Abang

Synopsis

The film Abang by Dato Hj. Rahim Razali is about the eldest son of a wealthy family, Fuad's sudden return to Malaysia after he left for London without a word 10 years ago. Over the years, his family members who are used to his absence, have mixed feelings when they knew he was coming back home. Upon his return, he brought the family back together as a unit and also all his brothers and sister back to their roots, the adat. Solving all problems and reprimands for his fault leaving the family, Fuad then re-visited his hometown and subsequently having his sickness end his life.

Review

From this film, I could see both hybridity and cultural imperialism on Fuad's family in terms of language and action. Hybridity is clearly shown on Fuad, having the modernity and traditional values living in symbiosis. On the other hand, Fuad's family is more incline to the western cultural imperialism where most act and think like a foreigner, losing their own adat. While both party speaks in Malay with mixture of English, but the difference lies on they way they phrase their sentences. Fuad the Abang, speaks in a calm and polite manner and always tries to reasons with the other party even in a heated argument. It was because, it was part of the virtue that Malays should have. On the other hand, his brothers are more headstrong and couldn't care more for being down-to-earth or polite to the extent of almost shooting someone because of the argument they had. The brothers also lost their faith in Allah and have been drinking liquor which is forbidden to Muslims.

Another thing worth mentioning in the film is that the roles of females. Besides the males in the film, the females could also converse in English, means that they are also well-educated which falls on the modern side of the scale. Nazreen, Farid's wife talked back to her husband earlier in the film and also claimed that they are in a an open marriage where she does not care if he has a girlfriend outside. Dina, the sister is a singer in a club and drives a race car. All the women in the family including Mona, Faisal's wife have a job, which defies the adat of women should stay home, or be a supportive wife.

Aband Fuad was like the long lost Adat of the family. As the news of him coming back to Kuala Lumpur, description of him had been like "hantu" and "jembalang"; Fuad was gone from the family as well as their Adat, when he is back, it was as though the past they all left out is back to haunt them. When Abang is back to the family, he fixed the problems the family members are facing and paid his debt for his disappearance for the past decade. He also brought all his siblings back to the right path of being a Malay as well as a Muslim.

In the end, he left the world where his roots are in Baju Melayu, return to where he came from.

I liked the messages embedded in the film where people could chase modernity but must never forget one's roots. Also, the chain effect and things lost when one is away of his family for years.

What I dislike from the film was the slow pacing of the entire filem, the super emo slow musics and the exaggerated acting. For instance, when the family first know of Fuad's return, the music was like those thriller or horror films and the family's expressions was sort of showing Fuad as a super villain, which he isn't.

I would like the film better if the pacing is a little faster.