'Ciplak' reviewed on Star Online - justin_guber

'Ciplak' reviewed on Star Online

Pirate with a passion
By Elizabeth Ng
Ciplak
Rating(out of 5): * * * ½
Starring: Khairil M. Bahar, Faizal Painchun, Ben & CK, Sara Dalina, Ben Begin, Abdul Qahar, Fara Maria, Tony Pietra, Saiful Freezailah, Hassan Peter Brown and Nazneen Halim
What do you know, we have guys like Brian Herzlinger around. The kind of guy who has pluck, passion and ambition, and who is not afraid to set things in motion to achieve his goal.
Oh, the name doesn’t quite ring a bell, does it? Well for those not in the know, Brian is actually an average joe, who has had the longest crush on Drew Barrymore.
However, he’s not your ordinary fan boy as he dreamt big and eventually, against all odds, secured a date with Barrymore. True story.
And the events leading up to the milestone event – not only for Brian the fan boy, but Brian the aspiring filmmaker – is depicted in My Date with Drew, a low-budget but highly entertaining feature…that eventually went big.
Armed with only US$1,100; helpful friends, nifty editing and a borrowed camera, Brian had 30 days (before he had to relinquish ownership of the camera) to secure a date with his idol.
But this review isn’t supposed to be on Brian’s gem of a film. Instead, it’s about an aspiring Malaysian filmmaker’s little gem of his own entitled Ciplak. In many ways, Khairil M. Bahar reminds one of Brian.
Armed with a budget under RM10,000; helpful friends; nifty editing; a solid script and an ambition to shoot a feature before turning 26, Khairil’s low-budget feature – like Brian’s – is highly entertaining.
(Oh, just FYI, there isn’t a 30-day time limit in making this feature as the filmmakers paid RM8,500 for the camera.)
For the earnestness that went into making it, Ciplak gives out an enthusiastic, raw and honest vibe.
The film latches on to a very Malaysian issue: DVD piracy. Told through the eyes of the consumer, we follow the foibles and misadventures of an undergrad named Jo (Khairil) who smuggles DVDs from Malaysia and sells them on the UK black market as masters. Needless to say, the premise is easily relatable to a local audience and while the subject matter can be sensitive, everything is delivered candidly with a healthy dose of wit.
The hard truths of why the industry thrives despite being an illegal trade are laid bare. And as the film unfolds, we discover why Jo is involved in the business – ironically, he wants to get into film school – and the sacrifices he makes to achieve his dream.
Well, we say “sacrifice” because things go very wrong for the bloke on the day he is to collect his largest-ever supply. He unfortunately picks the very day KL is hit with the biggest anti-piracy raid in history. Soon, he loses his stash and his contacts in England want to make mincemeat out of him.
And so, Joe takes the audience on an educational yet engrossing quest to collect all the missing titles.
This breaking of the fourth wall works for the flick as Jo is an affable protagonist. Among other things, he directly informs the audience about the differences between DVDs and VCDs; the varying audio and video quality of the offerings (the movie changes accordingly, cool stuff); and even squeezes in bits on porn – of course, done through a cleverly pre-censored sequence.
The film has punch and sincerity written all over it and for a topic that nobody wants to readily own up to, this flick owns up to a whole lot, which makes it a refreshing change for local moviegoers.
But underneath all that straight, in-your-face talk about illegal wares, there’s a quieter and slightly weak message on not conforming. It’s pretty indistinct and you’ll have to look a little closer to catch the nuance.
Nonetheless, Ciplak is thoroughly entertaining and if Khairil has luck on his side, this little project – which was entirely edited on the director’s home computer – could go far.
After all, look what luck did for Brian: he got his date with Barrymore (and has kept in touch with her since); a book on the making of the film was published; the movie premiered in Hollywood and is even being released in China and Japan. Currently, Brian is reportedly working on his next movie project.
Dreams do come true.

27.11.06 07:48

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