NOOB FILM REVIEW - THE TIDES WILL DECIDE directed by AZIM RIZAL

SYNOPSIS
'The Tides Will Decide' is a crowdfunded documentary that follows Priscilla Patrick, a Malaysian survivor of the devastating 2004 tsunami, as she recounts what she went through and living with the after effects.

REVIEW

THE SILENT NARRATIVE
The first frame shows a wave crashing gently into the beach while the protagonist sits, looking at the horizon. I have a bad habit of not reading the synopsis before any screening, yet most of the time, it brings me sailing into an uncharted path and pleasantly surprises me —this screening is one of those times.

The poster (or the title screen) says quite a lot about the auteur. He understood the play of indexes (in this case, the ocean tide) and utilized it as a silent narrative to visually speak of its transforming character as the story arc moves from one act, up until the finale.

The 'God's Ray' shining down from the skies acts as a sign of acceptance of the 'force majeure'. The title itself is also an acknowledgment of that power. The word 'tides' in the title takes a literal meaning whilst it also means the path of nature, such as in 'time and tides wait for no man'.

Water can be calm and it can destroy too. But it is not the act of judging. It is just the human perception of that act of nature that gives it character.

THE PROTAGONIST AND THE ONE ABOVE
It is quite a journey from point A, going a full 'Hero's Journey' circle of trials and tribulations, and then returning back to where the protagonist (Priscilla Patrick, the queen of traffic in radio back then) began. Even though back to the same point, internally she is a different person.

On God of real life and in film (the auteur), Joseph Campbell once quoted Arthur Schopenhauer saying, “When you reach a certain age, at the back of his life, seems to have had an order. Like it has been composed by someone. And those events when they occur seem merely accidental and occasional, turn out to be the main element of a consistent plot. Who composed this plot?”

For example, the origin of Patricia's parents and the story of how she got back her luggage after the tsunami hit.

The plot for this documentary on the 2004 tsunami event for the protagonist is just one chapter written for the screen by the auteur, based on the plot composed by the One Above. Priscilla who used to be the traffic guide for others, has been guided towards a path through fate.

Other than being about the worst natural disaster of a biblical scale in our time, it is also about acceptance of fate (although hard) and for many of the survivors (including the protagonist) a spiritual transcendence.

ANOTHER PUBLICLY FUNDED FEATURE
The seamlessness between the visuals, the sound, and the editing, has successfully taken me into the show and develop empathy towards the characters. That is a sign of a good show.

Greatly executed underwater shots. The sounds are used cleverly to make up for the visuals of the tsunami's destruction, which is not easy (and not cheap) to do.

Despite being just over an hour, it felt like a full-length big-screen experience. Kudos to the whole production team Feisk Productions (another one done without FINAS fund) and funders! (just after the recent cinema release of This Land Is Mine)

This one is not to be missed as we nearing the 20th anniversary of the 2004 tragedy. Further screening dates will be announced soon.