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VIRAL EXCLUSIVE
Sept. 7, 2023
Malbatt: Misi Bakara Reclaims the Narrative from Hollywood’s Black Hawk Down
Despite criticism surrounding its undertones of racism and historical inaccuracy, Black Hawk Down (2001) was lauded for its thrilling action scenes, winning two Academy Awards, thereby entrenching itself as one of Ridley Scott’s best films. 22 years later, Adrian Teh’s Malbatt: Misi Bakara seeks to reclaim that narrative that was first popularised by Hollywood, shedding light on the Malaysian military’s perspective in the historical battle at Mogadishu. By: Theng Min Yee
It is not a first for Hollywood when it comes to appropriating narratives and spinning it into sensationalised blockbusters. From Apocalypto (2006)’s portrayal of the supposedly “barbaric” Mayan people, to Pearl Harbour (2001)’s misleading depiction of Japanese planes deliberately attacking civilian hospitals, Hollywood has had a long track record of mischaracterising events and people. Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down (2001) finds itself on the litany of such films, getting away with its politically questionable content at the time of its release. With problematic Hollywood films seemingly getting exonerated due their massive popularity, it’s refreshing to see local films like Adrian Teh’s Malbatt challenge these prevailing narratives.
What is “Wrong” with Black Hawk Down?
Though the film’s striking visuals captured audiences, it seemed to equally mask a problematic and skewed narrative. In the film, Somalis are depicted primarily as scheming, menacing individuals. Their lives seem trivial and inconsequential, as they die off in anonymous waves. This deviates from Mark Bowden’s book Black Hawk Down, which the film is based upon. Unlike Bowden, who taps into the perspective of Somalis who witnessed the historic Battle of Mogadishu, Scott strips down his characters to caricatures. The Pakistani and Malaysian soldiers who fought in the battle have also been entirely erased from the film’s narrative.
Whilst the film either misrepresents or strikes off other parties present in the historic event, it glorifies the American soldiers. Many sources have debunked the film’s distorted depictions, which disguise America’s political entanglements in Somalia. Contrary to the film, where American soldiers bring food aid to the starving, Bowden’s book chronicled American soldiers terrorising the city’s residents. They hovered low over the locals’ flimsy shacks, blowing them apart, as well as tearing people’s clothes from their bodies in crowded marketplaces – Scott omits this entirely. Instead, audience are fed with a grand tale of American military triumph, embellished by curls of sinuous smoke, slow-motion blood sputters, and cascading gunfire sparks.
Reclaiming the Narrative
Having watched Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down (2001) when he was 17 years old, director of Malbatt: Misi Bakara (2023) Adrian Teh remembered feeling a sense of dismay at the film’s omission of the Malaysian military’s perspective. In an interview, Teh said, “I felt I needed to tell this story from the Malaysian soldiers’ perspective.” But besides the viewpoint of the Malaysian military, Teh’s film aimed to illuminate the untold stories of the Somalis. “Besides how many American soldiers died or got injured, and how many Malaysians were affected, I wanted to bring out the point that there’s someone else who was worse off – the people of Somalia,” he explained.
Compelled to depict the historic Battle of Mogadishu accurately in his film, Teh read through military reports intensively, talked to soldiers involved, coming up with more than 400 pages of storyboards with co-writer Ashraf Modee Zain. His commitment to resurrecting the scenes saw his production crew and cast flying to Türkiye, Middle East, to conduct training and filming. His team also had to reproduce the uniforms worn by past soldiers, as well as reconstruct the weapons and army vehicles of 1993, which is when the historic event took place. Action sequences, firefights, and explosions were also intricately designed. This massive undertaking led to Malbatt becoming one of the most expensive movies produced in Malaysia, with a RM20 million budget. Top-notch actors, like Zahiril Adzim, Iedil Dzuhrie Alaudin, Shaheizy Sam and Hairul Azreen, are amongst the cast of the film.
Created by production company ACT 2 Pictures, the film raked up RM13.5 million after just six days of screening, becoming a box-office hit. Malbatt: Misi Bakara is currently showing across 160 cinemas including seven cinemas in Brunei, and the film is also the first local film to be available in IMAX form.
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