No Heroes

My daughter had raved about the movie, so when she mentioned a friend was giving away two free tickets, I grabbed the offer. However I could only use 1 ticket, as none of my friends were free for the last-minute deal. I figured I could pass it on anyway. So I headed for the cinema counter, where there was a line of people queing. The reactions I got from the various people I approached to give away the free ticket were rather amusing to say the least. One actually veered away physically from me when I waved the ticket at her, as if I was the plague or something. A Chinese uncle was most interested until I told him it was for a Malay show. Another couple eyed me suspiciously, as they shook their heads. One guy's expression plainly showed his opinion of me - this woman must be mad. A young punk teasingly said he would sit beside me, just to keep me company, except that he was from Hong Kong and couldn't understand Bahasa. Funny, I guess no one goes around asking strangers if they want free movie tickets, except odd-ball old aunties like me? Anyway I gave up my good intentions since it was time to go into the movie hall...and so was wasted 1 ticket to a pretty provoking show.

The producer of this movie was apparently disappointed at its lack-lustre showing amongst  Malaysian audiences, especially since it was nominated for awards in some international film festivals.  Indeed the cinema hall on the day I went was not even half-full; there were barely 20 people, and only 2 non-Malays watching the show, one of them being this old aunty. Which is rather  regrettable, because actually it's a movie that's worthy of attention....

One Two Jaga  - what a weird title, I thought. It apparently references a children's game of Police and Thieves, a favourite of the good old days. I remember playing it many times in my childhood with friends.  I salute the producer for tackling a subject like police corruption in Malaysia. Everyone knows it happens, which reflects very badly on our guys in blue of course. It isn't fair, but the problem as always is with perspective, so no matter how few the 'black sheep', it taints the entire flock. And to play this issue up against the back-drop of illegal immigrants is a brilliant touch. Because the migrant problem is also a very real one in this country, which for the most part, remains sadly ignored altogether.

Indeed it's a 'heavy' movie. Don't expect any laughs.  I must say the settings in the movie are beautifully authentic, from typical run-down migrants quarters which I regularly see when I walk pass the back alleys of KL in my street ministry work to  crowds of foreigners milling around  certain streets in the city, jabbering on their hand-phones. In fact it's a good eye-opener for those of us who live in the rarefied atmosphere of air-conditioned offices and homes that there are actually people who live 'like that' in our midst.

But the loudest claps must go to the actors, who all play their parts very well, down to accented language and mannerisms of certain races. I could so identify with the characters, even to the long-haired, tattooed, chain-smoking self-proclaimed rebel-leader of the motley 'gang' of foreign construction workers. By the time of the climax scene, you just knew there would be no happily-ever-after ending for anyone.

If there was one theme to single out in this movie, it's simply all about money. How greed for it  drives people to murder, cheat, steal, even die for.  Whether it's to ease business deals or to support a family, bottom line is it's still greed, though we would rather term it 'need' so it doesn't sound so bad.  I like how the movie treats corruption as no respecter of persons  - whether it's the Malay or Chinese cop, the Indian datuk  or shopkeeper, the Indonesian in a construction site or the Filipino in a cyber-cafe - all are 'equalized' as  the disease sucks everyone into its deadly grasp. Much like sin, I venture. Doesn't matter whether we are a king or a beggar - we are all infected with this killer-strain called sin. Thanks to the innate survivalist instinct of every man for himself, and the desire to live life on our own terms, we strive and connive to get the best out of every situation, at the expense of others.

We may even think we are doing good, like the rookie cop, who merely wants to perform his job responsibly. So in the discharge of his public and professional duty, he pulls out his gun and shoots, all very justifiable, right and proper, according to him.  But who could have predicted the dire and tragic consequences of just one act of uncontrolled anger on so many lives? An innocent child died, a grieving father went berserk. A riot broke out. Many were hurt.  Likewise who could have imagined the single act of Adam's disobedience against God would condemn all the rest of mankind to eternal death?

I tried hard to look for some redeeming feature in this dark movie of life's realities. Yes, the hidden spider-web of corruption was exposed, most of the guilty were caught and punished according to law.  But to me, it was all rather depressing because I couldn't find any heroes to applaud, only victims. The stressed-out brother who labors so hard to get his runaway sister home to Indonesia ends up 'oiling' the wheels of corruption, because that's how the system works. The one righteous cop also failed in spite, despite, of all his good intentions to bring about justice.  It reminds me how we humans can try so hard to do right and still fail miserably. His experienced partner speaks the truth when he says it's no point, you arrest these today, many more will take their place tomorrow. In short, since you can't beat the system, might as well join it.

But some things are plain wrong, some things are plain right; and there's no in-between possible. Sin is sin, in God's eyes, no matter how small, no matter how justified or justifiable in human eyes. Maybe that's why many people get 'turned off' by God, because we just don't want anyone else to define what's right or wrong for us, and we certainly don't want to be held accountable to any other being except ourselves. Yet "there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death" (Proverbs 14:12) . If we choose to refuse God's offer of eternal life through Christ, obviously death is the inevitable result. He doesn't force it down our throats, but the choice we make bears certain consequences - it determines how we end, in life and in death.