'SPLIT GRAVY: KE MANA TUMPAHNYA KUAH.'

-- THE ALBAKRI BOYS' FILM ON RURAL AND URBAN MALAYSIA IN DIFFERENT EPOCS - SNIDELY TOUCHING ON MALAYSIAN-STYLE AMERICANISM, SEXISM, INDIVIDUALISM AND ANTI-SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CONFUSION, MALAISE…AND OVERALL DESPONDENCE AND POSTULATIONS… AND ALL THIS IS DONE WITH NO ATTEMPT TO SERMONIZE AND MORALIZE! 

By Mansor bin Puteh

'Split Gravy: Ke Mana Tumpahnya Kuah.' is not a difficult film to read and understand; it's all there for one to see what it is. But I had preferred it to look at it from a distance and not hearing what the characters say to each other and mostly to themselves. I had things happening in my head that I only knew what it was a few days later after watching the film.

But for better context, one also needs to watch what the two Albakri Boys had in mind by looking back at their earlier film, 'Kembara…Seniman Jalanan' that was produced in the early 1980s.

Zarul-Zahim's 'Kembara…Seniman Jalanan' and 'Split Gravy: Ke Mana Tumpahnya Kuah.' - an act of cinematic defiance and bravado taking Melayu-Malaysia from Keramat-Alor Gajah areas to the Jalan Kia Peng-Damansara areas passing through the center of the City of Kuala Lumpur in some dark and colorful surroundings, thus also giving a strong touch of 'social realism' for the film for the viewers to marvel and freeze into a stupor…seeing some Anti-Malaysian and Pseudo-American Sexism, Individualism and Cultural Confusion and other emotional Postulations as shown throughout the film…   

In 'Kembara…Seniman Jalanan' directed by Nasir Jani, it shows a group of Malay boys who want to escape their dreary lives and with no much education, only have music to set them free to another level of existence.

Whereas in 'Split Gravy: Ke Mana Tumpahnya Kuah.' Directed by Zahim Albakri, we have a retired journalist who seems to be well-endowed with accomplishment and financial success, living in a huge bungalow, who wants his children to continue on with their own lives in separate compartments so they could excel in their chosen fields and be part of the landscape of the City of Kuala Lumpur - and only this time, they are confronting with the issues of Melayuness, Chineseness and Indianess and otherness…to deal with speaking mostly in English with a splattering of Malay and Chinese to show how connected they are to their cultural and racial and religious heritage. And all this while Bapak was not aware of that. 

So in the end, when I see it all, I realize that Bapak who knew he was dying knew that he might have failed himself for not showing enough care for his children's future…that caused them to lead different lives and mixing with different crowds…

It’s just too bad that the film activity has never acknowledged the seriousness and importance of film criticism and scholarship so that the local film viewers or audience could be educated or re-educated over the years, so they would know and better understand what to expect if they want to see a film or experience the work of cinematic excellence in the country on the few films that some are trying to create.

The act of producing and directing films itself may not be good if the film viewers' cinematic awareness is not uplifted so that they are never taken away from appreciating commercial Hollywood films with many local filmmakers creating what is generally described as 'Fake Hollywoodism' which unfortunately, are favored by Malaysians who had never been to or live and study in America all their lives to know that the real America is not what is shown in most Hollywood films. 

It's not filmmakers who are supposed to educate or re-educate the masses; but that's not only the job of educators and other culture-minded folks who are paid to do the job.

Unfortunately, none of them seems who are aware of their duties that have now fallen into the hands of filmmakers who have style, grace and aptitude and not want to admit that it is what they have tried to do.

I have seen the first two feature films produced by the Albakri Boys - Zarul and Zahim to know what they might be thinking of without even wanting to prod any further than to look at their films, 'Kembara…Seniman Jalan' and 'Split Gravy: Ke Mana Tumpahnya Kuah.' which I am wont not to ask if the title ought to have a question mark or just a full-stop. Period! 

There is a sea of difference if there was a question mark as opposed to just a full-stop. And I don't even want to ask if the producers were aware of that too! 

I can't help noticing that this film had superb directing, editing, photography and acting, using a cast of actors in superb ensemble acting. I cannot fail to notice Rahim Razali as Bapak and his five children and another and their friends and colleagues performing superbly.

And the characters are introduced in a proper order with the development of the story, starting with the first few minutes where dialogue was totally missing before the story expands to allow or force the viewers to enter into the heads of each and every one of the characters, with various levels of emotional intensity, vulgarity and obstinate postulation and direct verbal confrontation in such crass manner…taking the viewers to new levels that were not present before with the background music that did not seem to be there but was there most of the time to guide the viewers along right to the end of the film. 

I saw beyond the words, costumes some which are glaring and colorful as do some of the characters…to see more than what they mean and want to say; that they represent the depraved nature and condition of our society…with not even any attempt at sermonizing or moralizing.