The _rempit_ Cliché

Universiti Teknologi MARA Broadcast Production Critique (BRO351) Title: The “Rempit” Cliche’ Mohamad Haziq Bin Faisal 2007123349

For: Nora Hendon Date of submission: 8th September 2009

THE “REMPIT” CLICHÉ. One thing obvious about Malaysian film industry is that when you watch a particular movie it’s like de ja vu all over again. Except for a few which are considered the cream of the crop. The day was Tuesday. I was sitting anxiously in class awaiting the coming of my lecturer. I was hoping to watch “Talentime” a movie by the late Yasmin Ahmad. Yet, I could only hope. My lecturer gave us two choices, neither of which are a movie by Yasmin Ahmad. The first choice was a local movie called “Bohsia” and the second one was an Iranian movie. I opted for the Iranian movie, but then again, majority rules. Bohsia it is. When criticizing a movie I would always go for the clarity of the pronunciations and the content of the story. As a publisher in training, I’ve been trained to detect even the slightest of mistakes within a text, this includes even spoken words. One thing very predictable about this film is the storyline. When we talk about watching local films it’s always the plot that gave away the ending. It’s like already knowing what’s going to happen next. I can say that the plot is very confusing, you can see that there is no centralised character to focus upon in this story (at least). The main actor in this story would be Muz (played by Syamsul Yusof), the ever so stubborn and hot tempered night racer with a little hint of morality. He is in a relationship with a girl in his gang, Tasya (played by Nabila Huda) which he had known for a long time. But, this is where the twist comes. At the same time Muz is having an affair with a highly educated carrier woman, Aisyah (played by Diana Danielle). The thing is, Muz still have not met Aisyah in person, only through his personal chat room. You have a love triangle, personal vendettas and dysfunctional families all meshed up into one whole storyline. Doesn’t confusion mean anything here? I got what the director is trying to clarify in this movie; then again the plots must be cohesive with the storyline. Talking about morality, what actually defines morality? Is wearing indecent clothes considered immoral? Is pretending to smoke considered immoral? Using foul languages, does that also counts as immoral as well? In the end, society will be the one

defining this controversial term. I personally would think that this movie has too much of indecent scenes. People are not judge by the message they convey but rather, the methods they pursue in conveying their message. Personally, I would prefer more if it were to be more subtle. There are actually ways to film a rape scene without the actors and actresses invoking an erotic scene. I’ll give an A for Malay language pronunciation. Again...the English pronunciation still needs more practice. I wonder, how often do these casts practice speaking English? Because the pronunciation still has remnants of Malay slang infused with it. Honestly speaking, with constant practice you can speak English very well insyaAllah. The casts are trying really hard to speak English until it came out all very Malay”ish”. It is not my intention to degrade the Malay language. It’s just that when you speak it reflects on your character. The more fluent you are, the more highly people would think of you. It is not my intention to degrade the Malay language. When it comes to acting as “mat rempits”, “bohsia”s, “datin”s, “supermodels”, etc our local actors and actresses are magnificent. But, when it comes to acting as professionals such as doctors, scientists, teachers, detectives, etc, much has to be done. My view on this problem is that these actors and actresses are mostly graduates from social sciences and arts. Theoretically, during high school, students are already taught that the sciences are separate from the social sciences and the arts. True enough they grew up being individuals who are more comfortable distancing themselves from one another. The sciences being them and vice versa. Logically, that would be one of the dormant factor that drives our local actors into acting as they are. I hope that one day, Malaysia could make a film that leave large imprints in our memory saying that this film is worth watching again and again. InsyaAllah, who knows one day Malaysia would produce films that allow its audience not only to react, but to think as well. A film that can provide moral values and develop our mind at the same time.