THE film begins by showing us a hardworking father trying to raise his son despite the daily challenges they face.
Izwan (Azrel Ismail) is very determined to provide a decent quality of life for his son, Biko (Syed Irfan). As a lorry driver, Izwan works hard to reach his dream, which is to build a safe place for both he and his child to live, their very own“home sweet home.”
In the midst of being motivated and passionate about achieving his goal, Izwan discovers that the property agent he hired has cheated him and stolen all his money.
To make matters worse, Izwan and Biko are evicted from their rented house after failing to pay the rent due to a lack of funds.
Without a place to call home, they are forced to sleep in Izwan’s lorry.
Knowing that the family is financially strapped, Sherry (Sara Ali), Biko’s adoptive mother and Izwan’s best friend, takes Biko to an audition for extras to appear in a new music video by internationally renowned singer Sara (Baby Shima).
Unbeknownst to them, Sara and Izwan have a history together, that has been the cause of conflict in their lives – culminating in a shared secret that they have kept hidden from everyone.
Biko is directed by Teng Bee, who produced the highly-praised biopic Lee Chong Wei: Rise of the Legend in 2018, together with Pouvin and Tommy Loh handling production and screenplay, respectively.
It also turns out that Teng Bee also composed the film’s theme song, Cinta Darimu, which is performed by Baby Shima both in the film and on the movie soundtrack.
The balance in the tone of this drama-romance film was perfect, while still remaining family-friendly.
As the film is about life, the bond between father and son, overcoming tribulations, and striving for improvement, it is an excellent choice of film for a local audience.
The thing that I liked the most about this movie is that it depicts the grim realities of daily life.
It really shows how difficult it was for our main characters to live even one day without enough money or a place to stay, and the film also chose to shoot in a solid location and appearances that show the real struggle of people in this situation.
The fact that this movie was able to accurately depict the challenges they go through in life is the one element of the movie that I like the most, and it’s the main reason why I think it’s one of the best.
It was straightforward and showed how terrible life can be for some people – such as the homeless and the underprivileged – a topic that this genre of film typically avoids covering.
Both the actors and actresses in the film performed excellently, especially young actor Syed Irfan – who, despite being new to the film profession, could be seen displaying a complete range of emotions.
Baby Shima, who is better known for singing and dancing in Tik Tok videos, also did well in her first major film role, suggesting that the casting directors made a fair choice to hire her.
You may say that plot of Biko has more in common with a Korean drama or movie than with a Malay one. However, it is well worth your time and money to watch this movie since it will undoubtedly cause you to experience at least some melancholy on some level.
Last but not least, with a happy ending comes a big sacrifice.
-> Director: Teng Bee
-> Cast: Azrel Ismail, Syed Irfan, Baby Shima, Sara Ali, Josiah Hogan
E-VALUE - 7
ACTING - 7
PLOT - 8
