Talentime by Yasmin Ahmad

Note: This is not a movie review. However, there may be spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.

The bf and I recently went and watched Talentime, 2-3 days after its released in local cinemas. It was a much deserved break for the bf and a chance for the both of us to spend some quality time together. Also, the both of us are Yasmin Ahmad’s fan and could not resist not going for Talentime.

This is the first time in a really long time since I last catch a movie WITHOUT reading the synopsis first. Also, based on the teasers that I have seen on TV so far, I naively had the impression that Talentime would be light-hearted movie. Boy, was I proven wrong.

Ladies and gentlemen, this IS a Yasmin Ahmad movie. Her movies are always guaranteed to be dramatic and contain heavy social themes that plague multicultural societies like Malaysia, despite the sporadic comedic relief peppered in Talentime. Anyway, my naivety aside, I was thoroughly surprised at the themes that were explored in Talentime. Let’s just say that I left the cinema close to tears at how things turned out for some of the characters in the movie.

True to Yasmin Ahmad’s style, one can always find the theme of  inter-racial relationship explored in her movies, as shown in Talentime. However, the relationship contains a new twist that most major filmmakers will shy away from – the protagonist is deaf AND mute. However, the core theme that was explored this time around was race. The prejudice, the stigmatisation, the clashes, the fights, the deaths in the movie were all based on race issues and some of them were based on true events i.e. the clash and fight between the Indians and Malays which caused the death of Mahesh ’s uncle.

There were also several scenes in the movie that sounded and looked too familiar. In fact, I’m pretty sure that all of us would have experienced such things at least once in our lifetime, if not more. There was one particular scene where the mother of the boy, who came from an Indian family, was ranting about the injustices that Malay folks in general dish out to the people from other races. The rant was a familiar speech that I had seen and heard from friends and families for many years, especially of late.

The one scene that hits a sore spot for me is the prejudice that Datin Kalsom showed towards Aunty Mei Ling. Aunty Mei Ling may be a Chinese but she is a Muslim. Datin Kalsom, without knowing that Aunty Mei Ling is Muslim, made many insensitive remarks to both Aunty Mei Ling and the Harith family, which shown her to be a prejudicial, racist and uneducated person. It was only after Mrs Harith explained Aunty Mei Ling’s background did Datin Kalsom appeared to look embarrassed at her non-factual remarks.

One of the main reasons why this particular scene made me feel as if my stomach has been punched real hard and I’m out of breath was because I will be in Aunty Mei Ling’s position in the near future. If I were to marry the bf, I have no choice but to convert and try to adopt the Islamic lifestyle. Other Malays and Muslims who does not know that I’m Muslim then, may and will probably react the way Datin Kalsom did towards me because in their eyes, I will be 100% Chinese.

That aside, I thought Yasmin Ahmad really bite the bullet and air all racial issues as it is, without trying to make light of these issues that are so real in our world. The bf and I could relate to the movie in so many levels because more than half the issues and themes explored, are actual events that we are facing right now.

Overall, Talentime is definitely food for thought. I still think about the issues that were brought up in it up to this day.