Gadoh

The pretext – a high-school teacher tries to find a solution to inner-school violence but is hindered by the head master’s bureaucratic attitude – is a familiar one. Dangerous Minds, Remember the Titans and even Matthew Perry, who covered the Hallmark version, have explored this. So what then makes Gadoh unique?

Gadoh stands out to Malaysians because the main star of this film is not the idealistic teacher, her maverick-grad-school friend or even a brilliant student dismissed as a mere hoodlum. The main protagonist of Gadoh is underlying racial tensions, uniquely Malaysian ones that is. Brenda Danker and Namron’s film is poignant and at least in regards to Malay and Chinese frustrations, inclusive. During its official screening at HELP Institute, the audience laughed boisterously but they also shifted uncomfortably at times. Why? Because Gadoh’s dialogue witty as it is, sounds like it was crafted from your own secret thoughts and misconceptions.

Still this is a safe film. Eventually everyone gets along with each other once they’re able to identify their common humanity and shared problems. Yet between the edgy camera-work, convincing character portrayals and stellar script, an inner conflict arises. Although this is a brave, smart, honest and incredibly funny film, some elements are hard to accept. For instance, that the lone Indian student played by Ryan Lee Bhaskaran remains passive and compliant to being bullied, or that, even more disconcertingly, he is “lone” at all. Where were the other Indian kids? It’s also difficult to digest that very real, valid frustrations between ethnicities aired here were able to just dissolve like aspirin in the face of friendship and trust-building exercises.

Only, that’s exactly what happens in Gadoh. Malays, Chineses and Indians find a way, in an unsettling, almost too-easy manner. But perhaps that is the underlying meaning to this conflicting film; that the burden of being a generation saddled with the legacies of inequality is something we carry together. And can be solved if we are brave enough to face those issues together. Gadoh raises interesting questions, but is definitely a must-see.

Next screening on Friday, 12 June at 8pm at Theaterette, HELP University College (Main Campus) Pusat Bandar Damansara. Visit www.komas.org/gadoh/index.htm for free passes.

Cast Namron, Zahiril Adzim, Nicholas Liew Davis, Amerul Affendi Director Brenda Danker/Namron Runtime 70 minutes Opens 22 May

Text Kamariah Rahmah