Synopsis
A group of Malaysian youth is study at Perth, Australia. Mastura try to stop her friend, E.J. from joining the fundamental religion group and marry when they are still study in university, but she failed to stop E.J. Mastura joined “RESCAID”, the charity organization as a volunteer when she is back to Malaysia and so with her friends, Halim and Wen Eng, to help victims in the Middle East and especially for the Palestinian children. Unfortunately, Halim and Wen Eng were died in the war. Mastura falls in love with Kamal but does not know that Kamal is actually a married man. But they get back together after Kamal divorce with his wife. E.J. then back to Malaysia after her baby is dead. Mastura recruit Kamal and E.J. into their organization. RESCAID was very supported by Malaysians, but there is also have the ANTI-RESCAID group try to destroy RESCAID with the violent ways. Mastura become the victim when there is an ANTI-RESCAID person try to bomb the office and she fall into coma. RESCAID has flied the Palestinian children to Malaysia and the organization has run a charity concert to raise fund for them. Kamal is accompanied with Mastura during her coma period. Mastura eventually awake from coma and back to RESCAID (Sinema Malaysia, no date.).
Review
Mastura, the main character in the film is the reason that I like about the film. Mastura’s characteristic of courage, personality, fashion, assertive, loyal in love, and willing to help have caused her outstanding. For example, she has the thought of helping those poor and helpless refugees in the Middle East country since she was study in university. And once she back in Malaysia, she joined the RESCAID as a volunteer. Mastura usually wear very fashion and western style with blazer, jeans and dress when she working. When Mastura get knows that Kamal have wife, she feel angry to him because he never tell her the true. Mastura don’t want to be the third party in Kamal marriage, so she gets away from Kamal.
The editing of the film is something that I dislike in this film. It is because the film has a lot of jump cut where it makes people somehow confuse in watching the film. For example, when E.J been consulted by Zek in the office, then a jump cut to Mastura walks with her friends in the university compound. E.J was seat at the courtyard and flashes back to the previous life when she stays in Australia with Brother Musa and Hani. The flash back doesn’t have a clue or an effect that to show it is actually E.J’s flashes back, it is more like a jump cut to another scene in the film. And then it suddenly jump cut back to the reality again where E.J was seat at the courtyard. Other than that, when Mastura’s friend, Lin, quarrel with Mastura because Mastura keep avoid herself from E.J, and another jump cut happened when Mastura flashes back to the past when she and her friends went to visit E.J and found that E.J’s baby was killed by Hani in Australia. These jump cut and flashes back has caused the flow of the film didn’t smoothed.
The part that I like in this film is when Mastura was coma in the hospital, and there have a lot of butterflies surrounded her. In this scene, it was recall the scene where Mastura was at her hometown, Terengganu, and met with her grandfather, there also have a lot of butterflies surrounded them. Mastura drove away the butterfly on her face. Her grandfather told her that the butterfly can hinder the bad luck if the butterfly came near people. So the butterflies can bring her good luck by surrounded Mastura when she was coma and wake her up from the coma. Although butterfly can bring a good luck when the butterfly near to the person may just a local rumor and no scientific proof, but if believe in belief, it can still bring good fortune.
The part that I dislike in the film is when Mastura realized that Kamal has married. When Mastura interrogate Kamal about why he didn’t tell her that he had married. Kamal answer her that he thought everyone includes Mastura have knew it. Kamal answer is very irresponsible and not loyal in love.
mise-en-scene & mise-en-shot.
Mastura, is a person that confident, modern, courage, personality, fashion, assertive, loyal in love, speak fluent in both English and Malay, and willing to help. She is gone to study at abroad and back to Malaysia work as an engineer and also a volunteer of RESCAID. She represents the second portrayal of femininity where she knows what is want and need. She joined RESCAID and helps other who needs their help. She is modern and yet she still keeps the traditional side in her. When she is working, she will wear more to western style with jeans, shirt and blazer, and the way she talk is very confident and assertive. She will also wear Malay traditional costume. For example, she wears baju kurung to meet E.J on E.J pre-wedding night. Mastura is also articulate as when she doesn’t want to be with Kamal when she knows that Kamal is married.
While E.J is represents the first portrayal of femininity, but in the end of the film, E.J was turn to become the second portrayal of femininity too. She was a shy, unconfident, followed whatever Brother Musa told, the fundamental religion group leader, and even married to Brother Musa because she believe he can bring her to the path of God. E.J back to Kuala Lumpur after her baby was killed by Hani, an aggressive and unstable mental woman. She then joined RESCAID but she is still lack of confident, as she asked Dr. Sardar question with soft voice and scared. After influence by Mastura and Dr. Sardar both of the confident and modern women, E.J then also change become confident and also the way she wear, with jeans and shirt.
Kamal is a modern masculinity man that he was a very supportive person to Mastura and RESCAID. He will feel unsafely when Mastura know that he was married, and affraid Mastura leave him. He did a lot of thing such as seat on the lorry and use loud speaker to propose Mastura.
The film was set at Terengganu, western university in Perth, Australia, refugees’ camp in Palestine, and Kuala Lumpur. The film uses a lot of narration to lets the audience know what the film have happened. The sound effect also help to make the film more realistic and attractive, such as gun shot and booming when war happened, the low and soft music when Mastura heard Halim and Wen Eng have dead. The costumes in the film have includes Malay traditional costume, baju kurung, Brother Musa and Hani are Islamic clothes. Mastura and the other character mostly wear western style clothes such as jeans and shirt. Hani act as an aggressive and unstable mentality woman, so her make-up is more exaggeration. The lighting of the film was most probably yellowish and both hard light and soft light are using in the film. Soft light have been use the situation where have a lot of emotional scene like where E.J tells Mastura that she is going to marry with Brother Musa. Hard light used to highlight the critical situation, like the war happened in Palestine where Halim and Wen Eng were died by boomed. Over shoulder shooting and low angle camera position has used most frequently in the film. For example, the first scene of the film where Mastura’s grandfather singing, when E.J been consulted by Zek in the office, and Mastura talked to Brother Musa to asked him lets E.J finish her study.
Reference:
Sinema Malaysia. (no date). Selubung. Retrieved 12 November 2011, from http://www.sinemamalaysia.com.my/film/info/?id=Selubung_173
William V. der H. (2002). Google books: Malaysian cinema, Asian film: border crossings and national cultures. Retrieved 12 November 2011, from http://books.google.com.my/books?id=k3HTdu1HuWQC&pg=PA218&lpg=PA218&dq=shuhaimi+baba-+selubung&source=bl&ots=RWxee1DV1w&sig=wf1JuW3sgR8ubA5Z91mQr0flgfY&hl=en&ei=9ne_TtKhPMvIrQfg9-yGDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CEkQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=shuhaimi%20baba-%20selubung&f=false
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