Selubung

Synopsis

Halim, Mastura and EJ are a group of final year students studying at University Western Australia, Perth. EJ, a top student and also a scholarship recipient, always skip class to attend talks organised by the religious extremist group led by Brother Musa. EJ chose to quit studying and decides to marry Brother Musa as his second wife. EJ and Mastura are best friends. Mastura wish to help war refugees. After she graduated, she returned to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and signed up to be a volunteer at 'Rescaid' (Rescue Aid International). Besides volunteering at 'Rescaid Malaysia', Mastura also works as an engineer at TCT Safira Holding. There, she met Kamal, the managing director of TCT, who is also a divorcee. Mastura and Kamal started dating each other. Halim on the other hand, went to the Middle East to help out at the Lebanon's Refugee Camp after graduating. EJ fell sick after she gave birth to her child. Hani, Brother Musa's first wife who was mentally unstable after her child died at birth killed EJ's child. EJ's health condition got worst after that. After EJ recovered, she returned to Kuala Lumpur while Brother Musa went to help out at Lebanon. Mastura organised a campaign to help the children refugees at Lebanon. Kamal and EJ also became volunteers at 'Rescaid'. Halim got killed at the Lebanon's Refugee Camp Base. Dr Sardar, the person-in-charge of 'Rescaid Malaysia' received a warning asking her to stop the campaign in which they all ignored. After that, Rescaid Malaysia's office branch had a bomb explosion which caused Mastura to be badly injured. The campaign carried on as planned and it was a success. Mastura finally recovered and 'Rescaid Malaysia' continues their efforts to help those in need.

Reviews

What I like about the film is the spirit of helping those in need that is portrayed in the film. The message is shown by the 'Rescaid' volunteers good intention to help the children refugees in Lebanon. Children are the most innocent soul of all. This is shown in the film through a scene where the Middle East's children playing happily together although there is a war outbreak in their country. In their efforts on helping the children refugees, the 'Rescaid' volunteers faced many obstacles but they never gave up. This shows how dedicated the 'Rescaid' volunteers are in helping those in need. A particular part that I like most in the film is where the Middle East's children managed to arrive in Malaysia safely. It was a very heartwarming scene to me. All the efforts of the 'Rescaid' volunteers were not in vain but worthwhile. Most importantly, the children are no longer living in fear of danger. Many children living in war zone areas died in vain when wars occurs.

What I do not like about the film is the usage of parallel editing. This editing technique which looks like a jump-cut from one scene to another scene makes the storyline of the film blur and confusing. I was irritated by the parallel editing while watching the film because the storyline does not progress smoothly. For example, the scene where Mastura was attending her company's annual dinner then suddenly it cut to the scene where Mastura was at Terengganu meeting Tok Nizam then it cut again to the scene of the Lebanon's Refugee Camp.

Another thing that I do not like about the film is Mr. Kamal, the leading male character in the film. My first impression of Mr. Kamal is a career man whom is wealthy, educated, successful and thoughtful. But after he started dating Ms. Mastura, the leading female character of the film, his character changed to a person whom is long-winded and persistent, a little different than my first impression of him. For example, Kamal keeps on asking Mastura whether she misses or loves him or not till she replies him. This dialogue was rephrase and repeated in a few scenes. These parts of the film makes me feel that the storyline is a little too draggy and repetitive.

In the aspects of mise-en-scene, there are four general areas and its uses which are settings; costumes and make-up; lighting plus staging. The settings of the film is mainly in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. But the film also includes other places like Terengganu, Perth and Lebanon.

Costumes have a causal role in the narrative of the film. For example, Mastura's costumes are mainly progressive and modern. This shows that Mastura is a modern and westernised person. Mastura also practises her religion because when she went to visit EJ at her wedding, she wore baju kurung and also a scarf on her head. On the other hand, EJ is a traditional and religious person because she is conservatively clothed throughout the film. In the film, Mastura puts on more make-up compared to EJ. This portrays their differences because make-up brings out the character's personality traits.

The quality of the film's lighting is mainly soft light throughout the film. There are some scenes which uses hard light like the scene where Kamal was comforting Mastura after Halim and Wn Ng's death. All the path of light direction were used in the film. For example, silhouette also known backlighting was used in the scene where Kamal was spending some time alone at the hilltop. Most scenes in the film uses the same lighting source design with the setting. Coloured light was also used in the film. For example, blue coloured light was used when Halim and Wn Ng died at the Lebanon's Refugee Camp Base. Blue is a cold colour which represents the mood of sadness.

Staging refers to the movement and acting of the performer. The actor's performance consists of visual elements like the appearance, facial expressions and gestures of the performer; and sounds like effects and the performer's voice. Visual elements were portrayed by the actors and actresses involved the film. The performer's voice also change according to the mood of the characters. Sound effects were also used in the film like the sounds of gun shoots and bomb explosions at Lebanon, the war zone country.