Culturally Preconditioned

Asmaradana (650 Kb in Real Media format) - You know you gotta listen to this while reading the Puteri Gunung Ledang review for cinematic effects.
Trailer (13 Mb in MPEG format)

I was originally supposed to attend the press screening on Monday but I wasn’t able to squeeze out of my current assignment, so I had to join in the mad rush for the normal tickets last night. I have never seen a packed cinema on a second day for a locally made film. I mean, I can literally see people from all walks of life in the theatre last night. From a seven-month pregnant woman (I asked) to a seven year old boy (I assumed) to people you just know have never been to the cinema before (you can just tell and no, I’m not being sarcastic). Such was the hype of the latest movie coming out from Malaysia - Puteri Gunung Ledang. And for a Malay movie, I was proud to see Chinese, Indians and other folks beside just the Malays watching the movie. It is, after all, a Malaysian movie. And the last time I checked, all phone bookings are fully booked, so good luck for you guys out there trying to get a ticket.

The epic opens with Princess Gusti Putri (Tiara Jacquelina) of Majapahit setting sail from Java to 15th century Malacca, where she heads up Gunung Ledang (Mount Ophir) to be united with the love of her life, the famed Malaccan Admiral, Laksamana Hang Tuah (M. Nasir). Meanwhile, war is brewing between her homeland of Majapahit and the rival state of Demak. Hoping that by offering her sister Gusti Putri’s hand in marrage to Pangeran Demak will ease the rivalry between the two states, Gusti Adipati (Alex Komang) is furious when he founds out of his sister’s treason. Gusti Adipati comes to Malacca and threatens Hang Tuah that their love affair will bring nothing but chaos to everyone in the Nusantara region. After a secret meeting with the Sultan of Malacca (Adlin Ramli), it was announced that the best thing to do is to offer Gusti Putri to become the wife of the Sultan of Malacca instead.

With a heavy heart, loyal Hang Tuah leads a party up to Gunung Ledang to ask the Princess hand in marriage on behalf of the Sultan. Hurt and angry, Princess Gusti agrees to the marriage, on condition that the Sultan grants her seven wishes. Written on huge leaves in Sanskrit, the demands were written in riddles : 7 urns of virgin’s tears, 7 urns of betelnut juice, 7 trays of germ’s hearts, 7 trays of mosquitoe’s hearts, a gold and a silver bridge from Malacca to Guning Ledang, and a vial of the Crown Prince’s blood. Just when the Sultan was about to grant the Princess her final wish, Gusti Putri appears before him and stops him. She questions to what lengths will he go to to get what he wants. The Sultan, hurt, angry and humiliated, cast a curse on the Princess to live in Gunung Ledang, never to be seen by another human being again.

So that’s pretty much how the legend that most Malaysians are fond of, told on the big screen. Most of us already know the story by heart, so going into the movie, one can be most critical of even the smallest flaws. Or perhaps, they were just trying to justify how the movie ended up with a mammoth RM15 million budget. If you’re one of the latter, I beg you, please stop right there, and try to enjoy the movie because what do most of us really know about production costs, eh?

Let’s start with the acting, shall we? We already have mixed reviews on the performances of the actors and actresses. Many have said that Tiara did not exactly shine in her role, but personally I feel that she is acting how an ancient, strong-willed princess should (or would) act. Her quiet lingering looks as well as graceful movements complimented the determined nature of her character. She gradually broke out of her ice queen exterior towards the movie’s end - which proved to the viewers that despite all her mystical powers, she is just another woman torn in love. M Nasir plays the perfect Hang Tuah. Playing the man who’s torn between loyalty to his Sultan and his lover, the quiet unspoken angst can visibly be seen from his facial features. Though not the absolute best performance of his career, I don’t think anyone can play a better Hang Tuah than him. Special mention must be given to Alex Komang for his portrayal of the Majapahit Prince who’s constantly in rage, fighting for his men and country. The only one with a paltry performance was the slightly campy Sultan who’s in dire need of braces and makes me cringe everytime there was a close-up. I’m sorry but the character came across as a big wuss to me in the movie (unlike the ‘good’ bad guy that we’re supposed to see). To tell you the truth, he kinda reminds me of Prince George, the Crown Prince of Wales, from the BlackAdder III series.

Next, the dialogue. The dialogue is just simply filled with metaphors. It’s like being in a typical Malay literature class. Some people may not like it, but not me. It’s as if watching the old hikayat books come alive on stage. I love the metaphoric dialogues, and the riddles. Don’t expect straight answers from the subtitles, though, cause they are written in riddles and metaphors too. However, the movie also has parts spoken in Javanese, and as much as I would like to admit that I’m a Javanese myself, I didn’t get all that was said (probably because it’s too berbunga?), so the English subtitles came in handy. The only thing that marred the 15th century feel, in my opinion, were the lines by Sang Setia (Sabri Yunus) who was the token comic relief. His lines sounded a bit too modern and honestly, I don’t think it belonged anywhere in the movie.

They have also been major complaints that the pace of the epic is way too slow. I do agree to a certain extent on this. Certain parts were unnnecessary and could be skipped altogether. But I was also thinking that… hang on a sec, granted that it’s a historical political movie (with a little action thrown in), ultimately it’s an epic love story. I guess director wanted us to embrace and feel the movie whole-heartedly. And I also thought it was a great way for viewers to digest the dialogues as well as enjoy the brilliant cinematography. Which brings me to the next subject. The casts, the dialogues, the storylines may have it’s flaws. But not the cinematography. You can clearly see how the money is spent on creating the many visually stunning shots. It makes me think for a while, how lucky we are to get such diverse and beautiful landscapes in Malaysia. From the high mountains of Berinchang, to the great waterfalls of Lata Kijang, to the wetlands and plains of Pulau Indah, to the pristine waters of Lake Kenyir and Pulau Perhentian. It’s nothing short of magnificent and it makes you wonder why certain other productions are hellbent on shooting overseas when we have this pool of lovely sceneries within our own boundaries. Nothing tops the cinematography of Thailand’s Nang Nak, but Puteri Gunung Ledang comes really close.

The silat fighting scenes were just average. I do, however, loved the theatrics of the battle between Hang Tuah and Gusti Adipati. It’s a little over the top, but not so much that it becomes laughable. It was done just right. There was also a scene of Gusti Adipati breaking out into a silat frenzy after being in a trance. That may seem funny to most people, but hell, that spooked the fuck out of me. Because I have seen those happen in real life. Those silat moves were the real thing. I mean, REAL Javanese silat. I think it has influences from the Cimande (Monkey) discipline, but don’t quote me on that. But it looked freakishly real. Another part that spooked me out was the part where they showed Gusti Putri magically turning into an old hag (Sorry, but no visual effects guys). Immediately, at that precise moment, I had a sudden realisation that long before the Grimm Brothers introduced Snow White’s evil Stepmother turning into an old disfigured witch, we already have that in our culture! And the old Nenek Kebayan looked real scary too (I don’t even think Mak Mah had a whole lot of make up on except for some blackish powder on her face).

The movie’s ending was surreal. What happened to Hang Tuah and Puteri Gunung Ledang? Nobody knows for sure, but legend has it, she still lives in the mountains among other unearthly beings. Whether it’s true or not, Gunung Ledang remains a place of the supernatural. It’s also been deemed as “salah satu tempat yang paling keras di Nusantara”. My friends and I had to cancel our plans to hike there at the last minute, when one of our elder relatives dreamt of seeing us covered in white sheets in our tents. On another occassion, some friends of mine went camping there and brought a casette recorder to their happy campfire sing-a-long session at night. Upon playback when they returned home, they could hear an angry and sad voice chanting wistfully in the background “Kenapa kau buat bising kat sini? Jangan kacau aku”. Urban legend? I don’t think so.

Anyway, enough of the folklore. As I’ve said earlier, most of us Malaysians can be so bloody critical and scutinizing when finding flaws. Granted I’m not an exception to that in most cases but I’m going to let my guard down and be generous with my evaluation of this movie, because frankly speaking, I don’t see why some people can trash a movie like this and praise those horrid rubbish Yusry-Erra Hari Raya combo specials. I would give this movie a four out of five. Did it live up to my expectation? Yes, and you will probably feel the same way if you really try to get into the spirit of the movie. Could the movie have been better? Of course, but I honestly have to say, this is clearly the best movie to come out of our shores. Can I sincerely say that I’m proud of it? Hell, yeah. Congratulations to all those involved in the making of the Puteri Gunung Ledang movie. And that includes the guy who played the Sultan too.