Social realism meets crime drama in Abang Adik, an impressively gritty Malaysian indie flick.
The two titular brothers live in a poor Kuala Lumpur district with no identity cards and basically no stable income. Abang is a deaf mute who tries to live as honestly as he can, while his younger brother Adik dabbles in the underworld and is prone to impulsive behavior. Both are understanding of each other and share a strong brotherly love, despite not actually being brothers by blood (they adopted each other, in a way). A terrible incident suddenly upends their lives and complicates them even further.
Essentially a simple story about two orphan brothers and their mutual struggle to eke out a living, the film takes a well-worn premise and extends it into a terrific showcase for director Jin Ong, its naturalistic actors, and generally the whole production crew. This is a quietly powerful work that lingers long after being seen, avoiding sensationalism and violence in favor of a bleak, despairing mood and character building. It has a slice-of-life feel, but lightly mixed with genre elements in order to accentuate the hardship of the brothers' lives. Indeed, these people are decent, driven to tough choices by circumstances out of their control, Abang Adik argues. And they are easy to sympathize with even when you can't quite understand them.
The cinematography here is pretty great, with its strong camerawork and vibrant colors. When the very pretty soundtrack joins in, it becomes obvious a lot of care has gone into creating this indie film. It's a testament to strong filmmaking coming from a country that's prone to heavily censoring its artists. And I must not forget to mention Jack Tan and Wu Kang-ren, who play their roles to near perfection. The latter, especially, delivers a moving monologue that won't leave people untouched, and in sign language no less!
Definitely recommended for fans of gritty dramas.
The two titular brothers live in a poor Kuala Lumpur district with no identity cards and basically no stable income. Abang is a deaf mute who tries to live as honestly as he can, while his younger brother Adik dabbles in the underworld and is prone to impulsive behavior. Both are understanding of each other and share a strong brotherly love, despite not actually being brothers by blood (they adopted each other, in a way). A terrible incident suddenly upends their lives and complicates them even further.
Essentially a simple story about two orphan brothers and their mutual struggle to eke out a living, the film takes a well-worn premise and extends it into a terrific showcase for director Jin Ong, its naturalistic actors, and generally the whole production crew. This is a quietly powerful work that lingers long after being seen, avoiding sensationalism and violence in favor of a bleak, despairing mood and character building. It has a slice-of-life feel, but lightly mixed with genre elements in order to accentuate the hardship of the brothers' lives. Indeed, these people are decent, driven to tough choices by circumstances out of their control, Abang Adik argues. And they are easy to sympathize with even when you can't quite understand them.
The cinematography here is pretty great, with its strong camerawork and vibrant colors. When the very pretty soundtrack joins in, it becomes obvious a lot of care has gone into creating this indie film. It's a testament to strong filmmaking coming from a country that's prone to heavily censoring its artists. And I must not forget to mention Jack Tan and Wu Kang-ren, who play their roles to near perfection. The latter, especially, delivers a moving monologue that won't leave people untouched, and in sign language no less!
Definitely recommended for fans of gritty dramas.