So I've gotten it into my head that I want to do the equivalent of D&D but based on local and regional depictions of myth and fantasy, and that probably a good idea at starting at it is by looking through Malay pop culture and pulp fiction.
Which then, made me think, hey, why not watch Laksamana Do Re Mi?
Funny story about P Ramlee's filmography — the rights are tangled up with the Shaw Organization, and for some damn strange reason there are like pirated versions of P Ramlee movies all over YouTube. Like this one:
Anyway, some thoughts:
Ibrahim Din's first appearance in the movie is him basically harassing a couple of shopgirls, which I'm... like...
Also, you can tell that this was P Ramlee's last movie, because of his physical state wasn't great? Also, the acting is really dire and it's really super low-budget, which probably contributed to the stress that probably killed him?
Mind you, thinking about the reasons why everyone looks like their wearing cast-offs from other plays and movies really makes for some funky world-building. Like there's a scene where the three of them walked past what I'm pretty sure was a pipeline (maybe oil, maybe water?) gives some funky ideas about worldbuilding? And everyone wears a mix of hulubalang clothes and suits and miniskirts, which is like... funky crack AF LOL
Also, there's a song that they sing that, as a kid, I thought was gibberish... turns out it's Japanese? Considering that the Japanese Occupation and its brutality was only like in P Ramlee's youth, that's pretty significant. Also, it's nice to see Malaysians being such fcukign weebs
The movie is really, really violent. Amputations, eyes getting gouged out for comedy...
And kinda rapey. Which is probably a reflection of Malaysian society at the time... and right now, honestly
Also, almost everyone except Hussein Abu Hassan probably doesn't have martial arts background, because it's kind of evident that no one in this movie can fight worth a damn LMAO. Just checked Wikipedia and turns out he's an ex-cop, which explains shit
Also, the final fight scene starts out super-tense with Malay pantun between each bout of action, which is... hmm
And then it proceeds to rapiers LMAOOOOO
...why does Ibrahim Din have a Peace Sign Medallion in his uniform?
And now they're eating nasi kandar... omg AR Tompel is the most ungrateful recipient of magic wishes ever
Also the sound cuts out around 1:14:53, which is annoying.
Also, Fasola's weakness is very much kind of like Achilles, except that I also suspect that there likely is a local myth that's similar to it, but it was also influenced by the Greek story, so there's that
Oh god the awakening scene for the princess starts off funny but then gets progressively uncomfortable
Ok LOL the princess is a sass machine
The lack of sound is kind of annoying, and I dunno if I wanna see more of it I guess.
