15Malaysia: Rojak

The last 15Malaysia short filem Rojak was released just before the Eid holiday. I haven’t had the time to post any write up on it, so here is it. Rojak directed by the Suleiman Brothers pretty much sums up what 15Malaysia is and what Malaysia is.

Unlike the rest of 15Malaysia film, Rojak is made entirely with CG special effects. It tells a story of a Rojak seller, the narrator as he relates the Malaysian food snack Rojak with Malaysia’s multi-faceted social political tapestry.

Rojak is a Malaysian food. It’s more of a snack. It a mixture of many different ingredients, tofu, eggs, curry, vegetables all mixed up. It has a crunchy feeling, sometime sweet, sometime spicy, and yet with all the different taste and ingredients it somehow holds together. Just like Malaysia with its multi-racial cultures.

I like how this piece is narrated. The rojak stall is at the center of all the chaos. At one corner there is a kid being bullied, another corner a biker preparing to snatch some poor old lady’s handbag. There is a scene where a religious person scolding a couple making out in public while at the same time a group of demonstrators is fighting with the anti-riot police. So many things going on and everybody are too busy with what’s in front of them that they failed to see other things that’s happening around them.

In the end of the film we see all this people at the rojak stall enjoying some rojaks and cendols, together. I could see this happen in real life. In a normal day, who knows if an anti-riot police officer, off duty might be having some rojak next to an anti-ISA demonstrator at the same rojak stall, they might exchange small talks, maybe about the weather.

The making of Rojak is a must see. Take a look how the production company, Studio Voxel creates the surreal environment that makes up Rojak. The whole film was shot entirely in a green screen studio, and there’s even motion captures involved in the production. Some high-end stuff going on there.

Overall Rojak is the perfect short film to wrap up 15Malaysia project.

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