“Pendatang” is a very important film for Malaysian cinema, in a year the local industry seems to be taking a leap. The film is the country's inaugural crowd-funded and locally-produced film, and was released exclusively and for free on YouTube by the movie studio to avoid censorship and maintain its non-profit commitment stated on the Indiegogo crowd funding campaign page. From the 21st, when it was initially released, until now (December 28th) “Pendatang” (as it is its Malaysian title) has 550,000 views, perhaps suggesting a solution against the rather strict censorship policies the country implements.
The story takes place in a fictional version of Malaysia where a segregation act after the ‘927 incident' and the subsequent referendum has split the country's population according to their ethnicity, relocating the citizens to designated areas. In this setting, a Cantonese-speaking family of four is forced to relocate into a remote kampong house, despite the fact that the father, Wong, complains to the soldiers forcing the relocation that his young son, Bobby, has asthma and staying in the particular area would be rather difficult. Wong, who was about to have a significant professional success, sees his efforts going down the drain, but has decided to conform, in order to avoid the consequences on his kids, to the disgruntlement of his rather frustrated wife, Shan.
To their surprise, however, when they finally enter the house, they find that a young Malay girl is living on the roof, something that could cause a number of issues for both them and the girl. Wong wants to have nothing to do with her, even pondering turning her to the authorities, Shan feels some kind of motherly connection with her, while the kids just want to play with her. Gradually, they all start warming up to her, even calling her Panda, but the setting they inhabit is not exactly one to allow such joys, and soon, the clash with the authorities headed by Ho, becomes inevitable.
Ken Lin directs a story by Lim Boon Siang, who won a scriptwriting competition by Kuman Pictures (the production company behind the movie) in 2019, with a distinct purpose to make his sociopolitical comments, that occasionally extend to philosophical territory. The first and most obvious one is the blights of militaristic/fundamentalist regimes, with the way they implement the law, uprooting families without a second thought in this case, highlighting their practices. That the implementation comes from military forces, and the subsequent corruption that ensues when people (of the capacity) have too much power in their hands, is another central one. The lack of medicine and even food the family experiences, showcases that one of the biggest issues governments like that face is their inability to properly govern, equally in financial, administrative and political level, with the consequences essentially passed to their ‘subjects'. That the laws usually implemented in such regimes result in the rise of black markets, and subsequently, bribery and the rise of corruption, is also eloquently portrayed here. Lastly, that juntas cannot convince, and that is why they enforce through violence is another central comment, which, additionally, induces the movie with the change in style we witness in the last part.
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Apart from context, though, the script somewhat suffers in terms of logic, with a number of actions of the protagonists, particularly in their metastrophe, appearing rather far-fetched, with the drama and violence that eventually ensue additionally not handled that well from director Ken Lin. Scenes like the one with the escape in the truck in particular border on the absurd, while the resemblances with “Parasite” in terms of context, do become painfully obvious after a fashion.
The actors do the best with what they are given, with Fred Chan being quite convincing as the conformist, conservative pater familias, just as Mayjune Tan as his wife is in the somewhat opposite role. Shareen Yeo and Kyzer Tou in the roles of the kids are quite good as siblings, with the latter shining particularly in the dramatic aspects of the movie. Nick Davis as Ho on the other hand, is excessive in his portrayal of Ho, particularly in the last part of the movie.
Teck Zee Tan's cinematography captures the rural setting with artistry and realism, while the way the house is eventually presented as a location of terror is also quite good. The voyeuristic moments work quite well too. Yap Mun Ee Chloe's editing results in a mid-tempo for the majority of the movie, which picks up significantly as the movie reaches its final arc.
Despite the issues with the script and the transition in the last part, “Pendatang” manages to communicate its comments rather eloquently, while remaining entertaining from beginning to end, in a title that deserves a watch also for its importance.
