« VIFF 2009 | McDull Kung Fu Kindergarten | Main | VIFF 2009 | Night and Fog »
VIFF 2009 | Karaoke
By VIFF Correspondent Pennylane ShenKaraoke
Malaysia, 2009, 74min
DIR: Chris Chong (Chong Chan Fui)
Former resident-Canadian director Chris Chong Chan Fui returns to his Malaysian roots with his feature-length film directorial debut, Karaoke.
The highly-anticipated film opens with voice-over conversations heard amidst a bustling karaoke bar. The server is Betik (Zahiril Adzim), a recent graduate returning home from Kuala Lumpur to his small village in the Malaysian countryside. His mother is the recently widowed owner of the modest establishment, which she runs with Betik's uncle. Determined to help his mother by taking over the family business, Betik settles into the life he always assumed he'd have. He even pursues a recent love interest, Anisah, and all seems to be going well until Betik's expectations and aspirations begin to deteriorate.
With a background in experimental film, it is no wonder that Chong poetically divides the film between Betik's story, cheesy karaoke videos and the constantly-altered landscape of the Malaysian countryside under palm oil industrialization. Starring in a few karaoke videos himself, the ironic pangs of reality slowly become clear to Betik - his idyllic perception of a countryside home are merely a delusion.
As a testament to the attention sparking on Malaysian cinema, Karaoke was screened and nominated for a Camera d'Or award at the 62ndAnnual Cannes Film Festival. Chong hopes the film properly characterizes and represents Malaysian filmmaking, giving it an idiosyncratic style and voice.
Dragons & Tigers Award Nominee
Schema Magazine's coverage of VIFF 2009 is sponsored by the Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.schemamag.ca/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1353
October 16, 2009 at 12:38 AM
Comments (0)
Permalink
Recent Posts
The Final Paul Wong Experience 5.5 Five Elements on March 13th!
International Women's Week: Jessica Yee
Statistics Canada predicts that half of second-generation Canadians would be visibly diverse
Homeless Man as Fashion Icon | Brother Sharp
Shop For Free! At The Frock Swap 4.0
Advertisement
Tags
(23)
(1)
(2)
(3)
(2)
(1)
(6)
(48)
(1)
(11)
(12)
(5)
(1)
(2)
(5)
(5)
(15)
(1)
(9)
(5)
(4)
(1)
(1)
(10)
(5)
(43)
(1)
(2)
(12)
(1)
(70)
(3)
(27)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(17)
(7)
(45)
(2)
(2)
(16)
(7)
(6)
(1)
(19)
(2)
(5)
(5)
(77)
(57)
(1)
(3)
(3)
(93)
(8)
(1)
(45)
(2)
(3)
(33)
(3)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(7)
(3)
(1)
(20)
(2)
(16)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(5)
(10)
(35)
(5)
(2)
(3)
(37)
(1)
(2)
(1)
(50)
(1)
(22)
(1)
(35)
(4)
(1)
(1)
(2)
(2)
(8)
(1)
(22)
(1)
(2)
(29)
(26)
(25)
(12)
(1)
(10)
(43)
(2)
(1)
(40)
(1)
Archives
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
Advertisement