Stone Turtle
Stone Turtle | |
---|---|
Directed by | Woo Ming Jin |
Written by | Woo Ming Jin Deo Mahameru Neesa Jamal |
Produced by | Woo Ming Jin Edmund Yeo |
Starring |
|
Cinematography | Kong Pahurak |
Edited by | Edmund Yeo |
Music by | Phil Chapavich |
Production companies | Greenlight Pictures KawanKawan Media |
Distributed by | Parallax Films |
Release date | 4 August 2022 (Locarno Film Festival) |
Running time | 91 minutes |
Countries | Malaysia Indonesia |
Language | Malay |
Stone Turtle is a 2022 Malaysian-Indonesian science fiction thriller film directed by Woo Ming Jin, starring Asmara Abigail and Bront Palarae.
Plot
America has “Groundhog Day.” Now Malaysia has “Stone Turtle,” a beguiling, all-around-gorgeous reimagining of Southeast Asian folklore that finds its characters caught in a loop of vengeance, lust and violence from which they cannot escape. Here, it’s a dead-serious political statement rather than rom-com karma that forces island-dwelling refugee Zahara (Asmara Abigail) and an intrusive outsider (Bront Palarae) to play out repeated versions of a cautious standoff: She deals in precious leatherback turtle eggs; he claims to be a wildlife researcher but pursues her with a passion that suggests other priorities.
Cast
- Asmara Abigail as Zahara
- Bront Palarae as Samad
- Samara Kenzo as Nika
- Amerul Affendi as Registry Officer
- Maisyarah Mazlan as Zahara's sister
- Alison Khor
Release
The film premiered at the
Parallax Films acquired international sales rights to the film in August 2022.[4] [5]
Reception
Matthew Joseph Jenner of the International Cinephile Society rated the film 4 stars out of 5, writing that "By the end of Stone Turtle it is likely that the viewer will leave the film with more questions than answers – in most cases, this would be a shortcoming, since the lack of closure can be frustrating. Yet Woo is gifted enough to use this as a powerful tool, one that stirs as much thought as it causes confusion, which matches the general tone of the film and creates a far more enriching experience than we may have expected at the outset."[6]
Jessica Kiang of
References
- ^ Chua, Dennis (10 August 2022). "#Showbiz: 'Stone Turtle' gets good reviews at its premiere in Locarno Film Festival". New Straits Times. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
- ^ Soo, JX (7 July 2022). "Malaysian film 'Stone Turtle' selected for Locarno Film Festival's Golden Leopard competition". NME. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
- ^ Ferrarese, Marco (17 August 2022). "In Francis Ford Coppola's footsteps: Malaysian winners of Fipresci Prize at Locarno film festival on their art-house film Stone Turtle". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
- ^ De Pablo, Emiliano (6 August 2022). "Woo Ming Jin's Locarno Player 'Stone Turtle' Swooped on by Parallax Films (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
- ^ "Malaysian New Wave Pioneer Woo Ming Jin Returns to Busan With Locarno Winner 'Stone Turtle'". Variety.
- ^ Jenner, Matthew Joseph (8 August 2022). "Locarno 2022 review: Stone Turtle (Woo Ming Jin)". International Cinephile Society. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
- Sight & Sound. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
External links
- Stone Turtle at IMDb