The Key to Quality

I love these hurried posts, squeezed between my busy daily routines. I was supposed to have blogged on Monday, but it was a public holiday and that disrupted my routine. Yesterday I had a dinner appointment and I had to rush through some work at night. But I'm back and blogging from the Vivo cafe at the Empire Shopping Mall.

Last week, I managed to catch a local movie, One, Two Jaga produced by Bront Palarae and directed by Namron. It was a most engrossing film--something which I can rarely say for local productions. A movie about corrupt cops and foreign workers played delightfully by a cast of experienced actors. Zahiril Adzim and Rosdeen Suboh paired the new-paired cops--the former young, single and idealistic, the latter a seasoned cop who has to "go with the flow", taking petty bribes in order to provide a better life for his family.

Indonesian star, Ario Bayu plays an Indonesian construction worker, Sugiman. He is legally employed but gets himself into some difficult situations when he tries to protect his sister, Sumiyati (Asmara Abigail) who ran away after being ill-treated by her employer.

There's another sub-plot involving Filipino worker, Rico (played by Timothy Castillo) who has to resort to some desperate measures to solve his money problems. This second plotline unfortunately suffers from a lack of development due to the greater focus given on the main protagonist, Sugiman.

I particularly liked Rosdeen Suboh's performance as Hassan, a corrupt cop who does what he does because he sees the futility of playing things by the book. He is simply being realistic in order to survive, having a young family to provide for. However his partner, Hussein (Zahiril Adzim) sees thing differently. In the end it is his uncompromising ways that drove everything to its violent conclusion.

The movie started and developed well, keeping the audience very interested in the fate of all the characters. My only gripe is the ending, which I felt was a bit too abrupt and didn't give enough space for denouement. The many bleeped out conversations also diminished the gritty feel of the movie, leaving me wanting for more. I wish they'll come up with a director's cut, which should restore the original vision and intent of the producer and director, without the constraints of censorship.

Despite these flaws, it was a movie I enjoyed. One Two Jaga is what every local movie should aspire to, at the very least. When it comes to quality, our local film-makers should be like the idealistic and stubborn cop Hussein--always uncompromising. That is the most important key to quality.