SYNOPSIS (GSC)
When a small group of people get stranded on an uncharted land, they are forced to journey deeper to find a way out. However, they stumble upon a beast that has predated mankind.
REVIEW
It is quite amazing what determination can accomplish even with little money, and it is also amazing to see what one can do (or not) with too much money.
This indie flick made it to the big screen without the FINAS grant. Shot in the deep jungle of Temenggor Lake, Perak is the director Feisal Azizuddin's debut film.
Cinematography by someone hiding behind a nickname who has a few films under his name. The shift from the 'Hero's Journey' known world to the unknown world is nicely portrayed on screen with the play of thick fog and the absence of direct sunlight. Great exercise of clean single shots, dirty shots, over the shoulders, and two shots all along the film duration which indirectly say things about the character and their relation to others.
The cast is a breath of fresh air seeing new faces doing new things, Pulau-ish. Acting would be more authentic when it is affected by the elements of the shooting location, Apocalypse-Now-ish. Bearing the question of the squeaky clean, cost-saving, high-tech, green screen approach that most are pushing now, infected by that comic-franchise success. (God save us from AI generated arts please). As a digital artist myself, the convenience of the undo button is a mark of an artist of the trade who simply cannot make up their mind. It gives too much leeway for tweaks and options. Many have forgotten the saying of old, "think before you lay down the brush on paper."
Anyways.
This film exhibits bravado by including some CGI even for its small crew of 15 people (and its budget), matched nicely with the suffice and not overdone audio and sound effects.
The characters go through the 'challenges and temptations' phase where the surroundings (and the shadowy threat of the monster) eventually reveal their true self. Including a phantom, non-diegetic, character which only appears in voices, moving the plot forward. (Includes some borderline 'MacGuffins').
The writing is thorough and ticks all the boxes. (Yes. Vloggers can really be a nuisance in real life! Just like in the film Suraya, also by Feisk Production) The audience is taken through a journey that can be a bit intimidating and unnerving for its length, but the payoff at the end puts a nice closure to the whole thing.
or not.
This land of mine. Who is saying it? I think it is the Orang Asli. And this is one of those films for those who have zero respect for scouring the land for their own profits.
One part reminded me of the classic Indiana Jones and The Last Crusades where the Holy Grail cannot be taken past the 'Joseph Campbell's monomyth 'Special Place' which is the Canyon of the Cresent Moon.
Also screened before the start of the film is a short film called 'Propaganda' which has a nice meta twist, at the end when he finds out the source of the mysterious sound.
Catch This Land Of Mine in the cinema this 14th of November!
Official Trailer