My View On Seniman Bujang Lapok

Seniman Bujang Lapok (The Three Worn out Actor Bachelors) is one of the installments in “Bujang Lapok” series, a Malay comedy film directed by P. Ramlee in 1961. The film features the main trio of actors, which are P. Ramlee as Ramli, S. Shamsudin as Sudin, and Aziz Sattar as Ajis. This film is a self-referential spoof of the Malay film industry during the late 50s and early 60s, which centers the main trio who try to become film stars and get themselves involve in film business. Moreover, the film also present fictionalized look of the behind-the-scenes process of Malay film making during that time, in the real film studio, which creates a blur line between reality and fiction. Not only that, real sets are used in the film to create the concept of film-within-film and also, the featured actors use their real life name in the film, which even blurred the line of reality and fiction.  Despite the comedy and the wonderful songs and music in Seniman Bujang Lapok, the main aspect of the film is to highlight social issues found in 'Seniman Bujang Lapok' (Dir. P.Ramlee, 1961) in relation to the Malay society during the 60s.

In his significant achievements, P Ramlee broke the established Indian style of which was a characteristic of Malay film making during the period due to Indian directors who directing most of the films. Instead, Ramlee turned Malay film style into contemporary social drama with Neorealist flavor which reflected more accurately the lifestyle and everyday concern of the Malay society.  

As mentioned above, Ramlee applied Neorealism into most of his films, so some characteristics of Italian Neorealism can be seen in the film Seniman Bujang Lapok such as available sound and light, which most of the scenes are filmed using natural light or artificial indoor lighting; the use of actual locations, where most locations are filmed outdoor, except for the behind-the-scene scenes which taken place in the real film studio and the room they rent; documentary visual style which filming the lifestyle of the Malay society and the film industry during 60s; and lastly, downbeat subject matters in the film which are shown when Ramli, Sudin and Ajis has difficulty looking for a job, the place they rent, and when Ramli has no money to wed Salmah. And last but not least, it reflects the life of post invention of Japan and the current British colonial during that time. One of the examples of post invention of Japan is when the trio having tea, one of the wheels of the truck that passed by in front of them punctured, and one of them thought it is the bomb explosion from the Japanese. Another example is, when three of them being asked about their education level, Ramli said his English education level was until four quarters, due to the invention of Japan.  As for the examples of people that time under colonial of British, the beginning of the film shows a white man statute standing in front of the western style of building with columns which slightly explains the colonial of British. Other than that, from the dialogues the actors and actresses speak, they mixed English and Bahasa together in their daily life conversation, which also shows the influence of British colonial during that time.  For example, the word: screen test, film stars and etc. 

Lastly, according to Malaysian Films: The Beginning, a documentary book about early Malaysian cinema, one of the reasons that brings Malay films to the highest peak during the 60s, is because the Malay society loves entertainment and they take this as an escapism from the sufferings at the hands of colonial government. Which this is also explained why Seniman Bujang Lapok is famous among the society during that time, as it reflects the reality and current situations that create synchronization between the film and the audience.  

After watching Seniman Bujang Lapok, the overall film is very entertaining and relaxing. I am impressed with the work of P Ramlee and enjoy watching it. And because the film reflects the society during the 60s, I get to learn more about the history of the nation and Malaysian cinema.

Reference:
Ciecko, A.T. ( 2006) Contemporary Asian Cinema. New York: Berg, Oxford International Printing Ltd.

Jarr, A., Malek, M.Z. (2005) Malaysian Films: The Beginning. Malaysia: Perbandanan Kemajuan Filem Nasional Malaysia (FINAS).

Lenos,M., & Ryan,M. (2012) An Introduction to Film Analysis. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc.