Redha Review

Gem of a movie

Redha Review – What would you do if you discover that your child is not like other kids?

Mother's love known no boundaries   

 Alina (June Lojong) and Razlan (Namron) notice that their son, Danial is not like other kids. He seems to be lost in his own world not responsive to his parents. As day passes by, Alina is worried that something is ‘wrong’ with Danial and takes him to meet a child psychologist, who points out that Danial maybe an autistic child. As Razlan bury himself with work in denial of accepting his son’s condition, Alina leans on support from her sister and friends to try to care for Danial until an unfortunate event takes place. Left with no option, Razlan has to make peace with fate and face the challenges of raising ‘child of heaven’. They are faced with many obstacles along the way and must find a way to survive in a society that can sometimes be ignorant and rude with things they don’t understand.

Not easy taking care of special kids. 

I don’t know where I should start praising this wonderful work of art. From the beautiful location (breath-taking Redang Island), the remarkable actors, the core issue (autism), everything was simply amazing. Let’s start with the location shall we? The blue waters of Redang was a sight for sore eyes and you might feel like heading over there as soon as you step out of the cinema (I personally have been there twice and already made booking for my next trip soon to get some vitamin sea!). It is a marvelous way to promote our beach to the locals and foreigners alike. Then comes in the performers, real life husband and wife (Namron and June) were an inspiration although the arguments and misunderstandings gets heated at times to depict how it feels when married couples are faced with hurdles. Despite the quarrels, the love between them and for their son never fades away. Special mention goes to the child actors, Harith Haziq and Izzzy Reef whom both play the role of the autistic boy Danial as a child and then a teenager respectively. They did a great job in portraying each of their well-researched roles and despite playing supporting role, Susan Lankester (still looking hot as ever!) as Katrina is a friend every person need in their life while I also wish I could learn to swim from Remy Ishak as Azim the swimming instructor (*wink wink). Meanwhile, the main issue of the movie, autism – was not a run of the mill, but a well-researched and extensively studied effort to highlight, educate and change society’s perception in regard to the condition. There were heart-breaking scenes when outsiders comment about Danial’s condition by simply calling him ‘spoilt’ or ‘stupid’. Hopefully these ill-informed individuals will wake up and be more alert of such situation. Props to the Director for making an attempt to shed a light on this little known subject.

Go watch 

Every once in a while I am so proud of locally produced movie and this is one such example how hard work and passion translates into an amazing final product. I am much more aware of autism after watching this movie and urge you to be part of the audience as well to witness something meaningful rather than spending money on mindless blockbusters.    

P/s - Thank you Lorita for the preview invite!