User Reviews

"Abang Adik": A poignant cinematic journey through love and resilience in Kuala Lumpur's Pudu district. This emotionally charged film explores the struggles of foreign laborers, the universal need for love, and the dark side of urban development. It delves into marginalized lives, concealing hidden messages for the culturally attuned. The controversial yet inspiring dialogues between a prisoner and a monk provide a powerful commentary on the human experience. An emotional odyssey transcending boundaries, "Abang Adik" leaves an indelible mark on hearts. Bring along tissue papers when watching it.

While Kang-Ren's skillful performance is commendable, the film overall doesn't quite hit the mark and comes across as overrated.

The main issue lies in its storyline, which is melodramatic and borders on the unrealistic.

To elaborate on the point, the climax of the story centers around Adik accidentally slapping Jia En too hard in the face, causing her to hit the wall and bleed excessively. Instead of seeking help, Adik went to inform Abang. Contrary to what one might expect from Abang's established personality, he calmly approached the house to find Jia En nearly dying. In a critical moment, when Jia En attempted to scream for help, Abang covered her mouth until someone outside had left, but by then, Jia En had died. This is problematic because, based on Abang's behavior in other scenes, it would be more believable if his reaction had been to rush Jia En to the hospital instead of leaving her in such a state

There are a few problems with this storyline: 1. The climax, centred around an accidental slap leading to tragic consequences, is contrived and lacks believability. It can be described as naive and excessively romanticized. If Adik's love for Abang was so profound, his decision to leave Abang to face a death sentence alone strikes as inconsistent and unconvincing. Also, in this pivotal scene, Abang's character acts in a manner that is unrealistically and foolishly sentimental, particularly in how he dealt with Adik's situation. The narrative is shallow and overly reliant on this incident to create a tragic aftermath.

2. Besides the lack of depth, the film's attempt to manipulate emotions comes across as forced and superficial. The portrayal of the tragic aftermath, emphasizing Abang's great sacrifice, seems intended to evoke tears. However, the ludicrousness of the events leading up to this climax often elicits laughter rather than sadness, leaving the audience to exclaim in disbelief. The nuanced storytelling required to engage an insightful audience is notably absent.

Additionally, I imagine lawyers watching this film would be flabbergasted and speechless. The portrayal of Malaysian police as credulous is far from reality. In actuality, they wouldn't just accept a guilty plea without investigation. They'd question the circumstances: How did it happen? Why would Abang want to kill Jia En? Was it intentional or an act of ignorance? It's also likely that Adik, living in the house where the death happened, would be interrogated for statements. Moreover, killing someone doesn't necessarily result in a death sentence. Malaysia has a sophisticated legal system; we don't arbitrarily execute people.

A more realistic storyline could be: Adik, out of love for Abang, confesses to the crime. However, Abang insists that he was the one responsible. The legal consequences could be: 1. Adik charged under Penal Code s.325 for voluntarily causing grievous bodily harm to Jia En, potentially facing seven years in prison and a fine.

2. Abang charged under Penal Code s.304A for causing death by a negligent act, risking two years in prison, a fine, or both.

Perhaps the story could then follow Abang committing suicide, overwhelmed by guilt and perceiving his sentence as too lenient. Overcome with regret, Adik, after serving his sentence, resolves to turn over a new leaf. In a twist of fate, he meets his estranged father, obtains his identification card, and embarks on a journey to do good for society. This transformation is his way of honouring both Abang and Jia En.

Despite these shortcomings, the director and cast deliver commendable performances, showcasing their talents even within the constraints of a limited script. This aspect alone earns the film two stars. However, the writing needs significant improvement to match the quality of the acting and direction.

**Please note that the following review reflects only the author's personal opinions and is not intended as professional advice. Any comments on legal issues should not be rely upon as legal advice.

This is one of the best local Malaysian made movie which able to capture local and foreign audience alike

The theme is a fresh take on life of both brothers as an orphans grew up together although we did not find it till later in the movie

We can see a different perspective of KL through the lens of the cinematography, acting wise was superb the script and dialogue was well written.. everything took a turn with the social worker demise...

The thing I dislike was the pacing of this movie... it was a drag to begin with first half of the movie needs to adjust the speed

A lot of characters created was a waste of time ei money Sister totally created to fill the gap of the movie timeline..the brother of the social worker was another fill in the gap.. we still got extra time

Although it was on a shoe string budget the script and the actors make it worth your while

Go watch it in a cinema support local movie.. kudos to the director and producer and congratulations for wiping the golden horse awards.

Wu Kang Ren deliver a impact performance that will move u to tears. Support cast motive and story not well explain like a tools to force the story going on. It repeat the same mistake as most of the movie make for example The last of Us part 2. .I already want to go out of the cinema when social worker was killed by unexpected turn and the causes was done in a foolish act. I have no empathy for what the brother done. Some part is confusing ,not sure it want to portray as brotherhood love or LGBT. It a perfect movie with a few polishing but too bad it seems to in a rush to take part in 2023 golden horse award.