I admit that my interest was only piqued because the show seemed to be generating a lot of box office in Malaysia. And it's iconic cold air balloon popped up in several locations on billboards and even the concourse of a shopping complex.
Checked out the trailer - no big deal, but the plot seemed relevant in a Malaysian Chinese context. Fair enough in itself but it was a draw for a banana like myself. And to be frank, I was hoping that it would be a close enough facsimile of a Yasmin Ahmad movie - goodness knows, I've missed her movies. So when the chance came to watch The Journey .....
No regrets. Ended up with all four of us watching the movie and a little lady pottering around on the mat. It was really good. And rather unusually The Journey seems to have gained a sizable Malay audience even though a huge chunk of the movie is voiced in multiple Chinese dialects. Crossing racial boundaries was rather a speciality of Yasmin Ahmad's ..
Quite apart from the plot - simple yet effective - watching the movie was like a huge product placement for Malaysian tourism. The scenery ... the landscape shots ... it made me want to visit Malaysia. It made me want to grab the DSLR and go out in all hours of day, in varied locations of splendour and gaiety and isolation .... and snap. It's been tooo long .....
And even though there weren't many songs in the show, this one spoke loudly in hushed tones.
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