An Indonesian immigrant in a coastal city has become morose at his current situation. Both struggling with money and the realization that he will have to part ways with his foreign lover, the two take one last boat ride to reflect on their time together.
“Burung-Burung” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
Moving at a calculated pace, “Burung-Burung” gives a dreamlike rendition of the last day of two lovers. The harrowing scenario looks to celebrate that last moment, more so than dwell in the depressing conclusion, offering an ethereal love tale. However, the short film does struggle a bit with identity as a certain limitation bleed through to mar the overall experience, keeping the film teetering between idyllic romance and an underdeveloped end product.
To speak to the strengths, “Burung-Burung” contains a complimentary meditative flow that captures the sense of moroseness the main character experiences. Accompanied by a wonderful piano score, the short does a great job at projecting emotions onto the viewer and conveying the profundity of the romance it portrays. Within a runtime of only 15 minutes, it becomes the film's greatest feat to be able to establish a strong emotional connection to the immigrants' plight. Undeniably, this has proven to be a strength of director Anwar Johari Ho, as his previous film “Forget me not” offered up another elegant and subtle exploration of romance.
Where the flow ends up being somewhat hurt, comes down to the technical aspects of the production, with a notable over saturation of light that can subdue the beauty of certain sequences. The sound design can also feel rough in places, with the background noise taking president over the dialogue. Neither of these hindrances ruin the film or overall experience, but certainly limit it from reaching its full potential.
Given the film is free of dialogue, the performances feel secondary to the flow and atmosphere that Ho looks to establish. However, Reza Fahri and Alethia Subil compliment the narrative in showing an appropriate reserve tied to the sensitive scenario of parting ways. Their final meeting certainly conveys the sense of loss and longing that weighs down their characters.
“Burung-Burung” is a bit rough around the edges, leading to the technical portion falling short of the, otherwise, impactful short film. The talent of director Anwar Johari Ho still shines through in spite of these shortcomings, giving good reason to be excited about future projects from the Malaysian director as he is able to further refine his creative vision.
