tokong tersebut dan berjanji akan membayarnya semula. Dalam keadaan keluarganya yang penuh krisis, mampukah dia menepati janjinya?

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 110 minutes

Short story by Hafidz Baharom in the latest SELANGOR TIMES

Can be seen as a companion piece to his earlier driving-themed story. Is there a "Drive, He Said" compilation in the works?

Speaking of Traffic, isn't this a great song?