Abang Adik

This movie is a masterpiece that will cause emotions that will stay with you. Certain scenes in this movie make your jaw drop. It is so deep that it makes you reflect on yourself, on life, the world around you, on the differences and similarities between us humans, on what it means to be human, what it means to be grateful. This is a very deep and raw movie showing us the beauty in humankind, the ugliness, and the despair. It depicts how unforgiving, complex and terrifying life is no matter what good or bad of a person you are! Depending on "what life" has been "given" to you, as Abang mentions, you cannot judge anyone, or can't even blame yourself regarding life.. This movie make you think if we will ever know answers to some of the "whys" in this life... and make you think about what it means to be human.

During this movie, I found myself feeling deep sadness and love for humanity. But definitely a deep level of sadness and helplessness for us humans.

The cast is just chef's kiss! I especially enjoyed the brothers' relationship and the character portrayals were magnificent. KUDOS TO THE ACTORS, DIRECTOR, WRITER, CAMERA CREW etc.! The characters and message is so simple yet so deep and the story's pain and impact will always stay with me. Thank you for this masterpiece. I am hoping for an Oscar.

The story is about the emotional journey between the two "stateless brothers" - Abang (a deaf-mute man) and adik (a teenager) - and their lives. Through their lives, it reveals a lot of local social justice issues, e.g. Public servants' attitudes, illegal foreign workers hiding from immigration operations, taking on odd jobs for a living... and so on.

The pace is rather slow at times, which appears to be a common style among most new Malaysian directors, who love to bring out the typical Malaysian street scenes, building conditions, and local values, which can be overly deliberate and extra to some extent.

The character development between the two brothers is good. They are very well developed and engaging! However, it's weak on the supporting characters, e.g. The Myanmar girl, her scene is very touch-n-go and left unaddressed! Of all the supporting characters, I love "MONEY SISTER"! Although 'she' plays a small role in the movie, "she" is outstanding, and she seems to have a lot of untold stories that are worth exploring (perhaps in another solo movie??!!)

I love the communication scene in the prison, which carries so much emotional weight and struggle. Abang lives well in life day-by-day, but from the scene, audiences could realise that deep inside his heart, he has a lot of voices of unfairness, despair, anger... that wish to be heard and understood! No doubt, Wu Kang Ren's acting is superb! You feel him all the way, from his eye-contact, tears, emotion, and body language... He deserved the BEST ACTOR AWARD!!!

There are a few pitfalls in the movie, e.g. Some scenes are rather shaky, and the storyline is very much one-dimensional. Besides, the last scene of Abang meeting Adik in the prison is NOT well managed. It can be more touching and much better than that, yet the angles and build-up motions do not achieve the optimum outcomes.

For a local production, I gave 3.25 out of 5.0. It's a nice cameo, but NOT up to an excellent movie, without pitfalls or weaknesses. The storyline is rather simple and thin. What makes it good is the emotional depth of the silent communications of Abang that carry us away! If it is without it, it can be a very pale and plain movie. (Gosh~~ I burst into tears badly in the cinema!!)

This film managed to collect RM5.2 million within 24 days of screening in Malaysia and made history as the first Malaysian film to break the screening record in Taiwan by collecting more than RM13.5 million.

A local Malaysian film that, for me, almost reached the level of a local masterpiece.

The movie started off really well that it gave me high expectations throughout, coupled with the quality cinematography and soundtracks.

The story is actually very simple. The 'Abang' and 'Adik' wishes to live like ordinary citizens in Malaysia but the lack of citizenship status and Identity Card (IC) prevents that, showcasing how hard it is to live like them.

One thing that I disliked and which I think can be improved is the second act of the movie where the accident happened. The writing is not strong and convincing enough, Abang seems to be acting out of character, the story feels rushed and there were scenes that are too 'draggy'.

Despite that, the film managed to build a good emotional connection with the main characters from the beginning of the story and the strong performance by Wu Kang Ren and Jack Tan easily made it happen. So when I got to the end of the movie, I really teared up and cried, trying to understand Abang's feelings.

I like movies that touch on the aspects of society like this. Although it is not perfect, it gives a small picture of life in Malaysia that some people may not know. We need more local Malaysian films like this. No need for fancy effects, just solid writing.

Kang Ren Wu's portrayal of deaf & dumb Ah Bang is superb, and as the one & only non-Malaysian among the whole cast & production team, I must say his localization of blending in is undeniably jaw dropping, His performance is always beyond expectation.

The brotherhood in between the elder brother - Ah Bang and his younger brother - Ah Di is really touching. The chemistry in between these two sctors are there. Although I might not really agree with the performance/acting skills of Jack Tan.

To be concluded, the overall plot is culturally fit to Pudu, an old township of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Kudos to the director & screenwriter as well.

Director and writer Jin Ong does a spectacular job at weaving a Malaysian tapestry of untold stories of undocumented citizens.

The cinematography and lighting of every scene was immaculate, perfectly capturing the essence of every moment.

I notice other reviews commenting about the poor pacing of the movie but I beg to differ. Firstly, I felt it was needed to leave questions in the audience's minds, and the pacing reflected the pace of Malaysian life in Pudu well. I personally appreciated those "slow" scenes because it's the little things and nuances that made the film so Malaysian and kept Malaysians like myself and my family enthralled and immersed into those scenes.

To the team, thank you for putting Malaysia on the map globally. For all the good and right reasons. To Jin Ong if you ever read this, thank you. For your vision, hope, and relentless pursuit in making this movie come to life. We Malaysians appreciate you from the bottom of our hearts.