A Legendary Love

As kids back home in Malaysia, we were told of legendary warriors, magical princesses, powerful kings, mysterious places, epic battles, and curses which made us shiver in the night. And no other tale combines these elements more effectively than the story of the legendary Princess of Mount Ledang and the Malaccan empire. So, with a deep story already written, throw in a solid cast, with an explosive budget... what could possibly go wrong? Well, quite a bit, actually. But before we get into that, let's get into what's good about the movie. For one, the expensive production is really evident from the movie - the props, the picture quality, the setting, the sounds. On the surface, Puteri Gunung Ledang (PGL) is a real visual treat, and is a nice portrayal on how the Malaccan empire back in those times. The story is told rather well, and it is interesting to see the mythology in full graphic detail, with some pretty good storytelling across the board.

A bloated production, however, doesn't quite make this movie what it could - and should - have been. The movie opens up with M. Nasir as Admiral Hang Tuah, the legendary Malaccan warrior, bringing a couple of bandits to justice. This was an excellent opener. The story then begins with the royal expedition between two great empires. For the first 30 minutes, i was hooked and impressed - the fight scenes, backdrops, beautifully handled shots, and interesting dialogue; at that point, i was convinced that this could possibly be a great movie. However, the momentum just breaks off completely, and as the story drags to the two-and-a-half hour mark, my interest slowly wanes off into boredom.

So, what's wrong with it? How could they mess up such brilliant opening sequences? It's mainly the storytelling. The opening sequences laid out set piece after set piece, leading viewers to believe that this could lead to a powerful climax.. but.. the climax is just unsatisfying and ultimately somewhat predictable. True, some of us know the story already, but really, we were looking for the execution to have that extra ZEST. The buildup is long and draggy, and the final scenes are unexciting and lifeless.

My biggest gripe with the movie,is the actual love story itself. Yes, we all know that PGL is basically a love story. So why don't we feel the intensity of this love? The writing and direction hardly makes us care for the couple, and we never truly feel the deep emotion and sacrifice which they go through. It's just running around, and trading well-written poetry. Furthermore, the portrayal of the empires seem a bit weak and not as powerful as we were led to believe.

All that said, there are some notable performances throughout the movie. M Nasir excels superbly as Hang Tuah, and plays his part out superbly. The sultan of Malacca, as well as the Queen, is played exceptionably well, too. Tiara Jacquelina was okay, but she was hampered by mediocre dialogue. The only problem I have with these characters isn't the acting, but rather the overall script - most of them weren't really portrayed with enough depth to make us care for them.

Overall, I am quite disappointed with the movie. Given the production budget, list of superb actors, and great background plot, this would have been a surefire hit. Instead it misses the mark, having a dragged-out, unsatisfying story, relying on the fat production to work out its magic. Still, like I mentioned, I have faith that if someone could pick up where this movie left off, and improve these crucial areas, this could be a great movie (and in fact, I was told the theatrical play is much better, which is a good sign). As a movie, however, PGL isn't all that good. I would still recommend the movie for everyone, just to learn on the myth itself, but don't expect the legendary love epic that will blow you away.

I bought the Puteri Gunung Ledang (PGL) VCD last week and was excited to watch Malaysia's biggest budget movie. I have some comments and opinions on the movie:

Good cinematography. The view and scenery in the movie was spectacular and beautifully done. The harbor, lake, river and forest scenery was superbly done. This is something to me that's up to international standards. The leaves falling down on the rock scene like something from a Hollywood Fantasy story.

There seems to be confusing 'flashback' scene in the movie. Why not have something like the 'usual' blurry effect before the reminiscing scenes as indicator to the audience what's going on in the story? It could actually help the viewer differentiate the past and present scene in the movie.

The costume and props was also praiseworthy as it reflects the culture and differences of the races. Some of the dialogue was poetic, portraying true Malay wisdom in usage of proverbs in conversation.

The fighting scene at the market displayed one of the best Silat Silat (Malay Martial Art) I've seen in years. Excellent job was done by the choreographer in charge. (Could be made better without the exaggerated stunts). The scene where Hang Tuah and the Jawa Gusti Adipati fights in the 'mental realm' was cool but looked like something from Zhang Yimou's movie.

The legendary love story between the princess and Hang Tuah was not actually developed. I for one did not understand how the princess fell in love with Hang Tuah. (Except for the kick-flower-in-the-face scene).

Overall, in my opinion, this movie is a commendable effort by the local Malaysia Film industry. Keep up the good work!

I thought this movie was a good effort to move the Malaysian movie industry forward. Yes, it was abit slow paced, but at least it wasn't one of those stereotypical movies you had in the mid 90's. What I'm irritated about is the fact that you keep mentioning the fact that the bad movies are made by MALAY people and the movies are dominated by MALAY people. Whats your problem against the Malays? You're supposed to comment about the movie, no one cares about your involvement in the film,the fact that you're one of the musicians (big huge freakin deal) plus you're being a pure racist because you keep bringing up the point that despite the fact that the movie is made by a Chinese, its still slow moving. Are you trying to imply that it should have been better because it was made by a Chinese and if it was directed by a Malay , it would have sucked?! The oh-so rotten Malay movie scene? You mean MALAYSIAN movie scene don't you? Because other than Malay movies being made in Malaysia, we sure don't hear about Chinese people making movies in Malaysia, or do you? Why do you point out at the Malays so much? If you're going to post a comment about a movie, keep it real. No one wants to read your stupid racist comments or your minor involvement in the movie. Get over the race issue already and GROW up!

Sure, the plot was a bit dragging, lame at times, illogical at others, but still, you must give credit for such a beautiful Malaysian movie. The cinematography (spelling?!) was fabulous, perhaps even up to Hollywood standards if i might say so myself.

so what if tiara's not really Javanese? nama pun acting. she played the role quite well, i can't really think of any other Malay actress who could pull it off better. The cast was quite nicely selected too, and aside for the Sabri Yunus jokes (which were one too many) while they were going up Gunung Ledang, the movie was really one of a kind.

Although they didn't win best movie for the FFM that year, I dare say they deserve credit for creating something as beautiful as that, definitely worth the millions spent.

I'd say the movie was a great achievement for the Malaysian movie industry, really, it'd be worth it just to watch it for the beautiful shots.

I can be considered involved in the production of this movie. If you listen closely to the music of the movie, you will find the strings sound are real, not some cheap MIDI sound like most movies from Malaysia are using. I'm one of the violinists in there. Anyway, I am right now studying in New York, I recorded the original score right before I came here. I long to watch this movie since I walked out from the studio. So I asked my mom to send me the VCD of this movie. After finally watching this movie, I was quite happy about the seriousness of the production in a Malaysian film. However, I have never liked to watch Malaysian movies (dominated by Malay language films), because of its slow and meaningless pace. It is sad to say that this hasn't changed a bit in PGL, which I think is the greatest pity. (Even though this movie is directed by a Chinese!!) The movie could be shortened to 2 hours --- if not one and a half --- if the hyper-slow parts were being changed into a somewhat reasonable pace. But overall, I would like to say that I'm happy to see Malaysians try to make this movie a jump start (if it is) for the oh-so-rotten Malay movie scene. Like the another review, I feel the same that some elements like action (I don't like to use the word violence) could be enhanced, it could be better. Those elements are hanging in the middle of nowhere in this film. In fact, I think this issue might be caused by the strict censorship system (if there is a "system") in Malaysia. If we Malaysians want to push the film industry further to the world, PLEASE, the censorship board should reconsider the poor censorship system average that flows from time to time and, PLEASE, give filmmakers a bigger space in creativity. More budget and more money doesn't promise better movies!! Artistic quality is the most most crucial element in making a great movie!!