Am (Shaheizy Sam) and Ad (Mohd Syafie Naswip) are brothers eking out a living in a baby-selling racket. When their mothers give birth, they are then sold into prostitution. Loathing what they do, they aim to break free. When meeting new arrival Hawa (Sara Ali), they find their chance. Going on the run with a stash of stolen money, they attempt to untangle themselves from an often perilous existence.
Songlap shows the power of aspiration. Am and Ad desire to move away from their impoverished lives currently burdened by constant risks. This spurns them to act as they slowly realise they can improve their situation. Unfolding the tense story within the crime-thriller genre, directors Effendie Mazlan and Farina Azlina successfully capture the urban grittiness of the brothers’ surrounds.
Plot strands involving Hawa’s abusive father and the brothers’ absent mother are expertly interwoven. Those elements never interfere with the script’s main focus. It’s rare that happens with Songlap’s thematic consistency a huge bonus. It’s also a credit to the lead performers who ensure you genuinely care for their characters as they desperately climb out of a vicious quagmire.
Strong and often powerful, Songlap is a visually and emotionally arresting production. It works on most levels showing how determination to fulfil dreams can bring hope to any situation.
Reviewed by Patrick Moore
Rating out of 10: 8
Songlap
When: 13 & 22 September 2013
Where: Mercury Cinema, 13 Morphett St, Adelaide
More information: OzAsia Festival website
- The OzAsia Festival runs 13-29 September 2013
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