Movie Review: Abang Adik
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A film about two brothers in a dire situation who would go to staggering lengths to take care of one another, this piece was bound to be a heartwrencher. It opens with an honest view of the conditions of the undocumented population in Kuala Lumpur: a diverse community that is often impoverished, exploited, under constant threat from the government, and living beneath the veneer of wealth in the city. The plight the brothers face was not hard to relate with, as they live at constant risk of having their whole lives torn away from them.
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The humble lifestyle of the two brothers among their community and neighbors quickly paint them to be a charismatic pair. Despite their living conditions, the brothers’ real connection with each other and with their neighbors and the small joys they find in their day-to-day lives makes them relatable characters whose tender humanity is easy to fall in love with.
As the story develops, the film plays with our sense of moral compass, calling into question what we can consider “right” or “wrong”. The characters are compelling in their motivations; we can empathize with the decisions made by each individual, even when the characters themselves disagree with one another. These moral conflicts make the film powerful; it helps us fully appreciate the characters and the choices they are limited to in their pursuit of what it means to be a good person and to care for each other.
The unconditional care the brothers experience for each other and their conflicting personal desires and emotional obstacles put to the test what it means to love unconditionally and how far a person is willing to go in the name of altruism, when one of them performs an unspeakable act. What, then, of their brotherhood and unconditional love and reconciliation? The conflict takes us through the heartbreaking despair created by the systems out of their control and the choices they are forced to face with high consequence. The film culminates with a reflection on the point of crawling through life with all the odds constantly stacked against you, as a victim of a system that is just set up for you to fail. At what point do you give up and stop fighting? And what’s worth fighting for?
The buildup to the climax of the story was long, but necessary, and the culmination of the story was worth every minute of the wait. Heartbreaking and heartwarming, the story puts you face-to-face with the pain of human injustice, rendering a story that resonates deep within the soul.
