Tanda Putera (2013)
The film is about the close friendship between the second Malaysian prime minister, Tun Abdul Razak and his deputy, Tun Dr Ismail. They were secretive about their health problems as they had the task of restore the peace in their country following the events of 13 May, 1969. Tun Razak was suffering from leukemia and he had to keep it a secret from his family. They both seek the services of Dr. Macpherson. The reading room of Tun Dr Ismail became a secret clinic for their treatment.
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Reviews
Great Film overall
it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.
This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
It is very known that Malaya was the port of many migrants as tools of slavery to fit the Colony's demand. The Chinese were brought in for that purpose, and caused havoc to fulfill their lust for the land of the country due to simplicity of influence from the communists' ideology. The movie sparked emotional response and truthfully revealed the controversial past that Malaysia has been through with the Malays facing internal problems from the Chinese. The controversial message has been successfully digested and understood as the movie guides us from the beginning of the process until the ultimatum which proves that harmony can be achieved by understanding the real need of the country which is teamwork. However, this movie would not have a good response from the Chinese because history has been proved to not be bright on their side.
The negative reviews of Tanda Putera have come from those who have not even seen the film. The May 13, 1969 racial riot in Kuala Lumpur as portrayed in this film is highly sanitised compared to the ground zero situation of 1969. It was meant to give a background as to why 2 Malaysian statesmen had to use clever states craft to re- stabilise the nation. The nation could have gone either way - stability restored or descend into untold turmoil. The 2 statesman put the national interests above their own health frailties. They toiled through the years following May 13 incident so that Malaysians could be reunited and the nation rebuilt from the destruction of such riots. Both statesman died in office, one of leukemia, the other of massive heart attack, after new policies at restructuring and developing Malaysia were put in place. It is one of the best Malay films ever produced.
Historically inaccurate film with plenty of distorted facts. Many Malaysians(including the Malays) are disgusted with the racist elementsprojected in this film. This movie is financed by the BN controlled Malaysian government to incite hatred among Malays towards Malaysian Chinese community using the racial riot incident in 1969 as the backdrop of the movie. Many scenes depicted in the movie are fabricated to make the Malaysian Chinese, who are mainly the supporters of the opposition look like the instigator of the tragic incident.This movie is nothing more than a mere propaganda tool, which proved ineffective and failed miserably during it's opening day. Don't waste your money on this.
A lot of items in the movie i.e. smoke detectors, air conditioning compressors, road tax stickers were not created in 1969, as when the movie is supposed to be based on.Keeping that in mind, it looks like no research was done, hence this movie should be marked as nothing more but science fiction and propaganda material.This is the kind of movie that you would expect to come out from North Korea, not South East Asia.For the sake of my eyes and brain, lets hope no more movies come out from this "director".