Malaysian creatives reach world class standard

Well Yasmin Ahmad did us Malaysian movies proud to be listed in Cannes film festival for sensitive portrayal of Malaysian lives from Sepet,Gubra to Muallaf.Now our creatives especially the younger generation are making a mark on world cinemas .With HoYuHang At the end of daybreak starring Aaron Kwok to Tan Chui Mui Love conquers all to Woo Hoo,The journey to Abang Adik,Tiger Stripes ,Snow in midsummer,,Raintown and today i watched a psychological crime thriller A Place Called Silence which i give a 9/10.its suspenseful and psychologically riveting as a few school girls got brutally murdered and the motives of the case is unclear.It kept me guessing on who did it and why. It grossed box office in mainland China which is a tough market to break into as its highly competitive with a vast talent pool.But i have strong hope in our creatives as they present a unique perspective in a multicultural society that offers complex narratives. This is a bloody thought provoking movie like Abang adik.There is issue of sociological conflict like high school bullying leading to suicide,post traumatic stress in victoms of domestic violence,the hypocrisy of educators who bribe cops to cover up their kids crimes,the effect of personal loss due to tsunami,the hypocrisy of established religion that doesnt practise what it preaches,the failure of education to instil moral values. But what left me reflecting is as a parent myself how im unable to influence and shape the character of my child to live up to societal expectations.Francis Ngs acting is good as a astute high ranking cop who fails to educate his son well as he turns into a perverted voyeur secretly filming women in states of undressing to get a cheap thrill. Also the main actress is awesome in her acting prowess as a mother who fails to protect her mute daughter from being raped by her own stepfather.And the hardest tragedy is the loving father who is unable to save her daughter from being bullied and killed by monster classmates.now a flaw is how did the social worker know that the stepdad murdered body was buried in flowerbed on roof top when he is a new tenant.what does the fan in the mute girls drawing have to do with the crime and where did the mother get so much kumquats from if she stays in an apartment?was the girl born mute or suffer ptsd from her rape?some details dont jive with the plot Silence speaks volume and this movie reminded me of the novel by American Carson Mc Cuellers who wrote The heart is a lonely hunter ,her debut novel at 23 years old showcasing her maturity and insight into the isolation and despair of broken characters who face social isolation,injustice,racism and broken dreams.The main character John Singer is a deaf mute ,a misfit in a small town who loses his only mute friend to incarceration. in a mental asylum.He becomes the confidante to a few other misfits who reveal their deepest darkest fears to him as he will keep it secret.In the end John commits suicide as he sinks into alienation and depression. the movie A place called silence haunted me long after i left the cinema as it tells us not to judge good and evil based on superficial appearances.That which appears evil are themselves victims of violence in the past and they who talk and act so good will fail to act on what they preach at a decisive critical moment.Sam Quah is a talent to watch out for so watch his movie to see how good this movie is.