SELUBUNG

SELUBUNG is refering to the covering of the head or body part with clothes.

Synopsis:

Mastura, who was returns her studies abroad from Perth, Australia, feels upset because of  losing of her good friend E.J. who was atrtracted by the former alternative ,through the figure of  Brother Musa, a member of Tabligh, a worldwide Islamic fundamentalist missionary group.Besides that, E.J also choosed to marriage with Brother Musa in a short time .Because of  love, E.J had decided to stop her final year studies by follow Brother Musa eventhough Brother Musa have first wife, Hani that have mental problem after losing her baby.When Mastura back to Malaysia, she had decides to pick up the voluntary work as to promote goodwill that focusing on helping Muslims in the Middle East. Halim who has experienced in working serving abroad to the Middle East. has encourage Mastura to enjoy Rescaid, a voluntary  organization.  In her line up to help the children, Mastura slowly falling in love with Halim. a divorcee who shares the cause she is pursuing. The success of a nation-wide charity concert promoted by Mastura and the team from ‘Rescaid’ becomes the pride of the locals, until one day, tragedy strikes unexpectedly. However, it does not kill Mastura’s determination to protect the fate of the unfortunately.


Review


"Selubung" film was describes as "a complex and off-beat story of a young woman who are maturing in three loves- that a close of friend, the displaced children in Palestine and also the love story of her male employer . There are actually two endings for"Selubung" film. First, the bombing of Rescaid's Office had seriously injures Mas who seem unlikely to survive until her godfather and her fellow villagers chant the Muslims Testament of Faith in Terengganu Kampung. Second ending is return to the two shots of lovers ,Mas and Kamal rolled up in screen.  It is the one of the part that i liked very much .When the Muslim testament of Faith was running in Mastura Terengganu Kampung,  a lot fo butterflies invade her mental( Dr,Sardar, Palestine childrens, and her godfather) and soonly butterflies filled up her hospital room that shines down upon her and suddenly she wake up from coma. Kamal's mobile phone was rang before the praying was began, he stood in tears next to his car overlooking Kuala Lumpur in down. The combination of East Coast mysticis and also Muslim Faith was representing the Malay culture identity. The second ending of "Selubung" is when those Palestine childrens reached Kuala Lumpur during the charity concert that was performed by Pinto, ,played by Hattan singer ,which are unimportaned character  who performed in the second half in the film even recording a song for rescaid with Mas and Kamal (the singer M.Nasir who also compose music for that film).  Besides that, the other part that i like most is when Hani is killing E.J's baby in the first half part flash back of the film )highlights the psychological disorientation caused by the cultural environment in which they are 'forced' to live.


After killing E.J's baby ,Hani had reduce her envy feelings of E.J as her husband-Brother Musa's second wife. Hani was suffering after she lost her baby and uncomfortable feeling of sharing husband with E.J that had replaced her status deep inside Brother  Musa's heart. The part that i do no like is the reason of Brother Musa joined with Halim after E.J's baby had been killed by Hani.  Brother Musa makes more direct commitment to do volunteery work as a doctor in the Lebanese refugee camps.It had appeared without a clear explanation, the same situation also happened when two european students watched a women being tortuted in a jail that now this fiction is not clear. In the following scene, it also shows an unidentified men spray s"Arab go Home' on wall, throwed gas on framed quotation from the "Al-Quran" and on a number of books.All the unclear scenes showned on film maybe because of the unimproved editing that caused audiences convey the unclear message when they was watching the film.
According to the fire burning scene, culturally,socially and politically ,Australia is been stated as dangerous and also intolerant places for Muslims. Brother Musa preaches Muslim seperateness in the face of abhorrent western sexual and moral values.


 We can categorized that E.J is an traditional Malay women that are strong in religious .She is an extremist in religion and always wearing conservatively clothes. E.J is an women that love and able to sacrifice to her loving person no matter husband and friends.  E.J make a choice to live with other's husband, eventhough it is suffering for her but she is happy with that at the end.


Compare to E.J, Mastura is an modern, self-driven and also independent women. Mastura is practising islam religious as well. Mastura also wearing modern costumes and applying makeup compare to E.J that seldom wearing progressive modern costumes in "Selubung" film. Eventhough Mastura is an modern, self-driven and independent women,  but she still  stand strong netiher for her culture or religion.