HOMEGROWN NATURE-LOVING HERO
A CO-PRODUCTION of Layar Sunan, Ideate Media, Karangkraf and Astro Shaw,
which means “ghost” in KadazanDusun, brings author Ramlee Awang Murshid’s best-selling novel to reel life.
Our hero, Ejim (Zul Ariffin), is a facially deformed baby, born to a rape victim in a remote village in Sabah’s mountainous Keningau district. Delivered by medicine woman (bobohizan) Monsiroi (Farah Ahmad), Ejim is adopted and raised in the ways of a warrior by soldier and headman Pondolou (Faizal Hussein), and grows into a Herculean fighter hiding behind a wooden mask. Possessing superhuman strength, and the ability to “command” the movements of branches, leaves and insects, Ejim becomes a mysterious figure feared and respected by the indigenous people of Sabah.
He faces his first challenge when he takes on unscrupulous businessman, Wong (Michael Chen in his first Malay-speaking role), who tries to uproot his father’s idyllic village in the name of “modernity”. In the process, he comes face-to-face with his ally in the modern world — feisty TV journalist Wan Suraya (Nabila Huda), who is equally concerned about Wong’s plan to build a dam, despite a promise from his company’s chairman Tan Sri Behram (Datuk M. Nasir) that the project has been scrapped.
Wong, who is allied with Behram’s scheming half-brother Juslan (Hasnul Rahmat), vows to eliminate Ejim, and guns down Pondolou in the process. This enrages the jungle warrior, who goes all out to stop the project, save his villagers and bring the killer to justice.
Seth Larney
Zul Ariffin, Farid Kamil, Nabila Huda, Faizal Hussein, Hasnul Rahmat, Michael Chen, Farah Ahmad, Datuk M Nasir, Datin Marlia Musa, Faye Kusairi, Dynas Mokhtar, Atu, Muhammad Al-Rayyan
115 minutes
P13
Juslan’s and Wong’s thugs abduct Wan Suraya, but Ejim promptly saves her. However, they run into ranger Amiruddin (Farid Kamil) who mistakenly blames Ejim for causing his wife Salina’s (Faye Kusairi) death in an accident. Vengeful Amiruddin calls the masked warrior a “beast”, but the aged Monsiroi soon approaches him and shockingly reveals that they are twin brothers separated at birth.
While Zul never shows his face, he clearly has the height and physique of a warrior, and his kicks, throws, punches and chops are stylish and real. It is great to see him spar with Farid once again, after their brilliant showdown in early this year.
Farid’s Amiruddin is a far cry from evil genius Andra in and is in fact the exact opposite — a loving father to his son and a grieving husband who is robbed of his wife in a horrific car crash. While he is angry and vengeful, viewers easily sympathise with him.
Nabila ditches her “hot” image to play a tomboyish, jungle-trekking journalist, and she passes with flying colours, largely because of her intense facial expressions and tip-top physical fitness. While her character Wan Suraya is a lot less challenging than Maria of it is a commendable break from the norm, proving once again that she is one of our best actresses. Hasnul, who was loathesome as Raja in
nails it as a baddie once again, and this time around, he is ably assisted by Chen, who is every bit a “baby-faced killer”.
Faizal also does a great job as the wise and spiritual Pondolou, but it is Farah who truly shines as Monsiroi, the long-suffering medicine woman who foresees Ejim’s destiny and reminds Amiruddin of his forgotten past. Her makeup artists also deserve kudos for transforming her into an aged matriarch complete with grey hair and deep wrinkles.
All of the main actors deserve a big hand for doing their best in mastering the Sabah Malay dialect. The cinematography, which mainly focuses on majestic Mount Kinabalu and the changing clouds above it, is a sight to behold.
While there are only two natives of Borneo in the main cast — Faye as Amiruddin’s wife Salina and Atu (of
Zero) as his best friend Ondu — they help drive the plot and are not just windowdressers.
is non-stop action from the get-go and the cast does justice to each character. Superhero fans ought to catch Ejim’s journey, and be proud we have a homegrown superhero who cares about nature.