Directed by Syed Fariz, 5 Bomoh revolves around Rashdan, a businessman who places a lot of faith in traditional beliefs and supernatural forces. His outlook contrasts sharply with that of his wife Sakinah, who tends to approach problems through faith, education, and pragmatism. Their differences become more pronounced when their daughter, Nisa, struggles to achieve the results her father expects in her SPM trial exams. For Rashdan, the situation becomes something that he needs to fix as soon as possible. This desperation of his sends him on a nationwide journey of bomohs who claim that they have extraordinary abilities.
The plot might look serious on the face of it; however, when you see it, you will realize that there is plenty of room for comedy. The very idea of a father who is worried and travelling from one bomoh to another gives many opportunities for laughter and comedy of errors. Imagine every parent doing this just because their child isn’t performing well in tests. However, under all this lies a premise that tries to convey something way more serious. The desperation of parents to see their child succeed is immense. But that success doesn’t come easily. There has to be patience, effort, and personal responsibility that one needs to own up to. It also acts as an eye-opener of the extent to which people go when conventional methods fail to produce results.
However, having said all this, it is important to note that 5 Bomoh isn’t without its weaknesses. For example, the plot is underdeveloped. There were instances of the story becoming better. However, it feels that at some point in time the makers didn’t really put in an effort to go into great depths. As a result, there are multiple scenes that feel completely unfinished when we try to watch. There is no doubt that the core of the premise is solid. But the execution falters heavily. The makers did have the opportunity to make it slightly better than what they ultimately delivered, and sadly they didn’t really realize this option much.
The pacing is awfully slow. The sluggish nature of the plot can annoy you, especially when the plot feels as if it has been made into bits and pieces. You can’t do much about it because, except for watching, nothing really is in your hands, truly. Some stories demand a slow pace. 5 Bomoh isn’t one of them. There are so many scenes that go on and on for no reason in particular. This is something I will never understand. It breaks the will to watch anything further.
When we talk about the cast of 5 Bomoh, they are the saviors. Aron Aziz, Scha Alyahya, Khairy Jaamaluddin, Ungku Hariz, Amy Search, Aedy Asraf, Johan, and the rest of the cast are saviors and a treat to the eyes. Had they not acted well, the movie would have become a sunken ship. But that doesn’t happen totally, all thanks to the cast. So all in all, while the plot of 5 Bomoh is great, there were missed potentials. Had they been looked into, the overall watching experience would have been even better.
Final Score - [6/10]
Reviewed by - Neerja Ch
Follow @NeerjaCH on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times