Kolumpo Review

3-in-1 

Kolumpo Review – Kay Hell, Kola Lampor, KL dowh! These are some of the nicknames for our beloved ‘concrete jungle’ of Malaysia and now add another one, Kolumpo. I was born and bred in KL and it was nice to see my ‘city’ portrayed under a different light in this ‘en-lighting’ 3-in-1 movie combo. What sadden me was the cinema hall was close to empty because most movie-goers were flocking to watch the latest Hollywood blockbuster release or local movies that seem to have no other storyline besides ‘hantu’ and ‘gangsters’. Pffffffffffffftttttt…owh how I miss Yasmin Ahmad but thank God for the three wonderful Directors Sheikh Munasar, Rozi Izma and Bront Palarae for restoring some faith and ‘life’ into local movie making.   

Sure grass is greener on the other side? 

As I mentioned, it’s a ‘tiga-dalam-satu wayang’ which starts off with the arrival of Rahul from India having a dream of landing a job in the city. He gets conned the moment he lands at the airport by having to pay RM250 for the ‘kereta sapu’ service from the LCCT to Masjid Jamek. Sounds familiar? Sigh…what a ‘good impression’ for the upcoming Visit Malaysia year 2014 ey? Rahul makes his way to the agency only to be told that the company have gone kaput. A ‘kind-hearted’ man takes him in and offers Rahul job, place to stay, food and work permit. The ‘kind man’ however takes away Rahul’s passport thus making Rahul part of thousands illegal immigrant workers who gets cheated by crooks taking advantage of the poor souls trying to make an honest living. Rahul goes on with his life until his ‘luck’ runs out and he gets caught by the Immigration Department but then, there is a silver lining after all…

Nama siapa? Keje apa? Tinggal mana? Bapak ada lagi? Dah kawin belum?
Oooooooo.....I miss my Pati now :( 

Moving on to the second story…I hate to admit it but I actually felt guilty watching Gienna (Nell Ng) avoiding calls from the mother. I’ve done it before and huhuhu…still do it. You’d be lying if you said you have never done it kan? Jangan nak tipu ok! We all have that….ughhhhh….’Why you calling me?’ ‘What you wantttttttttttttt?’ question mark in our head when we see ‘that’ incoming call. You can even ‘have’ a conversation on how the call is going to be like before you answer the phone rite? While avoiding her Mom’s call, Gienna gets ‘stuck’ trying to send home a lost nenek called ‘Nek Wok’ (played brilliantly by veteran Ruminah Sidek)! Both of them go on a mini road trip from Ampang to Setapak and finally arrive at the destination only for Gienna to realize her ‘mistake’ towards her own mother at which point I myself realize my own mistakes as well….sigh….

Change while you still can....

Meanwhile…the third story comes with few questions being thrown at the audience…’aku bukan lelaki ke kalau tak merokok? tak layan lagu rock? tade awek? Well…by all means, of coz not. That’s the dilemma faced by Hafid who is a ‘good boy’ yang tade awek. He bumps into Hayy (played by cutie pie Sharifah Amani) by chance because they missed the last train. After getting a bit of street steamboat, helping a drunken girl get into a cab to her home at Kota Damansara and meeting a 'wig seller'. They go on a walk about while talking, laughing and getting to know each other better. Hayy strike a chord with Hafid making him to re-think his perception on finding an ‘awek’. Next thing you know, fate presents him with an opportunity. Will he take his chance this time?

Kolumpo under the a different light....

Now about the cast, each of them was made for their role. Who needs big names when you have real raw talent without any help from silly special effects? Your expression is all you need if you are naturally gifted. It was fun and heart-warming watching them go thru their life in the big city. Surviving each day as it goes. We seldom get to ‘see’ a place we thought we knew unless we explore and experience it from a different point of view. This movie provoked few thoughts in me about re-evaluating my own perception about life. We rarely witness a special gem like this on our screen so by all means, ditch the typical big budget flicks and sit and enjoy this ‘permata’ instead. Trust me, you won’t regret it.