Writer: Gareth Goh

Writer Ratings:
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Cast: NA
Plot: NA
Effects: NA
Cinematography: NA

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As a proud, patriotic Malaysian and an avid film buff, I want the Malaysian film industry to thrive and succeed. I believe that we have much to offer, both from a cultural standpoint, what with our rich and diverse blend of different backgrounds, and from a talent standpoint, where I am certain that there is plenty of untapped filmmaking ability lurking around somewhere. And we have shown occasional flashes of brilliance. "Sepet", despite its shortcomings in both story and cinematography, succeeded on both a personal and an internationally critical level as a whole. "The 3rd Generation" fails on both.

Hailed as Malaysia's first Cantonese movie, the movie centres around the patriarch of a typical 20th century Chinese family as his business thrives and his family grows. Chan Wah (K.C. Cheng) is a staunch believer in following traditions of old, something he struggles to impose upon his modern family. Charlie (Nicholas Teo) returns from his overseas education with a modern and sophisticated wife, Susan (Amber Chia). Susan struggles both to gain acceptance in the family and to make her husband happy. The problem is, Charlie has already found his soul mate in another, Linda (Carmen Soo) whom he soon begins an affair with. This affair is more than just about sex, however, as Charlie takes Linda under his wing and helps the hardworking and ambitious girl succeed in the modern business world. Judy (I-Fun) is the daughter of a family who has a degree in fashion design and as expected, also struggles to gain approval from her father. While these personal relationships are strained and struggled with, the family business also goes through its ups and downs as Charlie tries his best to take over and succeed in the modern world, despite his father's old traditions.

The story doesn't so much crawl along, as it plods. The slow pace fails to capture the audience and the audience soon loses interest in the multitude of relationships it has to keep up with.

This happens for two reasons; First of all, the audience has nothing invested in the characters. While "Sepet" was tear-jerking and poignant, "The 3rd Generation" simply tries too hard to be that, while not really engaging the audience. This is through no fault of the actors, who are all more than capable of playing their roles with gusto. Even models Amber Chia and Carmen Soo and singer Nicholas Teo prove that they do indeed have the acting shops to succeed on the big screen. Rather, it is the story and the hollowness of the characters, that lets them down. The dialogue, intended to be serious, is chock-full of unintentional comedy that had the audience rocking with laughter when it was supposed to be reaching for the tissue box.

Second of all, the camera work is stunningly slow and soporific. Filmed mostly through a still-camera, the intent was a simple capture of the poignancy of the characters. This is a waste to the gorgeous and faithfully recreated scenery and costumes, where the director should have focused his attention, instead of being let down by characters that are boring.

There also exists a host of motifs and metaphors placed with subtlety around the movie that are intended to have some kind of deeper meaning but instead come of as pretentious and superfluous. The motif of three that exists literally everywhere is neither explained nor important. In this movie that represents so much hope, both within the movie and for our film industry, we are ultimately let down.

Cinema Online, 23 September 2008