Tag: Film

Io Non Ho Paura and Late But Happy


Last night as I settled down with a glass of red just before Tress and I went to bed, we chanced on a foreign language film on television, on SBS. We watched a little while but were soon hooked and ended up watching the whole thing.

The movie was an Italian film titled “I am not scared”. It was about two boys, Michele and Filippo who met and became friends under the strangest of circumstances. Filippo was a kidnap victim, holed up in a pit behind the family farm house of Michele. Michele’s father is part of a group responsible for keeping Filippo there. They had kidnapped the boy.

We enjoyed the movie for the way the story slowly unfolded through the eyes of Michele, the country boy who enjoyed life in wide open grain farms and liked toy cars but who had an innate sense of what’s right. He instinctively knew he had to help Filippo even after discovering it was his own parents who were responsible for the kidnapping.

When the authorities tracked the kidnappers down, the crooks decided they had to shoot the boy. Michele’s father drew the short straw and when he pulled the trigger, it was Michele he shot. Michele had gone to rescue Filippo when he heard the kidnappers’ discussion.

The end/final scene saw helicopters descending on the farm property, with Michele held by his father and Filippo reaching out to his new found friend. Thankfully Michele reached out with his hand towards Filippo, suggesting the shot wasn’t fatal.

The movie was such a satisfying way to wind down the day. It was however, close to 11.30pm – about an hour past our usual bedtime – when the movie ended. It did however wind the both of us down sufficiently for a really good night’s sleep, so good that we overslept – almost 1½ hours for me and around ½ hour for Tress.

We woke up – a la Hugh Grant in 4 Weddings and a Funeral – at 6.20 and quickly got Kiddo up and rushed through the morning routine. By the time we got out of the house it was 7.20 and it was far too late to drive to the station, where the car park spaces filled out by a little past 7 on most mornings.

So we drove to Forest Hill Chase, parked there and caught a bus from there to the station. It worked out fine for me because I was only about 5-10 minutes later than my normal start time so it was cool. It did mean however that I missed most of my morning activities, including quiet time and gym.

I think it was worth it though – “I am not scared” (Io Non Ho Paura in Italian – I just googled it) was a beautiful movie. We didn’t understand a word of it but it was subtitled and it was a satisfying watch.

Malaysian Tragedy


The recent statement by Raja Petra on the events leading up to his Statutory Declaration on Rosmah Mansor, and Din Merican’s response to that statement, really showed how things are done in Malaysia. Reliance on a couple of telephone conversations, which appeared really short on details, lead to a statements which the masses were too happy to jump on with conclusions.

Apparently a guy called Nik Nazmi Nik Daud orchestrated the whole thing. He duped Raja Petra into thinking there was an intelligence report by Lt Kol Azmi Zainal Abidin which proved Rosmah Mansor’s presence on the murder site. 

Raja Petra, for all his resourcefulness, relied on just 2 apparently quick phone calls to verify the existence of the report. He did not insist on seeing the report or even talking to the purported author of the report. He spoke to third parties on the strengths of their connections with influential people.

That unfortunately sounds all too familiar. Businesses are transacted, assets are purchased, marriages are instituted, and other major decisions are made far too frequently on the say so of someone rather than on detailed investigation of what is the substance of the matter.

“Is this speaker any good?” Yeah he is – so and so said so. There he is on the pulpit delivering hogwash based on non-existent exegesis and some snake oil theology.

“Is this company share worth buying?” Yeah it is – so and so said so. A couple of million ringgit later the buyer is cursing and swearing for losses made because some fund manager was actually trying to offload his holdings.

This reliance on “so and so said so” is mind boggling. Malaysians are just so scared, so lazy, of doing the hard yards. The investigations, the reading, the comprehension and analysis, are often all missing. The short cut is easy but often riddled with dangers. We deserved better. We had one of the best education systems in the world (had is the operative word now) – so why make ourselves look like lazy, uneducated sloths?

I know 20-20 hindsight is always 100% accurate but unless we learn to put in the hard yards by getting our eyes and hand down for some grinding work, we can only blame ourselves if things go wrong. RPK may have been well liked and trusted but despite his Welsh blood, he is as Malaysian as they come. Din Merican said Anwar said ok and John Pang said Ku Li said ok, and bang, the mother of all SD’s out there to spawn a whole saga all its own. Malaysia boleh? There’s a twist even to that stupid phrase.

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