NOOB FILM REVIEW - IMAGINUR directed by Nik Amir Mustapha

The combo of film director Nik Amir Mustapha and writer Redza Minhat (KIL and Terbaik Dari Langit) is here again. Although I cannot directly compare Imaginur with their previous two co-op (I have not watched them) to gauge how this is going to be.

Beto is brilliant as usual but when Afdlin Shauki enters the frame with him, the chemistry is perfect. And veteran presence like Mior Hashim Manaf adds to the color. Dato' Rahim Razali's presence is felt even though he plays someone stuck in limbo and utters a single word the whole film.

Commandable work from DOP Idham Mad Din (Pendekar Awang, Prebet Sapu). Gorgeous and unforgettable ending scene at the lake (Tasik Tasoh, Perlis!). The indistinctive look between dreams and reality keeps the viewers questioning where exactly they are.

The screenplay could have played with a little bit more transition between different scenes. Yes, nowadays there are very thin lines between having that 'cinematic' look and producing 'cinema' and not a TV show.

An example from our local films when doing cinema is i.e. a smooth overlay of the people from the past over the scene from the present. One example is from Spilt Gravy when the character Abah recalls all his wives sitting at the dinner table. Maybe more on semiotics (The 'Vertigo' spiral is a nice addition!) and archetypes play would take this film a step higher. Although, a clever play of 80s cars and houses during Zuhal's young life but got mixed with vending machines and handphones.

But with the presence of the Groundhog's Day loop and Inceptions' the 'totem' effect is satisfactory perhaps as a 'MacGuffin'. (The headgear appears in both real and hypnotic state. Hmmm) Maybe an addition of a song a la the mythical 'I got you babe' would give some diegetic punch to the narrative. Also, an open ending would add to the replayability value.

At one point I was close to taking the whole film is about film when the character Abah starts talking about 'rasa' (feelings) and a different book (or film) will read differently by different people. Close to what that famous quote says a book read by a different person gives a different story.

Quite a great way to remind us to move on past a traumatic stage in life and perhaps look through the lens of someone suffering from Alzheimer's disease (and never to lose faith!), although telling one to do that is easier than doing it.
I missed it on the big screen (which collected 6 million) but currently playing on Amazon Prime!

*plays Mekar by Bayangan...and The Windmills of Your Mind by Noel Harrison.