Absent Without Leave (2015)
From the outset, you know why this documentary film was banned in Malaysia. The background musical score, songs at the opening and closing credits were all variants of 'Terang Bulan' or 'Mamula Moon'. As it is commonly known, it is the precursor to our National Anthem. Legend has it that Sultan Abdullah, after being exiled in Seychelles Island in 1877 for assassinating JWW Birch, first came in contact with this tune was played by a French band there. After completing his sentence, upon his return to the State of Perak, he penned the State Anthem with that melody. When his successor made a trip to England in 1888 to attend Queen Victoria's inauguration, this song (Allah lanjutkan Usia Sultan, it was named), was played at his arrival in Southampton port for the first time and became the de facto anthem of the Malay states. In the 1920s, the tune became a popular hit with a Hawaiian twist, played by many musicians in the Malay Archipelago.
The question of whether the members of the Communists insurgency all through the 1930s, the Japanese occupation, subsequent British recolonisation and Independence were the work of freedom fighters to liberate the country from the yoke of Western tyranny or they were work of terrorists who found joy in creating mayhem to spread their twisted ideology for self-interest is a million dollar question. Well, the purpose of this documentary is not to answer that. The documentary maker, instead, tries to find out why some men go to the extent of sacrificing their lives, their family lives and to live as fugitives exposed to the elements of Nature just for the country. Is that patriotism or social maladaptation? Was it worth it?
The filmmaker goes on a journey of discovery of sorts. Initially trying to mend his relationship with his aloof father, he discovers the story of his grandfather, a communist who was never a father to the storyteller's father. He goes on to trace his relatives in Sitiawan, the deceased grandfather's fellow comrades in Hong Kong and all the way to Southern Thailand.
The question of whether the members of the Communists insurgency all through the 1930s, the Japanese occupation, subsequent British recolonisation and Independence were the work of freedom fighters to liberate the country from the yoke of Western tyranny or they were work of terrorists who found joy in creating mayhem to spread their twisted ideology for self-interest is a million dollar question. Well, the purpose of this documentary is not to answer that. The documentary maker, instead, tries to find out why some men go to the extent of sacrificing their lives, their family lives and to live as fugitives exposed to the elements of Nature just for the country. Is that patriotism or social maladaptation? Was it worth it?The filmmaker goes on a journey of discovery of sorts. Initially trying to mend his relationship with his aloof father, he discovers the story of his grandfather, a communist who was never a father to the storyteller's father. He goes on to trace his relatives in Sitiawan, the deceased grandfather's fellow comrades in Hong Kong and all the way to Southern Thailand.
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