Yet another short film from the 15Malaysia project. This is currently my favorite. One Future, directed by Tan Chui Mui is a short science fiction flick about a perfect future. Science fiction here does not mean spaceships and aliens, It’s a satire of a dystopian future where everything seems to be perfect.

I suggest you to watch the film first before continue reading the rest of this entry.

I like that this film make use of still images and clever narrative to tell the story of the future. I like that it’s in black and white, and has 1984 sci-fi-ish feel to it.

In this future, everything is perfect, everything runs orderly. The government loves everyone and takes good care of everyone. The government gives everyone a job, a home and assigns them with a new families. A real integration with mix interracial families assigned by the government.

In this future everyone is assign a new mix interracial family everyday, a new job, and a new home everyday. Imagine this, one day you’re a rich CEO living is a high-class penthouse, and the next day you a blue collar worker doing manual labor. Equality for everyone. One perfect Malaysia indeed.

However, in this future, nobody is allowed to speak. Your freedom to speak is just a small price to pay for living in this perfect utopian world. Don’t you think so?

One day something goes wrong. A man can’t get into the home assigned to him for that day. If he can’t get into his house, he can’t get his instruction for the next day. He then press the emergency button, and comes a government official. He was then arrested.

“There is something wrong with the system.” He told the agent.

I don’t know which is more worst, speaking or speaking up questioning the system. He then was taken away never to be heard again.

This has been the premises of other science fiction story of a dystopian future where everything was suppose to be all perfect.

However, as it has been proven throughout time and history, that there is always going to be something wrong with any man-made system. This includes governmental system, legal system, economic system, cultural system and political system. There are always something wrong with Communism, Feudalism, Monarchy, Dictatorship and even democratic system. Something definitely would go wrong with a totalitarian government.

It will make things worst if no one is allowed to question the system. If there is something wrong with the system we fix it, modified it or change to a new one. A system should evolve through time, to cater for everybody subjected to it.

That’s my take on the short film, One Future. Don’t forget to check out the making of One Future video clip.