Movie review: One Two Jaga

THE STORY follows three desperate characters over the course of one day, during which their lives intertwine – and then, all hell breaks loose.
The first is single dad Sugiman (Indonesian actor Ario Bayu), an Indonesian immigrant who wants to build a better future for his son, Joko (Izuan Fitri).
In the meantime, he is also trying to arrange an illegal boat passage back to Indonesia for his sister, Sumiyati (Asmara Abigail), who has just run away from her abusive employer without her passport.
Sugiman has to also make sure Sumiyati does not get caught by the authorities.
Then, there is Filipino immigrant Rico (Filipino actor Timothy Castillo), who has borrowed money from loansharks to send to his mother in The Philippines. Now, he is pressured to pay back what he owes.
The third is policeman Hassan (Rosdeen Suboh), a father of two, who is always short of money and has resorted to taking bribes from foreign workers to make end meet.
But his new partner, Hussein (Zahiril Adzim), is outraged when he learns about the bribes, and becomes obsessed with making things right.
Very often, Malaysian films have a habit of sweeping the bitter truth under the carpet. But that has not happened here.
Director Namron has no qualms depicting how we really treat immigrants in our country, and that is utterly refreshing. He has not sugar-coated anything.
The first image of the film is brilliantly creative. It is a close-up of Zahiril’s face which is full of scars and wounds.
Immediately, you have a gut feeling the story is filled with pain and misery, and your instinct will turn out to be right.
One emotional scene from the film depicts the aftermath of a shootout involving a main character. The character notices blood on his hands, and thinks he has been hit. When he realises there are no bullet marks on his body, his face is awash with relief.
However, he soon realises who has actually been hit by the bullet, and his face is filled with pain and grief. It is a superb scene where the drama is conveyed without words.
Everyone – including the side characters played by Amerul Affendi, Azman Abu Hassan, and Chew Kin Wah – churns out first- class performances.
Hats off to Zahiril and Ario, especially.
Personally, I really believe the film would have more effective if it had just focused on the journey of Sugiman getting his sister out of the country, and less on the story of Rico and his debt.
If the Malaysian film industry is to progress, we need more local films like One Two Jaga, and directors like Namron who are not afraid to hit his audience with the hard truth.