johnleemk

I wasn't sure what to expect when I went to see Talentime, and I think neither did any of the other nine people who went to see it with me. I'd seen Sepet and Gubra, and good as they were, they felt very raw and unpolished. Talentime retreads a number of themes and tales which Yasmin Ahmad dealt with in her earlier films, so it wasn't immediately clear what would set Talentime apart.

When the credits began rolling, all of us -- and virtually the rest of the theatre -- stood or sat in stunned silence. This is one of the most heartwrenching, moving movies I have ever watched -- and especially so for Malaysians.

I do have some bones to pick with the film. I felt the editing was a bit choppy at times, and the dubbing seemed rather poor. Once or twice, parts of the story strained credulity for me.

In spite of these things, Talentime deserves a 10. It tells a good story well. It resists the temptation to overreach in terms of subject matter, and it avoids the problematic, blunt moralising which often characterises the approach to problems like race and love.

When the group I watched Talentime with finally picked our jaws up off the floor, we raved about the final scene. It's something which I think most people have seen before -- a bittersweet, almost preachy scene that's always mawkish and off-putting. But Yasmin Ahmad somehow pulls it off -- it's one of the most moving things I've ever seen on the silver screen.

It's very sad that Yasmin Ahmad is no longer with us. Talentime was her masterpiece, and it shows a maturity and polished refinement which her earlier works lacked. This should be mandatory viewing for any Malaysian.

I went into this expecting a good movie, and that is what I got out of Benjamin Button. The film-making and direction are obviously amazing, and Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett turn in commendable performances. Unfortunately, I just didn't feel an emotional connection to the story until over 2/3rds into the movie.

I don't put too much stock into comparisons with Forrest Gump. I'd say Benjamin Button and Gump deal with very different themes, although they both have a lot of plot elements in common. A few of them were very apparent and annoying at times, the most egregious being Button's mama's favorite aphorism: You never know what's coming for ya'.

The biggest problem I have with Button is that in spite of the fantastic direction and acting, the story and the main character just don't elicit a great response from you until the end is nigh. The last 40 minutes or so are the best of the film, and the most touching. But in the first two hours, Button's character is an enigma, and we learn nothing at all about what he thinks or feels, beyond his love for Daisy and his mama. The final 40 minutes are a triumph because through his actions, we finally learn something about Button - what he thinks of his condition, and what kind of life he decides to lead. It doesn't hurt either that Button's character has a diminished role in the final part, with Cate Blanchett taking a more prominent position.

This is an unusual Hollywood epic, that much is certain. We don't see movies like this from Hollywood very often - a movie with great direction and acting, a long epic of consistent quality. The problem is that the story and the protagonist just come off as a bit too flat, a little too 2-dimensional, for most of the movie. I liked Benjamin Button, and it's sure to be remembered for quite a while, but the storytelling just doesn't work quite well enough for it to be among the best. It is really hard for fantastic acting and directing to rescue a shabbily-written story, and unfortunately, I don't think even the great team on Benjamin Button was up to the task. Do watch Benjamin Button, but don't be surprised if you find the storytelling a little lacking.