2011 was a triumphant year for the film industry in Malaysia. Expansion of multiplexes and an increase in paying customers, as well as a growing percentage of the market for nationally produced titles, have generated a climate of enthusiasm that appears to have encouraged investment and even possible reforms in the sector. There was an unprecedented increase in the number of local productions in 2011. The galvanising effect of box-office smashes last year may obscure the legislative delays which obstruct the local industry and, in the long-term, may burst the bubble of this golden era.
Investment in the industry, in particular by Golden Screen Cinemas and TGV, the two groups which dominate the market, has been paid back with interest. The number of cinemas in Malaysia rose from 100 in 2010 to 107 in 2011. The number of actual screens is up from 571 to 639, with seating capacity boosted from 110,424 to 120,941. To this increase of around 10 per cent, there was a parallel increase of spectators, from 54.3 million to 59.5 million (a rise of about 9.60 per cent) and an even more gratifying rise of 16 per cent in total box office takings, going from 518 million ringgit in 2010 to 602 million in 2011. Overall, growth was relatively proportional, but made more profitable by an increase in average ticket prices.
What really injected a shot in the arm of confidence into the industry and into local institutions was the performance of local commercial films. 2011 marked a genuine turning point for box office for films in the Malay language. The list of top ten earners of all time was revolutionised, with six of last year’s releases making the list. This also included three titles from 2010, which means that only one pre-2010 film is in the top ten of all-time Malaysian earners. With takings of 11.7 million ringgit, KL Gangster by Syamsul Yusof, which was released in June, pulverised all previous records and re-launched action movies, which were long absent from the local scene. Released at the end of the year, the religious drama Ombak Rindu by Osman Ali, which was adapted from an extremely popular local novel, almost managed to hit the 11 million ringgit mark.
Third place on this enviable podium goes to the comic-horror Hantu Bonceng (directed by Ahmad Idham). It was at the centre of a censorship controversy, as some Islamic associations requested that it be banned, accusing it of not being sufficiently respectful of Islam and the prophet Mohammed. The top three are joined by a further trio of films with takings of between 6.5 and 8 million ringgit: Kongsi by Farid Khamil, Khurafat (a second work by Syamsul Yusof) and the costly historical drama Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa by Yusri Abd Halim. The latter’s almost 7 million ringgit budget means that it wasn’t a complete success story.
But the overall picture for Malaysian productions is more than encouraging. Total takings for local films rose from 81.8 million ringgit in 2010 to almost 125 million in 2011. That’s an increase of over 52 per cent, with a market share up from less than 16% to over 20.7 per cent. Although the average budget for the 49 films released (there were 39 in 2010) remained more or less stable (1.44 million ringgit compared to around 1.43 in 2010), average takings went up, from 2.20 million ringgit in 2010 to 2.55 million in 2011. That’s a profit margin which makes investors’ mouths water. So much so, that a good 70 Malaysian films are planned for release in 2012.
To the blockbusters in the Malay language, we also need to add the notable success registered by the likeable Chinese comedy Nasi Lemak 2.0 by Namewee. This grossed more that 7 million ringgit at the box office – in this case too, a genuine record for local productions – and relaunched interest in making films in the Chinese language. But few commentators have pointed out that the success of nationally-produced films has not dented the undisputed domination of the market by American films (or, in general, English-language ones). The latter have maintained income percentages of over 60 per cent. This means that 5 per cent of takings for national films ate into other Asian or international productions, but did not affect Hollywood films at all.
There is a further problem endemic to the local distribution system. Malaysian films can count on a protectionist measure, a system known as wajib tayang, which determines protected dates for releases. Until last year, every Malaysian film was guaranteed a two-week window for release during which no other national production in the system would be distributed. This became questionable last year as so many films were made. The release window was first reduced to two weeks. Then, from May 2012 (in the face of 70 films eligible for wajib tayang), two local productions will be permitted to be released each week.
But the real problem is rampant piracy, mainly caused by film programming on the pay-per-view channel Astro First (which shows films that were released on the big screen only 15 days earlier). What’s more, local films are systematically removed from cinemas and immediately released on DVD. That happens even if they are doing well at the box office. It is not hard to see why there is no chance for a slow build-up for films in theatres. Word-of-mouth success is nipped at the bud.
Problems still remain regarding actual support from the relevant government agencies. The gradual tax incentive system proposed last year was viewed as ridiculous by the industry. It had decreasing tax breaks for local films, linked to box-office takings, with no discount for films earning over 6 million ringgit. It’s a system which provides incentives to “medium” earner films, allowing them to maximise their profits (considering that taxes can be up to 20 per cent of box-office takings.)
There also remains the thorny issue of the definition of what a “national” film is in Malaysia. Since the 1970s the term “national productions” has only been applied to films whose dialogue is at least 60 per cent Bahasa Melayu (Malay). Following appeals from producers and directors, it would seem that legislative tax breaks for national productions have also been assigned to a couple of Chinese films: Ice Kacang Puppy Love by Aniu (major success in 2010) and to the hit Nasi Lemak 2.0 by Namewee. It was thought that this marked a real step towards recognition for full “national production” status for films in languages other than Malay.
But the local authorities pointed out that these two were just exceptions to the rule. So the frankly racist legislation remais.These patently anachronistic laws have been further tested over the past few months as local film institutions have been in talks to sign co-production deals with Australia and Singapore. To this day, Malaysia has yet to sign a co-production deal with any other country.
Last year saw an interesting development. Some Singapore productions, especially the horror films 23:59 and Twisted, were made in Malaysian territory with investments made by local studios. There is a question whether, in order to qualify for the tax breaks in Malaysia, if co-productions will have to stick to the rule of 60 per cent of dialogue in Malay. Some hope that this system of “apartheid” will be dismantled.
The low quality of local productions risks cutting short the riches currently being enjoyed by the industry. Standards for Malaysian films fall well short of international levels of acceptability. This explains why local productions rarely travel, except to Brunei or Singapore, where they play in cinemas dedicated to the Malay minority. Still, bolder local critics, in the face of successes such as KL Gangster and Ombak Rindu, talked of a return to the Eighties. The former seemed to be a Hong Kong B-movie from that era, while the latter strongly resembled a melodrama from that period.
The most widely discussed “quality” controversy was the action period piece, Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa (The Malay Chronicles). This picked up the award for best film of the year at the Festival Filem Malaysia. The award caused an outcry by many local critics, who had mercilessly panned it as a film aimed at an international market – an international market of 30 years ago, at that. The irritation felt by some commentators was sharpened by the government support for the movie. It took Chronicles under its wing, calling it an example of Malaysian cinema that brings international glory to the country. The local press dutifully reported the news – probably copied from a press release from the production company, KRU – that the film had been sold in dozens of countries, without every asking which countries and the terms of the rights. Today, following the fanfare about global distribution, of the film it only seems to be available internationally as a DVD for sale on Amazon.
There are some encouraging signs of new talent. Nasi Lemak 2.0 by Namewee is an astute rereading of the topos of Hong Kong comedy, tastefully reworked with a local flavour – literally, seeing as it’s a culinary comedy based on the search for Malaysian identity in its local cuisine. The importance of the film’s success is not to be underestimated. It has managed to evoke feelings of cohesion and amongst local Chinese viewers who can recognise themselves in it.
The surprising Songlap, by Effendee Mazlan and Fariza Azlina, manages to create a genuine, modern gangster drama, inserting potentially provocative elements like human trafficking of both children (for adoption) and women (for prostitution), the use of drugs and even incest. It leaves the action to unfold naturally in the margins, working on the definition of characters and exploring cinema’s tools with irony. The inclusion of a song entitled Mencari Malaysia “Searching for Malaysia” into the soundtrack is memorable. It’s a step forward for the directors of the remarkable Kami, and prompts high hopes for their future.
Bunohan (English title Return to Murder) by Dain Said was presented at various international film festivals in 2010 and released in Malaysia in 2012. It is a fully mature film, by a director whose first feature, the horror film Dukun, remains one of the most controversial films in Malaysian cinema’s history. The film was withdrawn by the production company a few days prior to its release due to possible legal wrangles involving a politician whose criminal tendencies seemed to have been the film’s inspiration.
Bunohan is a film suspended between myth and reality. It’s a genuine all-male Shakespearian tragedy, imbued with the beauty of a landscape shrouded in dark, rain-filled monsoon clouds. There is the violence of kickboxing and the dying poetry of the pre-Islamic art of wayang kulit (Malay-Indonesian shadow theatre). It all happens between a dream state and consciousness, between ancestral tradition and the violent onslaught of modernity. It’s a film which exploits the mainstream appeal of genre cinema to articulate a profound reflection on Malaysian identity.
Paolo Bertolin