Return to Murder

A distinctive voice in Malaysia’s thriving indie scene, Dain Said has developed his fascination for hybrid cultures into a highly original film — one that is difficult to situate within the usual genre boundaries.

Bunohan means “murder” in Malay, but it’s also the name of a village in the badlands of Kelantan, a state along the Thai border where Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and animism intermix along with Malay, Thai and Chinese cultures. Into this landscape of mangrove swamps, Said spins a tale of avarice, murder and deceit, involving three estranged brothers and their ailing father.

Adil (Zahril Adzim), a young Muay Thai kick-boxer, has just fled an honour fight­-to-the-death. Ilham (Faizal Hussein), an assassin who is also Adil’s stepbrother, is promptly hired by the organizer of the death match to kill the fugitive. Looking for somewhere to hide and recover, Adil and a childhood friend take shelter in the Bunohan boxing club where Adil started his career. Ilham, meanwhile, has never been back to Bunohan since the day he left many years ago. Upon returning, memories of loneliness and abandonment flood his mind, and he experiences waves of resent­ment and regret. Bakar (Pekin Ibrahim), the third brother, has also come home from the city; ostensibly a respectful schoolteacher, he is in reality a greedy and ruthless person, and is trying to convince his father to sell a burial ground to a construction company.

At once realistic and stylish, Bunohan is a groundbreaking and powerful film with an archaic, mythological soul. Said’s assured direction guides the vibrant performances of his almost entirely male cast — we only catch glimpses of one woman, Ilham’s deceased mother who has morphed into a crocodile spirit. Balancing action with insight and the fascinating account of a culture at a cross­roads, Dain offers a complex story of dark passions poised between modernity and tradition. —Toronto International Film Festival