Anwar, The Untold Story’ is a film portraying Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s political career as he battles corruption in the country while going through challenges and struggles. It is reported that real events in Anwar's life from the time he became finance minister in 1993 until his termination in 1998 served as inspiration for the story.
The movie, filmed by Indonesian director Viva Westi, stars actor Farid Kamil from Malaysia in the lead role as Anwar, while Acha Septriasa from Indonesia plays Dr Wan Azizah. The film, produced by Bianglala Entertainment at a cost of RM10 million, was shot in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Overall, the performances by the actors were really amazing. More than 80 per cent of the actors were originally from Indonesia, but they were able to speak in Malayiginally from Indonesia, but they were able to speak in Malay. Even during the press conference with the Prime Minister, he also congratulated all the actors for their hard work.
"Although the Indonesian accent is there, I don't think this is a problem, as long as you understand it, I think it's very good," Anwar told media members during a press conference on Monday (May 8).
This story tells the viewers everything about Anwar. Anwar is a Malay man originally from Permatang Pauh, Pulau Pinang. With the mission to battle corruption in his beloved country, he thinks that he should be on the government side because that is the only way for him to fix everything.
Anwar became Deputy Prime Minister under the leadership of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad from 1993 to 1998. But, under Mahathir's leadership, Anwar was also dismissed from all positions in the government after being linked to corruption and sodomy cases in September 1998.
This film also showed the viewers a scene between Tun Dr Mahathir lead by Indonesian actor Hasnul Rahmat. It portrays Tun Dr Mahathir asking Anwar to resign; however, Anwar refused to do that. This is where everything started.
"If you're afraid of risk, don't talk about struggle." These are the words that brought Anwar to the end of his life in jail for fighting for the country. One day, Anwar's private house was broken into by the police, and the police showed the arrest warrant. When Anwar asked who managed to give instructions, however, the police did not give any response. They just said that they just do their job.
"Take care, Azizah; take care of our children." Those were his last words to his wife, which brought the viewers into bursts of tears. In this part, this movie also portrays the relationship between Anwar and his family.
The police bring Anwar to jail. When he arrived at the jail, he was beaten half to death with his eyes closed, which is believed to have been done by the Malaysian head police during that time. To be more sad, when Anwar asked the police to get medical treatment, the police refused.
His wife, Dr Wan Azizah, or Kak Wan, and his family, however, did not know where Anwar was to be jailed. There was a scene where Kak Wan and her daughter Nurul Izzah, played by the Indonesian actress Saskia Chadwick, were waiting in front of Bukit Aman Police Station for the entire day.
Besides showing how Anwar ended up in jail, this film also showed the viewers many scenes that he had faced during his administration. In this film, there is a scene where he goes to a primary school in Sungai Rajang, Sarawak. He was very upset and sad after arriving at that school. It was very poor. Even the students need to line up to go to the restroom because there’s only one restroom for the entire school. To be more sad, he already approved the budget to fix this school, but why is it still poor?
There was a scene where he successfully amended the anti-corruption law; however, this caused dissatisfaction among Umno members, especially Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed.
Besides portraying how he managed the country, this film also showed the scene where Anwar was with his family in Permatang Pauh, where several of his family members asked Anwar to approve the government contracts so that they could manage them; however, Anwar refused to do so because he thought that this would lead to corruption.
During the movie screening, a lot of media members, social media influencers, or even political figures were so excited to watch this movie. To sum up 90 minutes on Anwar’s journey in this country’s administration is something hard, but at least this will alter people’s perception towards Anwar, just like her wife said at a press conference, "23 years Anwar was portrayed as a criminal, and I believe this film can change that. Alhamdulillah."
After watching this movie, as a Malaysian, I do believe that it is worth watching, even though we have different views and perspectives on politics. It is because all the scenes in this film were based on a true story and a Malaysian historical event.Besides, this film was made before Anwar’s became the prime minister. Although he is still in office, I think the biopic is well deserved.
If his wife said this film can change people's perceptions, I believe that Malaysians will love to see it! Want to know more? The public screening of ‘Anwar, The Untold Story’ will be shown in all major cinemas beginning May 18, 2023. Do not miss this opportunity.