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Hmmm... for some reason I can't cut and paste the article in. But it's a good one... in that it's BAD. Yes, 'Ciplak' has finally got a negative review! Check it out by clicking here. Oh, and scroll down to the comments section and watch as Izuan (of Auburn, who also plays 'Emoboy' in the movie) gets my back against some online haters. YOU MAH BUOY!!! Engaging indie flick - Ciplak NOW here’s a little treat for film fans and budding filmmakers alike. This is the feature film debut for local musician and independent filmmaker Khairil M. Bahar or Khai. However, what was supposed to be just a little film – he shot it on video for around RM10,000 and he wanted to prove he could make an entire movie by the time he was 26 – has turned out quite the opposite. Despite the film’s Malay title, it is actually an English language feature which Khai wrote, directed, produced and starred in. Taking his queue from Michael Caine’s performance in the classic Alfie, Khai plays Jo, a British undergraduate who’s back in Malaysia during his semester break and, what’s really interesting here is the film’s subject matter – piracy. Jo, a film fan himself, dresses, talks and behaves like various characters from his favourite films and Jo has a scam going. He plans to finance himself through film school by selling 175 pirated DVDs to a British gangster for £50 each. And as luck would have it, the police launch a raid and Jo loses his stash and he has to frantically acquire the 175 DVDs or be cut up into 175 pieces (so promises the Brit gangster). Take a listen and watch how Jo takes you through the motions of DVD piracy, which, being Malaysian, you’d immediately know what he is talking about. And this is something none of the other films in the cinema have to offer. Khai scores as a writer, director and especially as an actor since his character talks to the audience directly. This film is funny, entertaining and enlightening and for film fans and filmmakers, it is inspiring even. Not to be missed. – Rizal Johan (Rating: A) It was bound to happen. I had an inkling that it would happen. But I guess I was probably hoping it wouldn't. Whilst there have been many great reviews (and the one bad one) and songs of praises and a lot of job opportunities have sprouted from seeming nothing-ness due to 'Ciplak', there have also been the inevitable: internet comments section rants and raves about how shit the movie is. So far they've been confined to two places: Kakiseni and Think Online (and you can check out the bile by clicking the links). Amongst the choice comments were: "then not very malaysian lah..... mostly malay one? then all middle-upper-class, ugh." "self indulgent, westernized middle upper class malay (not malaysian) film elitism" And my personal favorite, "Khairil is but a smarmy smart aleck too big for his breeches who thinks spewing English colloqualism at a high speed and rattling off obscure films and directors would compensate for the lack of a concrete plot." Noice. So what have I been doing? Compiling them. And once I have enough, I'll be taking another step in trying my darndest to become one of my favorite directors (Kevin Smith) by copying the things he does. That's right: I'm collecting them all and I'm gonna reply to them. And, by God, it'll be fun. A review in Malay from the Berita Harian website can be read by clicking on the picture above or clicking here. God, I look quite chubby in that, don't I? Probably the most in-depth review yet. Noice. Bootlegging This is not saying that Khairil and his onscreen alter ego are exactly the same person. Khairil, a former copywriter who now plays in two indie bands and directs film, fell in love with the movies when he saw Back to the Future. Jo, a transnational student who spends most of his time in the UK, dreams of studying filmmaking in New York, and thinks he is on to a sure-fire formula for paying his way through an overseas education: he is back in Kuala Lumpur, putting together a shipment of bootleg DVDs to re-sell in England. But, irony of ironies, on the very day that he plans to collect the contraband, KL experiences the biggest ever police crackdown on video piracy in its history -- and everything that could go wrong, does go wrong. The rest of the film has Jo attempting to overcome a relentless series of misadventures. Ciplak, as befits its title, opens as a fast-paced documentary on the nature of video piracy in Malaysia: some facts are interesting, and the statistics are indeed alarming. One has always imagined that the piracy game has an impact upon Hollywood’s capacity for foreign earnings, but Ciplak mentions that -- according to a report on Malaysia conducted by the International Intellectual Property Alliance -- the USA lost an estimated USD188.4 million in potential revenue, in 2004 alone. When one savours that statistic, those cheeky vendors who approach us in not-so-furtive ways on the sidewalks of KL seem rather more powerful than previously imagined! As we chart Jo’s attempts at fulfilling his obsessive ambitions through video piracy, we see the unsubtle manner in which developing countries subvert the global trade in entertainment for their own purposes. There is something seductive about the unadulterated subversive-ness of intellectual and creative theft, however morally bankrupt and illegal it may be -- a Sticking It Up to the Man sentiment, almost. It is not uncommon for first features to delve into the personal -- many are ‘Portraits of the Filmmakers as Young Men or Women’, as it were. Ciplak explores the milieu of a young indie filmmaker in KL with a lot of earnest enthusiasm; the filmmaker clearly revels in exposing the quirky nature of that culture onscreen. True to form, Ciplak pays homage to the director’s favourite directors -- the likes of Robert Rodriguez and Kevin Smith, in this case -- and indeed the closing credits of the film acknowledge these obvious influences. The tendency to pastiche style is evident. The editing is frenetic, in all its homage to American indie aesthetics and its love of Tarantino-like segues -- and not badly done. This film is, fundamentally, one big long labour of love. Of course, like many labours of love, Ciplak has obvious flaws. One should never expect a film with a budget that would barely cover tea and coffee -- largely shot on weekends over a three- to four-month period -- to be a technically slick affair. Still, even a few out-of-focus scenes have a tendency to make whole films look a little sloppy -- and, while the camera work of Ariff Aris and Tony Pietra (and, in the UK, by Adam Laurence) is adequate and interesting, at times, it would be nice to see what this team could have achieved with more time and more money on their side. It is not expensive to shoot with clarity! Also, there is nothing wrong with stretching credibility in a narrative, but one needs great skill and finesse. Ciplak’s screenplay is just not ambitious enough to sustain such a goal. Structured episodically into chapters that define the events of Jo’s terrible day, the film has a tightly constructed feel to it -- but there is a limit to the amount of character development that can take place within 24 hours. Khairil has a flair for engaging with the camera -- which is just as well, since he is, after all, literally in one’s face for nearly the entire film: Jo addresses the camera quite frequently. Many of Ciplak’s supporting roles are mired in cliché and stereotype -- and there is an uneven performance pitching across the film -- but, when done well, they add nicely to the comic flair. Examples of this include the pleasant Fara Maria as the prone-to-porn Puteri; and that icon of local indie music, Hassan Peter Brown, as the delightfully-over-the-top Connoisseur -- quite mad, bad and ridiculously dangerous to know! The video piracy of Ciplak is not glorified, and Khairil goes through great pains to show the murkiness of that world; neither is it the point of the film. Instead, it provides a gritty and colourful backdrop to explore aspects of life in contemporary KL onscreen. As its premise indicates, the film is an exuberant production, aimed primarily at an audience seeking entertainment: the laughs here are edgy, and sophisticated in ways that are worthwhile. Most of the characters are not overly pleasant: Jo has an unfortunate tendency to misogyny; and, ultimately, he is driven by obsessive self-interest -- but even with all his flaws we still rather enjoy identifying with him. In fact, Jo is the heart of the movie, representing the peculiar cultural predicaments of trans-national students and their attempts to make sustained connections both at home and overseas. Malaysians who have studied abroad will find much in this film to relate to. He is shaped by the pressures, challenges and cultural cleavages that arise from an exchange with the foreign. Read on that level, Ciplak delivers more than the obvious entertainment elements that shape it. In a country that sends so many of its young people abroad for education, it continues to surprise me just how few Malaysians films there are that attempt to tackle the issues that arise from such practices. Ciplak does not delve deeply into this area -- deep delving is not what the film attempts, at all -- but it does address it, which is refreshing. The obsession with the movies, the soundtrack of quality local indie music (which I hope and trust gets the exposure it deserves): Ciplak is all about Khairil M Bahar -- and I mean that as a compliment. For all its faults, this film is a testament to one young filmmaker’s energy and enthusiasm. It is an up-close and personal diversion that manages to make even its mistakes endearing. I now look forward to seeing what Khairil may come up with, if given a decent budget. For RM10,000, Ciplak is a minor miracle. ~~~ Ciplak is in cinemas now. Moon river's playing on the speakers of the outdoor area of the Old Wing Coffee Bean of One Utama. I'm sat smack in the middle, facing the highway, and the faint smell of durian is in the air. (Who the flying fuck brings durian to Coffee Bean? Does an Arabica blend complement the pungent odour of the king of fruits?) I'm sat here surfing on-line, salivating over the Clerks II special edition on the View Askew website, thinking about the movies I've been watching and the DVD's I want and all these thoughts in my head just strengthen what I've known all along. Piracy sucks. I've got DVDs that are out of sync. I've got DVDs with incredibly shitty transfers. But most of all, I've got DVDs that won't play, even though they played two years ago, or even one year ago, or even three days ago. The shelf life of pirated DVDs is insanely short. Especially the current ones on the market that are obviously duplicated using a much more 'cost-effective' method which leads to a short lifespan. You can tell just by putting the DVD up against the light - the fuckers are see through, for Gods sake! Compare it with an original DVD, shiny and silvery, as opposed to the current pirate batches, gold and transparent and not worth a damn. And since I have an original branded DVD player, not many of the current pirated DVDs run on it. And isn't it strange that, instead of taking advantage of this fact so as to point out the poor quality of pirated DVDs, manufacturers in Malaysia instead produce DVD players that are specifically designed to play the shittiest duplicated DVDs known to man? Anyone notice that? Yes, I know. I made a movie about piracy which didn't explicitly state the evils of piracy (if you thought I was gonna cop out like Remp-It did by having the guy die you must be out of your mind) but that doesn't mean I believe in it. I don't condone it. I'm just stuck in the same situation that I presented in the movie: that in Malaysia, piracy is the only choice. And it's pissing me off more and more. Case in point: there are only two of the movies from my Kevin Smith collection that actually work on my DVD player - my original Clerks X box set and Jersey Girl (which I actually enjoy as a movie, but don't really feel the need to watch it repeatedly). Mallrats stalls at the one hour mark, Chasing Amy refuses to play, Dogma is jumpy and Clerks 2 flat out refuses. It's bugging me more and more these days, because I'm a repeat watcher kinda guy, and I want my fucking movie dose. And I eat up movies like M&M's, there's no way I can afford to buy the movies off Amazon, and even then, there's no way I can know for certain the movies'll come through. My friend ordered Buena Vista Social Club three years ago off of Amazon and it's still with customs. Sigh... maybe I should make me one of those powerpoint presentations about piracy the way Gore did about the environment, tour some colleges or something. Try to make a difference. Tell the country what needs to be done, try to get some shit moving in the bowels of the government. Then I could film it like Gore did and release it. Hah. And that's not the end of the story. Later, he managed to secure exhibition with Malaysia's biggest cinema chain, Golden Screen Cinemas, and the film is currently showing at GSC's International Screens, a space set up specially for foreign films and local independent productions. Not bad for a film made for less than RM10,000, which is roughly less than $2,600. Ciplak, is a Malay slang which means "to plagiarise" or "to pirate." As a noun, it also means "bootleg." The story almost reflects Khai's own real-life aspirations. He wrote, directed, acted in, and edited the film about Jo, a university student who dreams of becoming a filmmaker. To earn enough money to enroll himself into the New York Film School, he becomes a conduit between the DVD pirates in Malaysia and their counterparts in the UK. The film takes place mostly over one day, when the things that could go wrong, go wrong for Jo. A fast-paced comedy that thrives on sheer energy and the motormouth monologue of its lead character, Ciplak is a hodge-podge of homages to Khai's influences, which he wears unabashedly on his sleeves, everything from Back To The Future to Fight Club. In the film, Khai even acknowledges Robert Rodriguez as his favourite director. With such a small budget and guerilla production, it's only natural that some glaring flaws appear, but Ciplak can hardly be called a slapdash job. The film's greatest strength is in its editing, and amazingly enough, although every one of the actors is his friend, Khai's casting is very spot-on. What's even more amazing is that Ciplak got passed by the censors even though its subject matter of film piracy is potentially controversial. Of course, because of its subject matter, Khai was asked to make certain changes to the film, and he did it in some creative and very humorous ways. The trailer can be found at the film's official website. You can read more about the production at the website and also at the director's blog. By The Visitor "...we'll need you to e-mail your CV and send us a showreel as well. We know you're famous, but unfortunately it's required." Roughly translated quote from a phone conversation this morning with a production company. I'm famous? That's weird. Incredibly weird. Then again, there's been a lot of positive press coverage these past few weeks, so I guess my face is plastered about everywhere. No cover shoots yet, though. Then again, can't imagine what magazine would possibly want me on the cover. "So, our choices for this months cover are Daphne Iking, Chermaine Poo, Hanah Tan, Marion Counter, Tata Young and some local indie filmmaker." "Has the indie filmmaker got nice tits?" "Well, it's a he, not a she. But he is quite tubby. Maybe if we get him to squeeze them together..." "...er. No." The press on Ciplak has been amazing, though it hasn't pumped up ticket sales over the past week. Whilst Cicakman hits a record number of RM350,000 on its opening day, Ciplak is struggling. The extended run helped a bit, but for some reason people seemed to have thought that Ciplak was only running for one day. It's still in cinemas, dammit! Diana brought up a good point, though: the movie was never supposed to be in cinemas, so the fact that it is and a few thousand people are watching it is a good thing. It's also a good thing because it's turned into the best calling card a filmmaker could hope for. Since the movie's release I've been getting calls from two production companies to come up with some stuff on TV and a well known international company that may or may not want me to do a short film for them with a budget that they call modest but I reckon is enough to make me go all Bruckheimer on your ass. Producers want to meet as well as potential actresses ('nuff said). Where do these people get my number, though? At a meeting, I kept asking the company where they got my number. They simply replied, "We have ways." In a way it's kinda freaky. It's one short step from "hi, we'd like you to direct an episode of so-and-so" to "I can see you sleeping." Fear of stalkers aside, the offers are good. My only worry, though, is whether I can live up to them. I've proven I can do stuff on a budget, but with a buget? And a crew? And a time limit? The expectations are kinda scaring me a bit, as well as the question that I get asked time and time again: "So what's your next movie going to be about? Any plans?" My honest response? Haven't a fucking clue. It's the damn expectations, they're kinda freaking me out. And I honestly don't know what to do next. Should I continue with the stories of Jo? 'Ciplak' is actually the second part of a loose trilogy of three scripts I wrote with the same character. Or should I do the horror/action film I've always wanted to do? Or just a flat out action film? Or something more serious? Or what? All I know is there's a lot of writing to be done. Lots and lots. And I haven't had much time to sit down and write any scripts yet, just ideas. Plenty of ideas. None of them crystalized. Till one of them does, I'll keep fielding these offers and figure something out. One thing I do know, though: I really, really, really want to make a movie in Malaysia with an 18 rating. Ciplak has been nominated for the 'Best Alternative Cinema' category in the 8th Anugerah Skrin 2006 which will be happening this Friday. For those of non-Malaysian origin, the Aungerah Skrin is, I guess, the Oscars and the Golden Globes rolled into one, where movies and TV get their moments in the spotlight. Last year 'Chemman Chalai' won, and they sent the director to Universal Studios, Warner Bros Studios and Disneyland, so if all goes well I'll finally have a chance to live that childhood dream of meeting Goofy... ...and kicking him square in the fucking nuts. Wish me luck, peeps. P.S. Nora Danish is presenting an award, apparently. Hehe. So here I am in another of my many places of hangy-outy-ness, typing away on my blog (which some have argued is simply an excuse to procrastinate over the work that I'm supposed to be doing). After this it's off to the studio to edit more Soundstage videos whilst also mixing down some music and attempting to write scripts. Ah, there's the rub. At the moment, I've been helping as a 'script doctor' of sorts for a friend of mine, the talented Rauf Fadzilla ('T-Fresh' in Ciplak), who's been working on some scripts. And whilst I find no problem whatsoever in pulling a hundred and one ideas out of my ass to help with his script, to work on any one of my own has become a chore of epic fucking proportions. I've got a sitcom idea I'm working on, possible telemovies, a short film and the answer to the eternal question of 'what movie are you gonna do next?'. And, apart from idea sheets, I haven't typed a single line of script. Grrr. Aargh. Ah, well. One must endeavour to keep on trying. Meanwhile, I take good shit. |
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If anything, Ciplak is a triumph of sheer willpower over insurmountable odds. Its director, 26-year-old self-professed film addict Khairil Bahar (or Khai to his friends), decided he would have to make a film before he turned 26, went out and bought a Canon XM2 MiniDV camera, got all his friends to help out, and shot Ciplak over weekends for three months last year.