Bunohan (Murder)

www.bunohan.com

Bunohan is a gripping tale of 3 estranged brothers, Ilham, Bakar and Adil, whose fates crossed each other's life and brought them back to Bunohan, their home village in Kelantan. Set in the rural setting of Southern Thailand - Kelantan area, the home base of muay thai (kickboxing), wayang kulit (shadow puppet play),  mak yong and main puteri (traditional musical drama play), this tragic story of love lost between the brothers and their ailing father portrays each man's struggle to overcome the years of estrangement and family issues intertwined with elements of danger, corruption, betrayal and murder.

Ilham, the eldest brother, son of Pok Eng, a shadow puppet master and Mek Yah, a Mak Yong primadona of her time, ran away and went astray after his parents' divorce. A former sailor turned hitman, he comes back to Bunohan after more than 20 years away, trailing Bunga Lalang, a runaway fugitive - the target he is hired to kill by a Thai gangster. By coming back, Ilham also faces painful recollection of the past, especially about his late mother, who was exiled from the village after the divorce.

Bakar, the second brother, was born after Pok Eng married his second wife, Mek Ani. A school teacher, but also a cunning and ruthless businessman on the side, he is the actual 'puppet master' in the story, scheming his way for power and control of his father's and the villagers' land for a lucrative development deal.

Adil, the youngest of the three, is a kickboxing fighter rising to fame in Southern Thai. In a what supposed to be a fight-to-death match in order to settle a debt with a gangster, he was rescued mid-way after getting badly injured by his childhood friend and brought back to Bunohan.

I give a thumbs up for the story. The story of men with scarred souls due to unhappy childhood led them away from each other and resort to violence, physically, mentally and psychologically. It is a story of family relationship and friendship and how violence, betrayal, and greed make a mess out of everything. Yes, it's rated PG-13 so viewers' discretion is advised but it's not as violent and gory as Hollywood's horror and violent movies.

Another thumbs up should be given to the cinematography. I love all the scenes and camera angles in this movie. The view and the background, the angles ... all that I would like to capture as still photos. The dialogues - true to the setting - almost entirely spoken in Kelantanese dialect. The special features in the dvd also includes photo gallery, an interview with the director Dain Said, The Making Of and deleted scenes.

One of my favourite dialogues :

(Between Bakar and Adil)

Bakar : Tanah kita ... ada orang nak beli. Kalau jual sekarang, boleh menolong keluarga kita.

(Our land ... some people want to buy. If we sell now, it could help the family.)

Adil : Keluarga binatang apa?

(What damned family?)

Bakar : Boleh menolong kau juga. Tak perlu kau berpatah tulang bertinju di seberang.

(It could help you too. It's better than breaking bones across the border.)

Adil : Tulang patah boleh sembuh. Masalahnya kau tu! Patahkan semangat orang.

(Broken bones can mend. The problem is you! You break people's spirit.)

There's also a little bit of mystical element in the story, giving the glint of creepy feeling although this movie is nowhere close to a typical horror movie. I think this element is inserted because of the old folk's tale in the traditional community and the spiritual and ritual elements in the wayang kulit, mak yong and main puteri plays during the early days.

Anyway, this is a good work of art. The moral of the story: Life is full of choices. Everything depends on how you choose.

Head on to www.bunohan.com for information of this movie's achievements.

Tasek Merimbun Heritage Park

Location : Tasek Merimbun, Tutong District, Brunei.

Date of visit : 12 Januari 2013.

Brief description :

Tasek Merimbun is part of a geological formation that was uplifted from a shallow sea about 7 million years ago. Home to many species of flora and fauna, it is a kind of low depression surrounded by swamps as opposed to being a typical lake. The water is black due to the presence of peat i.e. fermentation of plant vegetative materials that feed into the lake through the peat swamp. Tasek Merimbun was declared as Brunei's National Heritage Park in 1967 and later on declared as an ASEAN Heritage Park in 1984. This park is under the management of Brunei Museums Department.

Visit on a Sunday and you can cross the bridge.

The exhibition hall inside the heritage park complex.

Nice view of the lake from the complex. 

Inside the exhibition hall.

Location : Taman Kulimambang (Butterfly Garden), inside the Tasek Merimbun Heritage Park Complex.

Visiting hours : Saturday - Thursday, 9.30am - 3.30pm

Brief description:

Established in July 2012, this little garden is said to accommodate about 100 species of butterflies, and there's a myriad of other insect species too. We arrived at this garden exactly 15 minutes before the closing time so we only had little time inside but it's enough.The garden is pretty and nice although quite small. 

Some of the residents.

Nice garden.

This place is a nice place to visit if you like nature. There's a 650km trail called the Banunih Trail where you can track along in about 45 minutes inside the forest and observe tree species, orchids and frogs, among other things. Since we didn't have a lot of time to spent so we didn't cover this trail. 

flora hana

Flowers always symbolizes beauty, peace, love and everything nice. Flowers make people smile. Flowers are the source of sustainability to insects and some other animals. Flowers are always used as a connecting bridge to someone's heart, whether to celebrate a union or grieving a separation by death. 

And flowers are my subject for today ... for close ups!

my postcard moments in labuan

 

 

 

 

my sweet memory

memorabilia ....

they are part of your past that accompany you for as long as they exist, for as long as you keep them. they are a piece of your history, a page of your diary, a collection of good moments that are too good to be forgotten. they are something that you don't want to leave behind and the ones that you want to carry on to the future.

today i had scavenged some boxes in my house and found a number of trinkets, souvenirs and some other stuff from the past that i have been keeping all this time. they comprises anything that you can think of; photos, key chains, badges, pins, postcards, photos, birthday cards, love letters, foreign money, coins et cetera, et cetera ... that came to my possession from all that happened in the timeline of my life from school till the recent years. the events that i had experienced, the places i went, the people i met, all of the memories came back to me. sweet.

the thing about memories, you don't want to be too obsessed with them, in other words, getting stuck in the past. sometimes you miss the old times so much that you neglect the present and lose interest for the future. especially if you are not happy with your present situation.

memories, are for you to keep and remember for old time's sake. memories are for you to look back once in a while to get back the spirit to continue living in the present. memories, are for you to remember who you used to be, who you are and who you want to be.

bila aku terasa tua

bila aku terasa tua
bukan aku gembira dengannya
bukan juga aku gundah gelana
cuma aku terasa dewasa

bila aku terasa dewasa
lantas terintai memori lama
di balik tabir emosi gila
dan jeritan hati tidak bersuara

bila aku terasa tua
keutamaanku berkalih rasa
pandanganku beralih hala
matlamatku mencari nyata

bila aku semakin tua
pintaku pada Yang Esa
agar aku lebih bersedia
bersedia untuk kembali padaNya


The dreamer©2013

the 'L' phase

Love can be ever-changing. Love can be one. 

Love can be challenging. Love can be won.

Love is dynamic. Love is energy. 

Love is motivation. Love is beautiful.

Love needs no reason. Love IS reason.

The love that I know is not at first sight. 

Slow, growing and sowed,

by kindness, respect and good nature.

Warms the heart. Touches the soul. Makes me glow.

The love that I know is rocking my world.

Swaying me to its rhythm.

Challenging me, transforming me,

into the best version of the person inside me.

The love that I know is making me feel

vulnerable yet secure, confused yet assured.

The love that I know is the greatest test of life.

The epitome of hope.

Yes, I dare to hope.

The dreamer©2013

Secangkir Teh Pengubat Letih ... life in Turkey

The first book I read in 2013 is the utterly interesting travelogue by Hasrizal Abdul Jamil or also known as Abu Saif entitled Secangkir Teh Pengubat Letih. Although this is the second book I read that comes from the same author, it is actually written earlier than Di Hamparan Shamrock Ku Seru Nama-Mu (2012), which I have read and reviewed in this blog.

Title : Secangkir Teh Pengubat Letih

Author : Hasrizal Abdul Jamil

Publisher/Year : Galeri Ilmu Sdn. Bhd. (2010), 267 pg

Language : Malay (with a bit of English and Turkish here and there)

ISBN : 97898309723811

google image

I am amazed by this author's travelling notes compilation that resulted in an amazing piece of writing. In this book, the author relates about his frequent travels to Turkey during the 90s, while he was still a university student in Jordan. From this, I gained an insight on this unique country of Turkey, from the historical, Islamic and academic perspectives. I learned and became aware of the Othmaniyyah era, Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari, Mustafa Ibn 'abd Allah, Badiuzzaman Said An-Nursi, Sultan Muhammad Al-Fatih, Sultan Abdul Hamid II and other important figures and significant events of the past.

I am well fed with my own imagination, guided by the author's descriptions of seeing Bosphorus Strait and the nearby Blue Mosque, Canakkale and other beautiful and peaceful places where Islam is still deeply embedded in the hearts and souls of the dwellers, and from the author's observation and close relationship with his Turkish friends, enlightens me of what it means to be a Muslim in this country (and the best qualities they portray because of that fact) and being true to who they are and the challenges they have to face in the midst of secularism attacks. Perhaps now it's a different story in Turkey, or still the same? I guess this motivates me to read further and open my eyes, my mind and my heart to other parts of the world. A very good read. Delve in the author's views and analysis, and learn from his experiences and observations. 

It's like seeing a new horizon. I guess I'm craving for Turkish tea now.

One of my favourite quotes extracted from this book:

"Siapa kamu menentukan cara kamu melihat." 

"Cara kamu melihat menentukan apa yang kamu dapat."

Loosely translated; 

Who you are as a person determines how you see. The way you see things determines what you get in return.

sunset at tanjung aru ...

the faces of Tanjung Aru Beach, KK, as the sun waves goodbye

love talks

#1

if another year goes by without a goodbye
if another year comes with a step closer
if another year apart (and i miss you even more)
if another year
if another
if
if there's an answer
let us make it through
let's find it

#2

tears streaming down my face
dreaming of your last embrace
pink, love, hearts, envelope
sound minds don't elope

#3

i know a bear
who's warm, fuzzy, but a bit grizzly
and his heart is the kindest of all in the bear kingdom
he's sweet but not Pooh
he's white but not a polar bear
but if he's a Care Bear, i'd think ...
his belly badge might be of something gentle and rare
coz there's no one like this bear
of all in the bear kingdom


The dreamer©2013