my fm has been promoting their CNY comedy for weeks. Being an ardent supporter of locally produced movies, I was looking forward to catching the show before I leave for Sydney. I tried for a few days and yesterday, finally, I was given the opportunity.
The opening credits were attractive. It gave a very CNY feel with the bright red backdrop. The animation was so cute - loved the little lion prancing about the sakura trees. I was anticipating a good show even more.
The director could not have chosen a better character for Ah Beng, the 'jobless security guard'. It is as if Jack Lim aka Lam Tuck Weng of the Sunshine Show on my fm was cut out exactly for that role. His facial expressions, the slang and high-pitched voice... what a combo!
Jason aka Ah Xian played the char kuay teow guy. So befitting, I thought. I mean, he is the host for a culinary program on Astro after all. His name goes hand in hand with food.
Of course, the other characters in the show were great, too, but somehow, these two created deeper impressions in my mind.
To me, the whole show was a job well done. With minimal financial support (Dad heard that the cow in the show got paid more than Jason), the cast and crew managed to pull off quite a feat. I thought it was very Yasmin Ahmad style but of course, credit goes to Director Chiu for making it personal.
I don't think the comedic part of the movie is the part that is making it popular. Instead, I feel that it is the intimate connection that we, the audience, feel. Why? Well, it was shot locally in Kuantan so we get local scenes of the beach, a kampung, a fishing village, of children running around barefooted. Also, the language used throughout the movie was the familiar language of Malaysia - a campur of everything. Mainly in Mandarin, it also had Cantonese, Hokkien, Hakka, Malay and English. On top of that, there were the familiar faces and voices of the my fm deejays and Astro presenters.
Personally, I thought the best element of the movie was the heart-warming messages it was trying to get across to the audience - filial piety, humility and appreciation. There were parts of the show that made the audience totally silent with emotion. Darn, even I had tears rolling down my cheeks during the scene where one of the four little girls begged the three KL lads to stay. And, there was also the part where the grandfather's face was a whole picture of disappointment when money was made into a bigger issue than tradition.
The movie reminded me of what our society is becoming, or has become. The competitiveness and harsh expectations of life are hurdles that every member of the society struggles to overcome. Some does it better than others. But different people attach different meanings to how they do 'better' than others. Yes, you may earn more money and are able to spend your family to overseas trips and all but hey, do you do it to show others or do you do it because you really want to reciprocate the sacrifices made by your family?
So many of us aim high not knowing why. We get so caught up in the rat race that all we do is for the sake of doing. True meaning? Tak tau. This movie reminded me of the adage: where there's a will, there's a way. This applies to everything that we do, no matter how hard or how simple. It could be something like buying over a multi-million dollar company or selling char kuay teow. It could be starting a family or it could be talking to refugees once a week. All it takes is to put your heart into what you do, a passionate heart. Slowly, but surely, you will find your way through the thicket and out into the open pastures.
Don't tell me you don't have the time and money. I know you have plenty of both because you have time to sit at Starbucks for hours chatting about God knows what over coffee that costs more than one movie ticket.
