Siti Non Aams Legali - Book Review

Siti Non Aams Legali, the latest comedy from Malaysian film star Ong Bak dim Kian. Directed by Bernhard Truglio and starring Len Cariou, Jodelleted, Yaphet Kite, Ramel Emblic, Wee Yean Een, and Mike van Gogh, Siti Non Aams Legali is a remake of the Indonesian movie, Memotqi saat Kuala. Here, dim Kian plays the role of the lawyer in a turn-of-the-century court drama, while his colleague Ong Bak takes the role of a bungling police officer. The movie follows the unlikely relationship of the two police officers as they struggle to clear a law against murder and smuggling. If you haven't seen this movie, you are definitely missing something. Let me give you some brief description about the movie before I go into details.

 

Inasi manang means "I'm going to have a drink" - Siti Non Aams Legali (I'm Going to Have a Drink) is about two police officers who find themselves in the middle of a fierce controversy: They are suspected of the murder of an indigenous girl, Inasi, played by Wen Wei Estrada. However, they are powerless to defend her killing on the basis of the local laws. The two detectives, accompanied by a village chief (Krister Ramli), set out to clear Inasi's name, only to find that his conviction for murder is trumped by a local official (Ong Takien). Meanwhile, a Chinese agent also becomes involved in the case, and he and his associate arrive at the courthouse just before the closing session of the trial, which has been delayed due to the heated debate between the local politicians and the lawyers.

 

Soon, the two detectives find themselves in the middle of a major political battle, pitting them against local businessmen who are vying for control of the local government. With the help of the local priest (Dieter Busch), they are able to clear their names, but they still need to escape the area in order to get help from the national police. The two cops soon find themselves trapped in a bunker. Meanwhile, the lawyer from the trial arrives, along with his associate, Siham Lert, and they decide to give Inasi the chance to walk away from the crime.

 

What follows is a complex and disturbing story of corruption, power, greed, and murder. The story line moves from the village to the capital city, and it takes the story back to the days of the Mughal Empire. A religious cult is discovered to be behind the murder of the local officials, and the two cops find themselves protecting the community from a religious mob. Meanwhile, the central character, Siham Lert, is murdered.

 

I found that while the plot is intricate, and there is some nudity (there are a few nudes in this book, but not in a great deal), the story is worth the couple of pages devoted to it. It begins in a very typical way: the main characters meet, they discuss something trivial, and then they are interrupted by a servant-boy from the household. The boy brings along some sweets for his mistress. He threatens to reveal something to the authorities if they do not do something, and the main characters, including a pregnant woman, are forced to do something. Once they start to go about their daily business, however, the reader will begin to wonder what exactly the point of all this was.

 

The story is complex, and the characters believable. The dialogue, which is often difficult to understand, adds to the depth of the tale. There is also quite a bit of legal jargon, but I found that, at least once or twice, it was used in a way that kept me from completely losing my mind. And the illustrations are beautiful. The colors are vibrant, and the scenes are set in a very Italian rural setting, but Siti Non Aama Legali recolutione is not necessarily farcical.

 

In part two, entitled "Dante and the Lamp," we get a much better look into the minds of two characters from the first part, and we learn why exactly the Lamp and Dante are fighting. What a beautiful moment this is, as the two characters stand face to face. At this point, the translation of the text becomes a little problematic for me, as I found myself having to interpret not only the meaning of the words, but also the actions of the characters. The translator did a good job of bringing in enough native Italian for me to grasp what was being said, but the story just felt a little cluttered at times.

 

Finally, in the last third of the book, titled "The Book of Toni," I feel as though I have enjoyed reading it most. It is very descriptive, with detailed descriptions of the landscape as well as the interior. It is also written as a sort of diaries, almost a coming of age story. This is also a beautifully illustrated work of art. The last third of the book, which depicts the relationship between the three main characters and their faithful, loyal dog, ends wonderfully.