Limited screening in Singapore 11-17 May
The Last Communist screens at The Picturehouse for a limited showcase starting this Thursday (11 May)
Tickets now available for booking.
Screening times:
Thu 11 May: 5:20pm
Fri 12 May: 11:35am & 5:20pm
Sat 13 May: 11:35am & 5:20pm
Sun 14 May: 11:35am & 5:20pm
Mon 15 May: 5:20pm
Tue 16 May: 5:20pm
Wed 17 May: 5:20pm
Please check for details at the Cathay ticketing website.
Cinema Location:
Levels 5 & 6, The Cathay Cineplex
The Cathay, 2 Handy Road, Singapore 229233
Cinema Phone Booking:
6235 1155
THE LAST COMMUNIST
Writer/Director/Producer : Amir Muhammad
PG, 90minutes, Malay/Chinese dialects/Tamil with English subtitles
Recently screened at the 19th Singapore International Film Festival to a full house. Recently banned in Malaysia.
A semi-musical documentary inspired by the early life and legacy of Chin Peng, exiled leader of the banned Communist Party of Malaya. Interviews with the people in the towns he lived in from birth to national independence are interspersed with specially composed songs in the mould of old-fashioned propaganda films.
Official website
posted by Amir Muhammad at 2:04 am
23 Comments:
Oh dear. I will now be accused of traitorously helping Singapore to insult Malaysia!
The truth is, the Singapore censors passed it in March. And this limited showcase was the direct result of the fact that the SIFF screening in April was sold out.
Yes I know the Merlion is a cheesy symbol. But as the musical numbers in Lelaki Komunis Terakhir prove, I am quite a fan of cheese.
If anyone attends these screenings do let me know how it goes. It's a small hall, less than 90 seats.
See mStar Online report (10 May) Larangan filem 'tidak wajar', quoting voices of Malaysian younger generation, Nam Ron, Shanon Shah (best vocal, recent AIM), Noor Azam of Utusan Malaysia and Pang of Kaki Seni.com
http://www.mstar.com.my/cms/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.article.Article_1e087144-c0a85062-13b625b0-8ce12bab (Fathi Aris Omar's column POJOK)
That's IT!! Am going down to S'pore this weekend just to catch it!!
Some ppl they would say other ppl useless, cruel and what so ever when come to the different opinion.
But do u see the hidden agenda ?
AMIR,
i think u have a lot to learn. Being educate abroad and not mixed around, not help u much in understanding malaysian.
Malaysian is divided in many category.
I'm no asking u to produce film like sembilu. But be more sensitive bro.
And i know there some indie film maker perasan they are the good one although their film entah hapa2..
Dont get mad, some time the truth can kill you, right ?
Quality one thing, but the so-called "sensitivity" is another -- it is politically-defined correctness. FAO
Amir, I honestly say I am not all familiar with your work: whether plays, movies or your writings. I am simply of a different generation (old) and part of the reason is I work overseas. Which is a shame, because I had been looking forward to the public release of "LCT" so I can be introduced to your new 'brand of film-making'...
I feel for you. For me, the whole episode reeks of high-handedness of some individuals in the ruling party. You had passed both the LFN-Finas and SB Police censors, and the reason for the ban is 'flimsy' to say the least.
RPK's (M-Today) take it on it was spot-on! The banning of your movie is simply the unfortunate timing of the upcoming (so-called) "GOP's" anniversary celebrations--an 'anniversary' in itself a matter of some dispute, and mired in controversy of its very 'legitimacy'.
Their high-handedness also struck a blow to the Malaysian public-at-large: To treat the average M'sian film-goer like moronic imbeciles.
Amir, keep up the good work, and the public will support you, in far larger numbers than you might imagine.
Hopefully the ban is a temporary thing, and hopefully too I can try to catch it at some private screening, or even out of Malaysia. Is it possible for you to release it on DVD outside Malaysia?
On the upside, perhaps this 'controversy' is a good thing. It might help draw attention in the form of 'free publicity'.
Good luck!
Sedih la dude, menonton karya rakyat Malaysia di negeri orang tapi tidak di negeri sendiri. Tapi takpa, at least kat Singapore ada orang yang appreciate apa yang anda lakukan.
sheesh... Singapore is kind enough to play your film at the picturehouse and you insult our national symbol.
Oh, I've always believed in biting the hands that feed me.
(But I still do like fromage).
Rais to review 'Lelaki Komunis Terakhir' (The Last Communist)
B.Suresh Ram
The Sun. 11 May.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry will review the banned documentary, Lelaki Komunis Terakhir.
However, the review will be based on the artistic and intrinsic value and merits of the documentary, said its Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim.
He said the power to review the ban is not his ministry's jurisdiction but rather the Home Ministry.
Rais said in order for the ban on the documentary to be reviewed, the documentary co-producer and director Amir Muhammad will have to appeal to the Home Ministry.
On whether the documentary was banned beacause of its contents, Rais said it would be unfair for him to comment as he had yet to view the documentary.
"Whether the title reflects the content, we do not know yet. We have to be fair to the industry on this matter," he told reporters after winding up the National Culture, Arts Academy and Heritage Bill 2006in Parliament today (May 11, 2006).
Rais, however, said the title of the documentary - Lelaki Komunis Terakhir, is indeed repulsive.
"Whether the contents are, I do not know yet," he said.
He, however, added that each and everyone should take a fair and just attitude on the documentary as well as the country's movie-making industry.
Rais also said he would make the screening of the documentary available to MPs so that they can judge it themselves.
Banish fears of old paranoias
The Sun (editorial). 11 May.
The circumstances that have led to the banning of Amir Muhammad's documentary Lelaki Komunis Terakhir (The Last Communist), are appalling, to say the least.
As director Amir bemoans on the film's blog (lastcommunist.blogspot.com), no one in the Berita Harian or those whom the newspaper interviewed had seen the film. So the hysteria generated by the paper's reports that led to the Home Ministry's action reflects an unbecoming excitability, like that of a child who fears ghosts under the bed.
It also comes across as schizophrenic because the Film Censorship Board had earlier approved the film for viewing by the general public, without any cuts.
If that were not enough, Special Branch officers who viewed it at an unprecedented special screening thought it okay, rather academic and even a bit boring, as Amir records in his blog.
It is telling that Umno Youth had issued a protest letter against the documentary last year even before it was shot. By this action, the movement had only done itself a great disservice, appearing to be terrified by the faintest sign of new thinking on the horizon. Come, come, let's not be so easily spooked.
These reactions reveal a fear of dialogue, inquiry and reflection that does not fit into the atmosphere of openness and rationality that are essential for a society to develop maturity, courage and dynamism.
They are all the more bemusing because the semi-musical chronicle of the "cultural and historical landscape" of Communist Party of Malaya leader Chin Peng's home ground "eschews interviews or archive footage of the subject", as the Hollywood magazine Variety tells us.
It is also troubling that Home Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad believes that Malaysians are not yet ready to revisit episodes in their history that harbour ghosts of the past.
If one thing is certain about that view, it is that we will forever be unable to excise these old wounds in the nation's psyche unless we summon the courage to face them in the broad light of day.
Opinion leaders must stop drumming on these dusty issues if they truly want to play a positive role in the development of a forward-looking, confident and vibrant Malaysia. If they wake up and take a good look, they will find that many Amir Muhammads are already taking bold steps towards that future.
hi amir,
i've just been back from melbourne, and i've been catching up with a lot of news. ok to be honest, i've never heard of u before! well, before last week that is. take a wild guess where i first saw u... or better if u could pls spare 5 mins to read my post, heh heh... up to the last line, and tell me if i'm misguided =p
oops. it's
thejook.blogspot.com
it started as a comment here but ended up too long.
Maybe we could call up someone important to tell 'em to 'Close One Eye' on this...
No VCD/DVD until we manage to overturn the ban!
I expected our narrow-minded authorities to do this. Don't give up Amir. Overturn the ruling.
For more comprehensive collection of news reports, bloggers' comments and analyses, please go to http://patahbalek.blogspot.com/
Erm, this may (or may not) be off topic, but ... is there any reason at all that the banning of LKT leading to huge amounts of discussion among the more learned citizens in the country is just a diversion, a distraction to something else the govt doesn't want us to notice?
Taken from Berita Harian at http://www.bharian.com.my/m/BHarian/Saturday/Surat/20060513103429/Article/. Below are some excerpts from that letter, presumably from an average Malaysian citizen.
"Sesungguhnya era darurat (1948 hingga 1960) meninggalkan titik hitam dalam susur galur sejarah negara. Sepanjang 12 tahun 45 hari tempoh penuh tragik itu, pengganas komunis membunuh 4,338 orang tidak berdosa dan mencederakan 3,945 yang lain. ..."
"Berdasarkan statistik dan fakta ini, sebagai anak muda saya tidak faham kenapa hari ini harus ada gerakan untuk mentafsir semula sejarah dengan dakwaan pelik PKM pejuang kemerdekaan negara serta usaha halus memutihkan tokoh komunisme melalui filem dokumentari seperti Lelaki Komunis Terakhir yang dilarang penayangannya oleh Kementerian Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri walaupun diluluskan Lembaga Penapis Filem (LPF)."
"Saya khuatir jika kita berlembut dan membenarkan gerakan menafsir semula sejarah, apakah satu hari nanti akan tiba keadaan pemberontakan PKM akan diiktiraf sebagai peristiwa penting dalam usaha membebaskan negara daripada penjajahan, bahawa Chin Peng, Rashid Maidin dan Abdullah CD tokoh perlu dianggap perwira negara yang layak mendapat kurniaan pingat seperti Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa (SP) atau Pingat Gagah Berani (PGB) ..."
"Bukankah dengan berlembut kita hanya membuka jalan kepada tercemarnya memori keberanian mereka yang gugur demi agama, bangsa dan negara."
Everyone, do you see?
This is your country. This is Malaysia.
McGarmott: Malaysia Boleh mar.....
Ada pulak suara kera yg suruh umno join film industry malaysia... buat cerita apa agaknya? 13th May?
Just heard that the hall has been screening at 70% capacity since it began, and this has encouraged Cathay to extend the run!
The Malaysian fate remains uncertain but the screening for the MPs is this weekend.
Timbulnya suare kera tu sebab boss penapisan adalah setiausaha agung umno.. ialah kot kalo tengok kat carta kdn/khedn.
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