THE STORY follows three desperate characters over the course of one day, during which their lives intertwine – and then, all hell breaks loose.
The first is single dad Sugiman (Indonesian actor Ario Bayu), an Indonesian immigrant who wants to build a better future for his son, Joko (Izuan Fitri).
In the meantime, he is also trying to arrange an illegal boat passage back to Indonesia for his sister, Sumiyati (Asmara Abigail), who has just run away from her abusive employer without her passport.
Sugiman has to also make sure Sumiyati does not get caught by the authorities.
Then, there is Filipino immigrant Rico (Filipino actor Timothy Castillo), who has borrowed money from loansharks to send to his mother in The Philippines. Now, he is pressured to pay back what he owes.
The third is policeman Hassan (Rosdeen Suboh), a father of two, who is always short of money and has resorted to taking bribes from foreign workers to make end meet.
But his new partner, Hussein (Zahiril Adzim), is outraged when he learns about the bribes, and becomes obsessed with making things right.
Very often, Malaysian films have a habit of sweeping the bitter truth under the carpet. But that has not happened here.
Director Namron has no qualms depicting how we really treat immigrants in our country, and that is utterly refreshing. He has not sugar-coated anything.
The first image of the film is brilliantly creative. It is a close-up of Zahiril’s face which is full of scars and wounds.
Immediately, you have a gut feeling the story is filled with pain and misery, and your instinct will turn out to be right.
One emotional scene from the film depicts the aftermath of a shootout involving a main character. The character notices blood on his hands, and thinks he has been hit. When he realises there are no bullet marks on his body, his face is awash with relief.
However, he soon realises who has actually been hit by the bullet, and his face is filled with pain and grief. It is a superb scene where the drama is conveyed without words.
Everyone – including the side characters played by Amerul Affendi, Azman Abu Hassan, and Chew Kin Wah – churns out first- class performances.
Hats off to Zahiril and Ario, especially.
Personally, I really believe the film would have more effective if it had just focused on the journey of Sugiman getting his sister out of the country, and less on the story of Rico and his debt.
If the Malaysian film industry is to progress, we need more local films like One Two Jaga, and directors like Namron who are not afraid to hit his audience with the hard truth.
1) Ni memang bukan movie acah2 deep. Tak ada dialog2 dengan ayat berfalsafah segala. Cerita dia pun straight to the point je, no surprise twist or whatsoever.
2) Tengok & enjoy for the sake of good acting. Semua pelakon memberi secara alami. Iman, Adi & Joko must be among my favourite characters.
3) Realiti memang harsh & movie ni mempertontonkan that part of life which aku yg cukup selesa dengan kehidupan sendiri ni tak pernah lalui. Bersyukur beb.
4) Aku akan faham kut kalau ramai yg cakap movie ni bosan tapi sedarlah ini bukan action movie fake dgn scene kereta terbalik, meletop sana sini. This is very much as close as the reality di suatu bahagian dalam masyarakat kita.
5) Setuju dgn @willow12 Ario Bayu sangat hot . Bront jua gojes seperti biasa
6) Agak spoil sikit bila darah menjadi oren masa scene gaduh waktu hujan tu .
7) Amerul berhak untuk another trofi Best Supporting Actor. Just saying .
aku tyengok sapot filem melayu..dan sapot namron dan rakan2.
Bagus sekali olahan ceritanya..walau berkisar dalam radius yg kecil segelintir masyarakat dan kehidupan tapi ia memberi pengajaran dan mesej yg byk utk kita fikirkan.
moga terus maju filem Melayu..tknak filem bodoh karya cina sorg dan rasid muhidin tu. filem kapcai rempit genster sila merepot.
ok cerita ni. dah tengok hari isnin lepas. mmg panggung tak ramai pun.
patutnya anggota beruniform biru tengok cerita ni....sure masing2x pandang bawah..hahhaha
Filem ni cuma bercerita, tak perli sapa2.
Macam watak Hassan tu, filem ni tak tonjolkan dia baik ke jahat, mungkin kita boleh faham mengapa dia ambik rasuah, mungkin kita jenis idealistik macam Hussein yang akan kata Hassan ni polis korup.
- If you’re expecting an action-packed thriller then you’re going to be mighty disappointed. This is a drama. A crime drama maybe, just that with no frills. No complicated, mind-blowing storyline. No hero kacak atau heroin cantik either.
- I love how the story builds up and the plot unfolds, how the scattered mini plots gradually meet, finally cross and everything made sense in the end. How the rain changed the mood of the movie. How such a heavy theme is cleverly, if not casually, played while not touching on the offensive. To me it was a brilliant story-telling that surpassed all expectations.
- The biggest strength of this movie, I would say, is its unpredictability and elements of surprise.
- I was looking for the protagonist but found none. I guess every character carries their own importance. I love it that every character is flawed, some more than others, and some you could vouch for why they become what they are.
- This movie boasts of a very talented cast (tapi tak berapa fofuler sebab kat malaysia ni kalau tak kacak hensem cantik putih gebu, who are youssss sangat kan?). We see Amerul Affendy in his elements. This guy doesn’t act: he becomes. Ario Bayu, Zahiril, the pinoy guy also delivered. For a bit of eye-candy hehe adalah kemunculan producer Bront Palarae for a couple minutes.
- The script is natural and not pretentious. Tak skema. It doesn’t preach either. You won’t find anything acah-acah deep here, which at my age and point in life suits me perfectly.
- I think it’s the first time I watch a local movie with one too many beeps. Rajinnya lpf!
- I would give a standing ovation to Bront, Nam Ron and the rest of the team behind 1,2 Jaga. Tak apalah kalau tak box office, tak capai juta-juta, unappreciated etc. Sometimes kalau dalam masyarakat tu majoritynya shallow maka yang shallow lah yang akan diangkat. Jangan majuk, Nam Ron. Thank you for reviving our faith in the local movie industry and for giving us something that doesn’t make us cringe. For me I’d choose this a thousand times over those marvel comic crash boom bangs.
- This movie actually does nothing more than tells a story. It doesn’t try to impress which, ironically, adds to its charm. Whatever conclusions you care to ponder is up to you.
Author|Post time 13-9-2018 11:36 AMFrom the mobile phone|Show all posts
Edited by willow12 at 13-9-2018 11:39 AM
hyie replied at 13-9-2018 01:37 AM
sebab filem ni perli geng2 polis ke uols?
Dok aihhhh... Aku rasa filem ni sangat balanced dari segi justification why there are the good and the bad.
Setiap watak tu pengarah portray secara collective. Sangat menyeluruh bukan hanya fokus pd satu perkara jahat sahaja and vise versa.
Contohnya, watak adi tu...hati kering betul bakar mayat org myanmar yg mati kat tempat construction..weiiiii nmpk jahat sgt kan? Tp on the othwr situation, dia sgt protective dan bertanggungjawab bila sugiman bgtau ada masalah polis minta duit suap bila adik dia kena tahan takde permit. Dia tak takut langsung nak berdepan dgn polis yg minta rasuah tu. Aku suka betul watak amerul afendi ni..
Ko kena tgk la sendiri, at least give a try.. Why not kan?