“Hall 5!” the usher shouted. I quickly reached into my pocket to get my “Ola Bola” movie ticket, and walked to the checkpoint. But as I was queuing, I realized that the people behind me weren’t your ‘typical’ moviegoers: a group of Chinese and Malay aunties ranting about their husbands, and a lonely uncle wearing a loose orange polo, and trousers well above his waistline, who’d been holding his ticket patiently since I arrived. Subconsciously, I never expected that these people would share the same movie hall with me.
I was wrong. Hall 5 was full, and comprised people from all ages and different backgrounds. In this day and age, it’s pretty rare to get a huge number of non-Malays to fill a hall where a local film will be screened – but this is Ola Bola we’re talking about. Its director, Chiu Keng Guan, is celebrated for his magnificent breakthrough film “The Journey”; and one of the main actors, Bront Palarae, is one of the stars of HBO Asia’s “Halfworlds”. The production company, Astro Shaw, was a breath of fresh air to the industry, with their movies “Terbaik Dari Langit” and “Polis Evo”.
Even so, this experience was the weirdest, and one of the greatest, for me. I didn’t even care that the baby beside me cried through some important parts of the movie. Because for all you know, most adults in the cinema cried as well. I did.
The experience was glorious. No other local movie had ever spoken to me the way Ola Bola did. Sure, there’s always room for improvement, but damn, you’ve got to give everyone involved – Astro Shaw, the director, and the whole cast – due credit for the final product. A movie that the people have been longing for – not only to enjoy, but to feel a sense belonging and unity around.
Ola Bola raked in RM8mil on its opening day, and many questions were raised. Not about Ola Bola, but other Malaysian films that cost far more to make and bring in far less. Oh, you know, all those generic love, horror, rempit-themed films that are cringe-worthy and are also worth millions, but get so little back with almost zero social media impact. These films can surely learn a thing or two from Astro Shaw’s Ola Bola in all aspects. So let’s see what the local industry can do to step up its game and be on par with Ola Bola.
Cut the crap!
Yes, please, by all means: Cut the crap. By crap, I mean slapstick comedy movies, horror comedy movies, rempit movies, the ‘suami gatal’ movies, telemovies with a Malay girl’s name as the title, and the notoriously generic “anak orang miskin kahwin anak orang kaya, masuk dunia korporat, jadi anak derhaka, dan mati disambar kilat atau dilanggar lori” kind of storytelling that has been the staple of local movies and drama throughout the past decade or so. Cut it OUT, because it has been going on for too long. Don’t you think that it’s about time to come up with something fresh and actually good?
Get out of your comfort zone
The major players of the Malaysian movie scene need to stop giving excuses like “We only give what the people want”, or “This type of movie sold like hot cakes back then”, or the lazy “Kau siapa nak kritik movie tempatan? Ada pengalaman ke? Tak ada pengalaman diam” (actually made by a local filmmaker). Get out of your comfort zone. Listen to what the people want, because the people are your customers. Yes, producing a movie isn’t cheap, and the risks are there. But why stick to an overused, decades-old formula, improvise slightly here and there, play safe, and still lose money anyway? Ola Bola proved that getting out of your comfort zone can go a long way, a testament to quality and passion that will be remembered every time the National Football team plays a match.
Diversify casts
Filmmakers should diversify their casts and not over think who can sell tickets the most. Other than Bront Palarae and several veterans, Ola Bola’s cast consists mostly of newcomers. Despite a young and inexperienced cast, Ola Bola still managed to win our hearts, and persuaded many to go buy a ticket to watch a local film, instead of an internationally-renowned superhero film. This proves that you don’t need to recycle cast members, and that you should take time to discover new talents and help drive their passion.
Marketing
Ola Bola’s marketing was outstanding, tackling their potential audience (like a certain solid Soh Chin Aun) on all possible platforms, from Twitter to Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube. If Ola Bola had to go against other films in a marketing war, it’d just be a stroll in the park for them. Having Astro as their production label was a major blessing, as Astro only needed to snap its fingers to get exclusive promotional content through more than 5 different channels on their platform. Moreover, Ola Bola got Milo and GSC Cinemas as their sponsors, opening more doors for advertising goodness.
Soundtrack
Zee Avi and Rendra Zawawi’s “Arena Cahaya” definitely added a new spectrum of emotions and ‘feels’ to the movie. Astro Shaw also did this with “Terbaik Dari Langit”, giving Malaysian Psychedelic band Pitahati the opportunity to produce the score and the OST for the movie “Sahabat”, which eventually went viral and helped promote the movie though different channels. The Malaysian movie industry needs to revisit the days of “Azura” by Jamal Abdillah, whereby the movie’s OST played a huge role in putting life into the movie.
The thing is, Ola Bola isn’t the best Malaysian movie ever. However, it’s still resplendent, and it sets a new over-the-crossbar standard for other movies to follow. The movie shows how a simple, but well-scripted, movie about a football team can not only sell tickets, but powerfully impacts viewers no matter their race, age or religion – especially in this era of racial tensions and political segregation. This is not just the movie that the rakyat wants, this is also the one that they truly need.