Chris Chong’s Karaoke in the cinema now

So last night, I went to watch Chris Chong’s Karaoke – only the second Malaysian film to be screened at the Director’s Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

It opened in GSC Mid Valley yesterday (about a year after the film was completed) and will only run for a week.

I promised Chris, a good friend, that I’d help him plug the show. After all, we have to support local productions and I was really excited to see what Chris had in store for us. The story is simple – set in a karaoke centre in the middle of a palm oil plantation, Karaoke sees Betik returning to his kampung after spending many years in the city. He meets new people, sees new things and realises that things are never the same again.

I didn’t want to talk about the show before I watched it. I have to say – and this is totally unbiased – that I liked the movie. Sure, it’s not your typical commercial films – so if you’re expecting great effects, baltant funny and poignant moments etc then this movie is probably not for you.

However, if you do appreciate the beauty of art films – then the script is very smart, Shanon Shah’s lyrics are genius and the cinematography is beautiful.

There are a lot of slow moments – I suspect both to reflect and to show the beauty of the area – so you might not appreciate it too much if you’re used to Hollywood movies. But Chris is a very, very smart director – I love how he’s played with our minds a bit – where is this location, what’s it all about, what’s he trying to tell us, is there a bigger picture to this piece?

I haven’t asked him about it, and I’m not sure if I will. I have formed my own ideas and taken whatever I could from the film. I loved that there is social commentary hidden in the piece, very subtle, and that the story isn’t over complicated.

So, if you’re all for supporting local films, and checking out what talents we have in this country (and we do have talent), then give this a go.

Here’s a video interview Sharm did for R.AGE where she talks to Chris about Karaoke and his experience at the Cannes Film Festival 2009.

Visit the film’s Facebook page for details!

11.40am Malaysian time (+8 GMT)

Tags: cannes film festival, chris chong, gsc midvalley, karaoke, shanon shah, zahiril adzim