Puteri Gunung Ledang

I know I'm a bit ketinggalan zaman (or a lot, rather), but I finally watched Puteri Gunung Ledang last night. Shin Hann had the vcd so Vasan, him and I saw it on my laptop. Apart from the company - which was excellent - I have to say that it fell short of my expectations. Below are some reasons why *spoilers ahead!!*:

1) I didn't see the RM16 juta spent on the movie.

2) It was supposed to be an epic love story. There was no chemistry between the two lead characters. If it wasn't for the physical contact between the two I wouldn't have guessed that they were in love. Ummm I know this is kind of a prudish question, tapi zaman tu boleh ke pegang anak dara orang sesuke hati jek?. I thought that was the point of the dance they did together - another way of expressing their feelings, because physical touch between ppl of opposite sexes was taboo (well not to say zaman sekarang ni boleh la, but that's looking at it from another point of view...).

3) No one's character was developed properly, most of all Hang Tuah's (which was of paramount importance). I feel the screenwriter presumed that everyone who watches the movie have prior knowledge of Hang Tuah's legendary loyalty to the king. This was not very evident in the movie. Despite my knowledge on that matter, I got a bit confused when Hang Tuah suddenly gave Tun Mamat his persalinan to be given to the Sultan, saying that he failed to carry out his duties (I was thinking "Huh? Failure? Like, how? Pasal tetibe lak ni?")

4) I feel Sofea Jane's character as Tun Teja in the movie was unnecessary. She didn't add anything to the storyline. I also saw the scenes edited out from the movie, which showed a flashback when Hang Tuah 'kidnapped' Tun Teja from Pahang for the Sultan. If that was included in the movie then I guess Sofea Jane's appearance in the movie would've made sense (you know, the whole Hang Tuah's I-would-do-anything-for-my-Sultan thing).

5) Don't you think the Sultan was a little bit...ummm..'lustful' in some scenes? In others he looked so puzzled with whatever sweet nothings whispered by the pembesar istana, which only showed that not all of noble birth are endowed with intelligence as well.

6) Some parts of the dialogue were so out of place. They seemed too modern to be uttered by anyone from the 16th century.

7) Sabri Yunus' rambling about pelempang bugis and pelempang jawa and pelempang arab and pelempang rawa got a bit tedious after the first two times. What was that supposed to be, comic relief?

7) Don't get me wrong, I'm okay with men expressing themselves, but I think the whole hugging 'I feel your pain, man' scene between Datuk Bendahara and Hang Tuah was a bit, ummm...gay. C'mon, 16th century men don't hug like that! (at least, I don't think so..)

8) Gusti Putri's Javanese accent so tak jadi.

9) With all her mystical powers (the telepathic communication with her brother, the whole manipulation of nature thing), Gusti Putri still lost to the Sultan, a simpleton as he was. She couldn't do anything when he put that curse on her. I guess that's what happens when you langgar daulat Sultan. Hmmm being the Sultan certainly has its benefits....

10) The ending was a bit tergantung. So what happened to Hang Tuah? Well, I know la what happened, but it didn't have a good enough closure. So what, he wondered on top of Gunung Ledang for the rest of his life? Did he see her and then die an awful death? What? What??

Okay! now the good points (ummm...lebih kurang la..):

1) Loved the music

2) Good fighting scenes, although I think men flying across the field after being hit and levitating in the air were a bit overdone. But, since all movies do it nowadays I guess we have to keep up with the times.

3) I liked the scene when Gusti Putri did the dance and she coyly flicked her kain and showered Hang Tuah with the flowers. VERY cute. (But do Princesses dance in front of people? Isn't that, ummm..beneath their station? But still....nice touch)

4) I'm a sucker for Bahasa Melayu yang berbunga-bunga. So I kinda liked the fact that they were sprouting words of wisdom every minute or so. My favourite line : "Kalau nak menurut biar berakal, mengikut biar pintar.." Fulamak! Cayalah M Nasir!! (hahah!)

5) You know the part when Gusti Putri changed into the nenek kebayan? I thought that was freaky! Also the whole singing thing! Patutla org kata Gunung Ledang tempat keras...seram kalau dengar orang nyanyi camtu!

6) I also liked the part when the rombongan meminang was attacked by the jungle creepers. Gusti Putri's moves looked quite impressive.

Overall, it was a good effort, but it had so much potential that was untapped. I feel that they should've explored more on Hang Tuah's loyalty to the Sultan, and how his own principles were finally challenged when he fell in love (so then Gusti Putri's bitter words "Tuah tetap Tuah.." would've been justified). But, unfortunately, like most filem Melayu, they only tell tales of people, and don't go deep into the characters' roles and explore the complexities of human emotions.

Now THAT is a tragedy of epic proportions.