BY SAM RAJ
Moviegoers need to know and understand that director-producer Alaric Soh succeeded where local film producers feared to tread, namely plunging into a feature-length Iban movie not knowing how the audience will react to the film.
When Alaric, a former highly successful beauty pageant organiser, invited me to have a sneak preview into the country’s first Iban movie, I didn’t think twice; I took a last minute one-way – return fare was too expensive – AirAsia flight to Kuching, not wanting to miss the chance of an early preview of ‘Kumang – Aku Ukai 17 Agi (Kumang – I’m No Longer 17)’.
Watching movies is my favourite pastime, next only to reading. I went to Alaric’s production house last week to watch his film, not knowing what to expect from a former beauty pageant man.
The movie is about a girl who is at a crossroads in life – to pursue her dream career, further her education or fall in love and get married?
Kumang, the lead character played by Evelyn, lives in a village with her single mum and after passing her From Five decides to “take a break” and spend her time at fun centres with her best girlfriend.
One night she had one drink too many and ended up being exploited by her boyfriend. Not long afterwards she realised she was pregnant.
When her mum questions her about her nightlife, Kumang gets into a heated argument and accuses her parent of giving birth to her out of wedlock, arguing that she should take a look at herself first, and rushes angrily to her room.
If you think you are going to know the storyline from this part of the scene onwards, you will be disappointed! This is no Bollywood movie where filmgoers can easily guess the story and the way in which it will develop.
Alaric cleverly portrays the community’s social issues and problems faced by, especially the younger generation, such as teen pregnancy and alcohol consumption, which are considered taboo subjects rarely discussed openly, what more highlighting it on the silver screen. But the prominent scenes of alcohol drinking (and teenage pregnancies), I thought, are a necessary part of the film to drive home the evils of alcoholism to the community.
I should say the producer did his research well and left no stones unturned.
He may be a new producer on the block, so to speak, but Alaric’s professionalism is reflected in the way he produced and directed the movie, and there is hardly any sign of novicity shown by him – at least in my opinion. He is also the scriptwriter and cinematographer; he completed the script in about four months during the Covid-19 pandemic, and production took about a year.
On top of that he also had a role in editing the film. A practically one-man show? Maybe.
Kumang, who is now 18, decides to opt to pursue her dream career of becoming an air stewardess with the eventual blessings of her mother while maintaining her relationship with Keling, her boyfriend. She enrols for a class at a cabin crew academy.
Upon completion of her course she is called for a job interview by an airline and passes the interview. She is taken in to undergo training as an air stewardess.
What surprises me is that I was told Kumang and the other actors are all first-timers with no acting experience, whatsoever; Alaric had to groom them while acting! They didn’t appear novice to me and I was left wondering how they managed to maintain their professionalism – from the sad scenes to the roles that require the casts to maintain absolute composure.
Alaric is an independent producer or indie producer, meaning he has to be extremely creative and work on his own as he did not receive any incentive funds from the government. In fact he had to fork out RM350,000 from his pocket to complete his first inaugural movie.
How he managed to complete the movie with that low budget puzzles me. Nearly a whole year to produce the movie, paying salaries of lead and supporting actors, and not forgetting the extras, as well as equipment and movie sets. Amazing!
As the scene reaches the end, Kumang, now an air stewardess, is shown getting ready to enter the departure hall. She is stopped by Keling, her boyfriend, who confesses his love to her and offers to marry her.
Kumang accepts his bouquet of flowers, whispers a few words into his ears, and walks off leaving her boyfriend puzzled and confused. I guess the producer wants the audience to determine for themselves what Kumang whispered into his ears.
Anti-climax? Not at all! Alaric is giving viewers a chance to go for the RM1,000 prize money in his “Guess What Kumang Whispered to Keling in 3 words (in English)!”
For a first-time independent self-financing movie maker, ‘Kumang – Aku Ukai 17 Agi’ is a feather in Alaric’s cap which he should be proud of. The Dayak community, the Iban in particular, should be equally proud of their first feature-length movie and come out in full support and make the film a success.
To appreciate Alaric’s effort, you have got to watch the film yourself!
The movie in Bahasa Malaysia and English subtitles is being screened at cinemas nationwide beginning July 13.
