Ode To Yasmin

My first Yasmin Ahmad movie was Sepet. I don't normally watch a Malay movie in cinema. No wait..I NEVER watch a Malay movie in the cinema but there was one day when me and my good friend, Cik Doreen decided to catch that movie. I remembered she told me that this movie seems good. Thus, being a Mass Communication students that we were, we went and check it out! What can I say about the movie? Although it is a budgeted movie, the storyline is real good. Plots, characters and locations are all perfect to the 'T'. Yasmin Ahmad has the unconventional way to tell out stories that really relate to our daily lives. Although some may say is controversial but deep down, they got to admit. That is Malaysia. No matter how you bend and fold, the issues raised by Yasmin Ahmad truly exist and circulating us.

When I was watching Sepet, I was so engaged with the love life of Orked and Jason that at the end of the movie, I was rooting for both of them to be together. Sepet is simply not just about Orked and Jason. It is about friendship and familyhood too. A dysfunctional family where the dad used to beat the mum and now the mum is seeking 'revenge'. Also the friendship among good friends who will sacrifice for each other. I like the most is where Yasmin inserted Jason's mother as a Nyonya. You wouldn't know the feeling of being a Nyonya (although I'm probably only half or quarter Nyonya) and watching your own language on screen. It truly lifted out my roots. Inter-racial relationship and discrimination is something that are happening in Malaysia and Yasmin sorted that out in Sepet. At the end of the show, I came out of the cinema with a satisfying feeling that it is truly worth to watch Sepet. And true enough, I watched it three times more.

After Sepet, I came to admire more of Yasmin Ahmad's works. I didn't know that most of the Petronas heartwarming TV commercials are written and directer by her. Her creativity and style of telling stories simply gives me the inspirations because believe it or not, I dream of wanting to create such stories that not only will light up the audiences' hearts but also stresses on important issues. She called herself a storyteller which I truly agree. Her stories are so real that you know you can relate to your own experiences. Not only that, she lets you aware of the issues happening around you. She gives you realities but also she creates fantasies of her own. Today, she is the Malaysia filmmaker that I will always root for and seeing her garnered lots of awards from the international festivals really made me proud and respect her as she is lifting up our movie industry internationally. We need people like her who is daring to come out with true stories of lives and present them in an unconventional and intriguing style. We do not need more of 'unnecessary' movies that only seemed to be watched by a certain group of people. With Yasmin being a good example, I hope those who sees her as someone doing just to the industry will follow her footsteps. If I were given the chance, I would. Doesn't matter whether is writing stories or creating dramas/movies. I would do it!

I wrote this entry about Yasmin Ahmad because today thestar featured her. She humbly tells us of how she came up with stories that are so real and true because it connects with her life experiences. Besides that, she laid her terms clearly that she is like anyone else, no matter what races. Yasmin cares more for universal issues rather than specific culture, religion or race. It is a universal thing. She truly speaks like a true storyteller.

Note: After Sepet, there's Gubra (Sequel to Sepet) and Mukhsin (Prequel to Sepet).