Return to Murder   Starring: Zahiril Adzim, Faizal Hussein and Pekin Ibrahim Universal Pictures (UK) RRP: £12.99 8289297 Certificate: 15 Available 09 July 2012

Adil is a moderately successful kick boxer, who finds himself fighting for his life during a match. Fleeing home he is pursued by his brother, an assassin, who has been hired to kill him. The two meet in their home town of Bunohan, along with their third brother, who had returned home to look after their ailing father. Their father’s death starts the brothers on a dark path which ends in violence and murder...

Return to Murder (2011 - 1 hr, 34 min, 17 sec) is better known by its original name ‘Bunohan’, the town’s name literally translates as ‘murder’ - sounds like a great place to live. The Malaysian film is a deeply contemplative piece about relationships and the power of place and the past, even if the trailer would have you believe that this is a kick boxing film. The film was written and directed by Dain Said.

Zahitil Adzim plays Adil, who has got in well over his head, with financial problems, before he flees home, following walking out on a fight that was supposed to be to the death. Ilham (Faizal Hussein) leaves a brutal trail behind him in his search for Adil, only to discover that they are stepbrothers. They finally meet Bakar (Pekin Ibrahim) an outwardly respectable man, who appears to be caring for his dying father, when in actual fact he is waiting to steal the old man’s wealth, selling the beachfront property and preying on the locals. With the three brothers once again reunited their past and present cause bitterness and confrontation as the families long buried secrets start to rise to the surface.

In a land which straddles east and west traditions and sensibilities, the brothers differing take on how to live only brings them into further conflict. The tension extends to a battle between the soul of the land, its traditions and stories and the lure of the new with the quick access to soulless material wealth. Both the brothers and their culture appear to be standing at a crossroads with violence created from the conflict.

This is a deeply moving film, filmed by the cinematographer Jarin Pengpanitch, who captures both the expansive beauty of the Malaysian countryside as well as the grime of the city. Just from the film's visuals you can guess that the film makers hearts are not so happy with the level of modernity which is sweeping this country. As well as visually appealing the film boasts strong performances from its three leading men.

The disc is presented with an anamorphic widescreen picture with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1; there are a range of audio options including DD 5.1 Malay, French and German, with English, German, French and Dutch subtitles.

Extras on the disc include the Making of (21 min, 22 sec), in English and Malay, the director discuss much about the film and is well worth a look once you have finished the film. There is also In Conversation with Director Dain Said (30 min, 06 sec) in English, which covers a lot of the same material, but in greater depth. The disc closes with the misleading Trailer (1 min, 03 sec), which gives the impression that the film is about kick boxing.

The film is very much in the art house tradition, some may find it slow, but personally I found it to be a very rewarding experience.

8

Charles Packer