For
someone who grew up in the 90s, the name Mona Fandey is something that sends
chills to your spine. Mona Fandey is a Malaysian Pop Singer back those days who
later made a drastic career change to be a shaman.
The fame which she fully garnered as a singer, she gains it when she became the
talk of the country and international media in 1993. On July 1993, Datuk Mazlan
Idris, a politician from the ruling UMNO party had seek the supernatural
services of Mona Fandey to grow his political career.
In return, Mona Fandey was paid handsomely and instead of fulling Datuk Mazlan
Idris’s wishes, she and her team murder him and cut him up to 18 pieces. She
and her team were eventually captured, tried by jury and hanged to death in
2001.
It
was allegedly said that she uttered the words “Aku takkan mati” moments before
she was hanged. Dukun is a Malaysian film inspired by events from the Mona
Fandey case. Shot in 2006 and slatted for a 2007 released, the movie was banned
by FINAS until it recent release on 5th April 2018.
Story Review
Dukun
is a film about a lawyer whose daughter had ran away recently and in his
efforts to find gets entangled with a murder convict that he must defend in
court who is a shaman that is being convicted for murdering a businessman. In
his desperation to seek his daughter he becomes a pawn in a bigger and
dangerous plan of the shaman.
You
will have noticed many similarities between the character of the shaman and the
way the businessman was gruesomely murdered towards the Mona Fandey case. It is
those moments which makes the film even more interesting.
I
particularly enjoyed how the film had more layers compared to just making a
film fully inspired from Mona Fandey. Instead having a plot of a lost lawyer
seeking his daughter was a good touch.
However, the major twist of the film could have been hidden better in terms of
the writing. No, I am not talking about the moments inspired from Mona Fandey,
but
the plot regarding the lawyer and his daughter.
It was a little disappointing for me that I was able to figure out the plot
twist so early in the film and with that was able to guess many moments that
was about to come. I would have preferred that those moments were better
hidden.
I
also enjoyed how the director fits in an element of having the need to trust in
god and how men seek back to god when he realizes the wrong path he has taken.
Well done on emphasizing that key message.
One
moment which made me very curious in the film and which I am yet to figure out
if it was fiction or factual is when during the court trial, a Chinese gold
businessman would testify that the convict had bout gold and jewelry worth 1.2
million from his shop.
During
the time other witness was testifying, the convict would always remain calm and
composed, but not during this moment. Here you will she being angry and
restless and eventually she would speak in a male Chinese voice claiming that
the businessman is lying, and he would eventually bleed from his mouth.
Why
was this scene placed in this film? Does this scene have anything to do in the
real court trial of the Mona Fandey case? I don’t know but the fact that this
scene was intentionally placed in the film raises more doubts in my mind.
In a
nutshell, if you like film that balances thrill and mystery, Dukun is a story
you will enjoy.
Rating: 3.3/5.0
Director Review
Dain Iskandar Said
Dukun
was supposed to be Dain Iskandar Said’s first film, however due to all the bans
and restriction placed by FINAS, Dukun was never able to see daylight for
nearly 12 years until recently.
Post
Dukun, Dain has done several films and it is only fair to judge him in this
film as a debut director. First of all, I must say it was very brave and bold
on Dain to pick craft a film inspired by a very controversial figure. When I
read about Mona Fandey when I was young, I always wondered why no films was
done about her and then I found Dukun. Credit to that Dain.
Huge credit to Dain once again in extracting some very powerful performance
from his cast in the film and also the research done for the detailing in the
film. Let be the Mona Fandey perspective, the way a lawyer conducts himself in
court or the dark magic arts. Very well detailed work was done there.
Two
things didn’t impress me much in the film however. First was the editing and
the engagement. I felt many scenes in the film could have been trimmed down by
a couple of seconds to increase the engagement. The scene establishment shots I
found it too long and thus disconnected me from the film many times.
In addition, with the lack of background scores during many scenes once again
disconnected me from the film. Some sort of music or sounds during scenes
especially when there were no dialogues could have made it better.
The
second point was the usage of the VFX in the film. It felt a little artificial
and didn’t gel well in the scenes but that is something very much forgivable as
we need to remember that the film was shot 12 years ago using available
technology back than.
Dain
Iskandar Daud certainly did impress me very well and it is no surprise to me
why his next film “Bunohan” was very critically acclaimed.
Rating: 3.2/5.0
The Cast
Datin Seri Umie Aida
Hats
off Umie Aida, hats off. Your performance terrified me. In all honesty when I compared
your acting to the photos and video of Mona Fandey, you seemed more terrifying
than she ever was. That was a very bold and powerful
performance.
I
particularly enjoyed the way how you flirted and seduce the men in the movie.
It felt so slick and cunning. It reminds me of how a snake slithers when it moves.
I wouldn’t be surprised if you used both Mona Fandey and snakes as study guide
to prepare for your character.
You brought
us to the darkest corner of the character and struck fear in our hearts with
your performance. Let be the way you lick the wall or how you bend around your
body while looking possessed or the way your body jolts while you are
performing the dark arts magic, it connects with the audience so well and made
us fear about you.
Lots of credits for taking up such a bold and beautiful role and presenting it
to us in both elegance and haunting at the same time. Enjoyed your tone you used
to deliver your dialogues in the film. How it moves up and down and the
aggression that comes in with. As much efforts you put in acting in the film,
it was equally done in the dubbing process too.
No
wonder you are such a highly sought-after actress. I hope through Dukun, you can
add more awards to your glorious career. Diana Dahlan is going to be a
character that is remembered for a very long time.
Rating: 4.5/5.0
Faizal Hussein
Plays
the role of Karim Osman, who lost his wife about 10 years ago and now has his
daughter missing. He tries to trace back his daughter in both the legal way and
through engaging a mysterious individual. When all attempts fail, he is pushed
into desperation to seek the help of Diana Dahlan.
His
character is a lawyer by profession and Faizal does very well to shows us the dilemma
of a man who should be believing facts and logic but is pushed to follow and
believe something that can’t be explained.
As
he tries to defend Diana’s crime from a logical point of view, he is also
pushed into accepting black magic to trace back his daughter. That confusion in
his character was well portrayed.
I
also enjoyed the way he acts as a lawyer in court. Despite knowing his client
is guilty, he comes up to find ways to defend her actions. He is a character that
is dealing with many different emotions and is very lost in his life.
I
like the way how he performed towards the end when he gets completely broken
down and then tries to regain his way to light. No doubts Faizal justified the role
given to him with credit.
Rating: 3.2/5.0
Final Verdict: The Wait Is Over, Your Nightmare Has Just Began
