MALAYSIAN CINEMA—Twitch Updates

As the San Francisco International Film Festival was my first exposure to Malaysian cinema, it seems only appropriate that I single out that the 2007 SFIFF50 program includes the international premiere of Yasmin Ahmad's Mukhsin.

Yasmin's Mukhsin is the third in a trilogy of films that began with Sepet and continued with Gubra, which I mentioned in passing here on The Evening Class and Todd Brown reviewed more fully at Twitch when Gubra was first distributed, and then later when it transferred to DVD. Twitch team mate "The Visitor" likewise interviewed Yasmin. Most recently, Twitch team mate Stefan reviewed her latest Mukhsin.

At her own blog, The Storyteller, Yasmin provides the Wislawa Szymborska poem that "influenced the flavor" of Mukhsin, discusses the memories that shaped the structure of the film, and offers the presiding culinary metaphor of "green tea over rice" to provide insight into the film. It's a blessing to have Yasmin relay her impressions on her own creation. I regret so much that Yasmin is not expected to attend the festival as I had welcomed the opportunity to talk to her.

SFIFF50 is also presenting the Malaysia/Hong Kong co-production of Patrick Tam's After This Our Exile, which Todd Brown reviewed when the film made its North American premiere as the opening night feature of the 2006 Reel Asian Film Festival. After This Our Exile went on to win Best Feature Film at the 43rd Golden Horse Awards, among other honors which "The Visitor" lists in his report.

Clearly, I have relied heavily on Twitch to keep abreast of Malaysian cinema, especially since Koay joined the team; but, a cursory search at the site reveals an ongoing focus on Malaysian fare to which several writers have contributed. Since my last summary of reports from Twitch, there have been several new additions including The Gommorahizer's review of Puaka Tebing Biru, "The Visitor"'s review of Chermin, and his sad (though unsurprising) report on the Malaysian government's censorship ban of both Amir Muhammad's Village People Radio Show and Tsai Ming-liang's I Don't Want to Sleep Alone.

Tsai Ming-liang's I Don't Want to Sleep Alone will have its San Francisco premiere at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Screening Room at 7 & 9 pm on Thursday, April 19-Saturday, April 21; 4 & 7pm on Sunday, April 22, thanks to the collaborative foresight of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Strand Releasing.

Countering the depressing news of censorship is the good news of alternate access. Amir Muhammad's The Last Communist is now available on DVD and several Malaysian films, including The Last Communist, are now available through Firecracker's TV service, which incidentally offers a free interview with Amir Muhammad on these ongoing censorship issues. Listening to Amir is always informative entertainment.

Cross-published on Twitch.