Gubra
Encyclopedia
Gubra is a 2006 Malaysian film directed by Yasmin Ahmad
. It was shot in 14 days in Ipoh
, Malaysia. It is the sequel to Sepet
, and was followed by Mukhsin
.
or Kedah
variant of Malay
used mainly used by the mamak
community. The word means "worry". For overseas distribution, it was marketed as "Anxiety".
At the hospital, Orked incidentally meets Alan, the elder brother of Jason, who recognized her from the photos that Jason and Orked took together during their rendezvous. Alan's father was also hospitalized due to a broken leg after his mother pushed him down the doorstep in annoyance. Alan was divorced from his Singaporean wife in this story and had his six-year-old daughter in his custody. In the midst of the 'reunion', Kak Yam got romantically involved with one of the hospital's male nurses, while Orked discovered, again (as it was not the first time since Orked mentioned, "You don't have to worry about breaking up our marriage, it's on the rocks anyway."), that Ariff had been seeing another lady, Latifah, behind her back. She moved back to her family home and had Alan bring her to his house where she tearfully retrieved momento items of her days with Jason, including photos and several Jason's Chinese poetry books, which Alan had kept away secretly for fear that his mother will secure them tightly in remembrance of her deceased son.
On a separate side of the story, Temah (full name: Fatimah Zakaria) is a Malay-Muslim lady who, unfortunately not well-versed in the Quran, works as a prostitute, together with a sidekick, Kiah. Despite her occupation, she is very fond and caring of her suspectedly born-out-of-wedlock son, Shahrin, whom she sends to religiously-rooted friend, Mas' house, for Quranic lessons under Mas' son, Adam's religious teacher. Mas' husband is a muezzin who also shares a neighbourly and friendly bond with Temah. He even helped to retrieve Temah's wallet when it was robbed from her by a man, suspectedly her former boyfriend who caused her to be pregnant with Shahrin, who might be in a frantic search of money to settle his gambling debts with loan sharks. Meanwhile, Temah went for blood tests at a polyclinic and discovered that she had contracted HIV. Regretfully, she requested Mas to teach her the Quran, who also guided her back to the path and aided her to perform her prayers.
The finale of the story sees Alan's parents reconciling after years of quarrels and fights by praying together before a Chinese altar and Alan and his daughter performing their solemn vows in a church. At the end of the credits, Orked was seen snuggling beside a topless Jason. Both wore wedding rings.
Yasmin Ahmad
Yasmin Ahmad was a film director, writer and scriptwriter from Malaysia and was also the executive creative director at Leo Burnett Kuala Lumpur. Her television commercials and films are well-known in Malaysia for their humour, heart and love that crosses cross-cultural barriers, in particular her...
. It was shot in 14 days in Ipoh
Ipoh
Ipoh is the capital city of Perak state, Malaysia. It is approximately 200 km north of Kuala Lumpur on the North-South Expressway....
, Malaysia. It is the sequel to Sepet
Sepet
Sepet is a 2004 Malaysian romantic comedy drama film set in Ipoh, Malaysia. Directed by Yasmin Ahmad, it tells a tale of a love that blooms between a Chinese boy and a Malay girl. Sepet is a Malay word which, in this context, refers to the 'slit eyes' of the Chinese.-Plot:19-year old Ah Loong is...
, and was followed by Mukhsin
Mukhsin
Mukhsin is a 2007 Malaysian film directed by Yasmin Ahmad. It is the third installment in the "Orked" trilogy. Shot in just 12 days, it won one award and one special mention at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival under the children's film category: International Jury of Generation Kplus -...
.
Name
Gubra gets its title from the word gubra, a word in the local PenangPenang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
or Kedah
Kedah
Kedah is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km², and it consists of the mainland and Langkawi. The mainland has a relatively flat terrain, which is used to grow rice...
variant of Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
used mainly used by the mamak
Tamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
community. The word means "worry". For overseas distribution, it was marketed as "Anxiety".
Synopsis
The story plot of Gubra is set a few years after Orked's romance with Jason, where she is married to Ariff, a man who is very much older than her. Early one morning, when she was fooling around with Ariff in the bathroom, her mother Mak Inom called her and said, "Orked, come now! We're losing your abah (father in Malay)!" Apparently, Orked's father, Pak Atan, had diabetic complications and the whole family, with their maid, Kak Yam, and chauffeur, Anuar, inclusive, frantically rushed him to the hospital.At the hospital, Orked incidentally meets Alan, the elder brother of Jason, who recognized her from the photos that Jason and Orked took together during their rendezvous. Alan's father was also hospitalized due to a broken leg after his mother pushed him down the doorstep in annoyance. Alan was divorced from his Singaporean wife in this story and had his six-year-old daughter in his custody. In the midst of the 'reunion', Kak Yam got romantically involved with one of the hospital's male nurses, while Orked discovered, again (as it was not the first time since Orked mentioned, "You don't have to worry about breaking up our marriage, it's on the rocks anyway."), that Ariff had been seeing another lady, Latifah, behind her back. She moved back to her family home and had Alan bring her to his house where she tearfully retrieved momento items of her days with Jason, including photos and several Jason's Chinese poetry books, which Alan had kept away secretly for fear that his mother will secure them tightly in remembrance of her deceased son.
On a separate side of the story, Temah (full name: Fatimah Zakaria) is a Malay-Muslim lady who, unfortunately not well-versed in the Quran, works as a prostitute, together with a sidekick, Kiah. Despite her occupation, she is very fond and caring of her suspectedly born-out-of-wedlock son, Shahrin, whom she sends to religiously-rooted friend, Mas' house, for Quranic lessons under Mas' son, Adam's religious teacher. Mas' husband is a muezzin who also shares a neighbourly and friendly bond with Temah. He even helped to retrieve Temah's wallet when it was robbed from her by a man, suspectedly her former boyfriend who caused her to be pregnant with Shahrin, who might be in a frantic search of money to settle his gambling debts with loan sharks. Meanwhile, Temah went for blood tests at a polyclinic and discovered that she had contracted HIV. Regretfully, she requested Mas to teach her the Quran, who also guided her back to the path and aided her to perform her prayers.
The finale of the story sees Alan's parents reconciling after years of quarrels and fights by praying together before a Chinese altar and Alan and his daughter performing their solemn vows in a church. At the end of the credits, Orked was seen snuggling beside a topless Jason. Both wore wedding rings.
Cryptics
- Shahrin related to Temah how he had dreamt of her sitting on a swing crying. This revealed that Shahrin had somehow foreshadowed the scene where Temah was sitting on a swing pouring out her sorrow of having contracting HIV to Mas and Kiah.
- During Alan's drive with Orked to find a nice place to have breakfast, their conversation contained lines expressing the beauty of Malaysia's variety of cultures and races, but lacked sincere appreciation from the Government, as portrayed by the line "... it's like loving someone who doesn't love you back".
- The church scene at the end was shot at St. John's Church, Ipoh.
External links
- A Review of Gubra
- http://fest06.sffs.org/films/film_details.php?id=37
- Review: gubra - love and faith in the face of adversity
- http://www.moviexclusive.com/article/gubra/gubra1.htm