#sandiwara

Atau kamu lebih memilih keluar dari panggung, menolak untuk berpartisipasi?

Consider my mind boggled. There is a ten-minute short film by Oscar-winning director Sean Baker and starring Oscar-winning actor Michelle Yeoh, available for free on YouTube (just released within the last 24 hours):

Some trivia:

The film is set in Malaysia's food capital Penang, and showcases some of its most iconic dishes.

Penang is as much a character in this as the human roles.

Michelle plays five different characters.

The title Sandiwara is a Malay/Indonesian word and traditionally referred to a theatrical performance of some sort.

The song Pura-Pura that Michelle mimes to is by Siti Salmah and is representative of 70s Malay funk. The lyrics speak of a lover who fakes loving behaviour and then disappears.

Red Garden Food Paradise actually exists as a food destination in Penang. The sashes with RM (Malaysian Ringgit) amounts are pledges of money that fans wish to bestow on the live singer (similar customs abound in other parts of East and Southeast Asia – cue fans of My School President here).

As is typical of Penang and Malaysia, you hear a wide variety of languages within a short space of time – English, Malay, Mandarin and Cantonese in this film. Ironically I'm not hearing much Penang Hokkien in it though.

Edited to add:

The film poster is a tribute to 1970s (and prior) Malaysian/Malayan film culture – before the arrival of cheap, large-size, weather-proof color printing technology, movie posters used to be hand-painted by artists for display outside cinemas.

The film poster for Sandiwara, with its images of Michelle stylized using paintbrush strokes and lots of flat color blocking (as well as the old-fashioned font), is a highly-faithful tribute to those times.

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More info here:

Bersenandung dan menari bermain - main dengan melodi, memancarkan banyak ekspresi hidup.

Marahku

Kesalku

Tangisku

Bahagiaku

Semuanya ada dalam satu panggung sandiwara.

Jingkrak - jingkrak tanpa henti, meliuk liukan kaki panjang ini sambil merentangkan kedua tangan mengikuti irama.

Tak ada lagi memendam rasa, tumpah semua pada permainan teater dalam sebuah skrip fiksi.

Berteriak sekencang - kencangnya pun, aku tetap sedang bermain peran. Penonton hanya melihat ini hanya bagian dari permainan.

Padahal rasanya, aku ingin memberi nyawa pada setiap rasa yang memang nyata adanya.