COMMENT There was some controversy surrounding recent movie '
Ola-Bola' which saw some Chinese complaining that the player that scored the final goal in the1980 Olympics soccer qualifying match - which the movie was based on - was a Chinese.
This differs from the movie's account which showed a Malay player scoring the winning goal. The movie made it clear in its opening credits that it was not a true-to-life documentary.
The abortive controversy aside, as cliched as it sounds, 'Ola-Bola' is a movie whose time has come.
The issue raised above perhaps showcases the discordant times we now live in and why we need such stories to remind us of why unity is important.
In any case, 'Ola-Bla' is the long-awaited bridge between movies popular with the public and one that satisfies the critics' aesthetics. As well as being a timely social commentary and rallying cry for unity amidst our current crisis.
In recent history, Malaysian movies are either critically acclaimed or highly successful at the box-office. Both mutually exclusive, with few in- betweens.
Films like 'Bunohan', 'Lelaki Harapan Dunia', 'Kinta', and 'Jagat' which got rave reviews, did not get the exposure and box-office collections that their acclaimed status called for.
Silver screen adaptations of Mat Rempit, forbidden love, gangsters, rape victims marrying their rapists, ghosts, and other more casual subject matters raked in more takings.
Movies like 'Police Evo' and 'The Journey', however, have managed to bridge the two groups in taking in respectable collections while being touted as more artistic offerings.
But in this case, it is as though both genres had decided to elope and then have a baby. And 'Ola-Bola' is that baby.
It is a success story that has eluded many Malaysian films since the glory days of Sir Run Run Shaw, P Ramlee, and the productions of the 70s and 80s prior to the 90s, and the industry's later slide into pretty faces and populist leanings.
From an industry standpoint, 'Ola-Bola' is being seen as a show of hope that Malaysian movie-making is not yet in its sunset but is heading for greater heights.
Apt social commentary
Beyond the scope of a maturing Malaysian movie industry, 'Ola-Bola' is also an apt social commentary of our times and a galvanising cry for unity that Malaysia sorely needs.
While the subject matter is football and its story loosely based on the travails of the 1980 Malaysian football team to win the regional qualifier for that year's Moscow Olympics, woven into the fabric are more serious and important tidings.
These touched on the brain-drain which continues to plague Malaysia as the talented leave to look for greener pastures overseas.
The situation is portrayed in the movie via the story of team captain Chow Kwok Keong who turns down a chance to play in the English Premier League as he is loyal to the Malaysian football team.
One of the pillars of the movie is his struggle with that decision and how it affected the people around him.
It was also the background behind the interplay between one of the characters - TV producer Marianne - researching the 1980s team and her boss who turned out to be the announcer who was on duty during the Olympic qualifier.
Her boss had similarly decided to forgo an offer from the BBC to continue serving in his own country.
Marianne herself, in the beginning of the movie, was about to migrate and accept an offer overseas before her eventual decision to stay after finding out about the story of the 1980 Malaysian Olympic football team.
வாஷிங்டன் – அமெரிக்க உச்சநீதிமன்றத்தின் தலைமை நீதிபதி ஆன்டோனின் ஸ்கோலியா அண்மையில் காலமானதையடுத்து, அப்பதவிக்கு புதிய நீதிபதியாக இந்தியர் ஸ்ரீகாந்த் ஸ்ரீனிவாசன் நியமிக்கப்படவுள்ளார்.
