The indie scene is getting more abuzz. We’ve just mentioned about Ramly At War, and now there is Karaoke, a full length feature film by Chris CHONG.
Judging by his resume, Chris sure has set his ambitions high. Firstly, Chris is a recipient for the Asian Scholarship Foundation (Ford Foundation), and in 2006, he was invited to Pusan’s Asian Film Academy.
And though somewhat a newcomer, Chris has been making waves. His previous works has been winning prizes overseas: his experimental work Block B won the top short film prize at Argentina’s 2008 Mar del Plata Film Festival and the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival for the second year in a row (2007’s Kolam also picked up the same prize in Toronto). Block B has also been invited to the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s Tiger competition and the Berlin Film Festival in 2009.
And then comes Karaoke, which has been selected to the 2009 CANNES’ DIRECTORS FORTNIGHT. Well, with such a resume, his new movie sure is worth checking out for.
SYNOPSIS
In a rural Malaysian oil palm estate, Betik returns home from the big city of Kuala Lumpur. Betik looks to turn his life around and build a future back home with his mother after the death of his father a few years ago. Betik’s absence from the funeral is seen by his mother as a silent betrayal.
To regain his rhythm of living back home, he takes on a day job shooting karaoke videos. At night, he tries to help his mother at the family’s karaoke bar downstairs – a karaoke where the local Indian estate workers, their families, and the Malay Muslim villagers next door gather and sing.
Each song resonates for someone in the villages. And it is here that Betik meets a girl who seduces him with a future that he has come back for. A job, love and a family. His return home comes together quickly. But nobody is as naïve as they seem. Everybody wants something.
In the innocence of a small village in the estate, subtle manipulations and deceptions seep through. The songs continue to be sung, unwavering. The home has changed. The palm trees have grown in endless symmetry. The landscape rusts and nostalgia turns.
*Karoke opens 26 Nov – 2 December in GSC Cinemas.