29 Februari

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29 Februari is a Malaysian "fantasy biography"^[1] and romance musical film produced by KRU Studios, touted as the country's first stereoscopic 3D theatrical release. Directed by Edry Abdul Halim, 29 Februari tells of a man who only ages once every four years due to being born on 29 February, resulting in him ageing far slower than his peers. The film was theatrically released in 3D and digital 2D format in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei on 30 August 2012.

Plot[]

The movie initiates in the late 19th century, where Halim bin Kasim (), an employee of the British colonial government, and his wife, Sakinah () see a shooting star in the sky. Halim wants to make a wish, but Sakinah reminds him to remember the indigenous Malay tradition and not get carried away by the colonial culture.

On the morning of February 29, 1896, Halim receives news that his wife is going through labour. He rushes home from work to celebrate the birth of their son. They decide to name their child "Budi". However, Budi bears a curse - he only ages every 4 years, stemming from the fact that he is born on a leap year which only occurs once every four years.

The consequences of this 'curse' start to become increasingly significant. In 1941, Budi, who was supposed to be 45 years old by now, gets bullied by other boys as he still appears to be in his young teens. Because of this, he finds it tough to get along with his ‘peers’. At the end of 1941, the Japanese invaded Malaya. Budi's parents, who were supposedly ‘conspiring with the British’, get beheaded for the new colonial policy of "Asia for Asians”.

Around the in 1957, Budi (Remy Ishak), who is in amid adolescence, sells wicker baskets with his friend, Razak (Izzue Islam), who is impaired, whom he grew up with at the orphanage. When bumped into a pair of sisters, he fell in love with one of them, particularly Ho Lai Lai or Lily ().

The feeling of love that is blooming between Budi and Lily is unveiled through rendezvous by the creek, and a visit to Budi's prior residence, which is enlivened with songs composed by Budi's humming love for Lily. Nevertheless, this relationship is not appreciated by Lily's relatives, notably her father, Mr. Ho (Chew Kin Wah); even more so, when in an attempt to deliver gifts and flowers to Lily for her birthday in 1965, Budi's presence caused Lily's engagement ceremony with her family's favoured fiancee, Alex, to become a mess.

Following thereupon, Budi attempts to mend his relationship with Lily by seeking the blessing from her father but ultimately flunked after Mr. Ho flung the ring to the floor, which caused it to leave a dent. Considering then, Lily ran away from home and fled her family behind, causing her father to go against Budi at the orphanage. Consequently, Budi himself is thrown out by the owner of the orphanage (Nam Ron). The odds of Budi reuniting with Lily gradually decreased, until May 13 1969, Mr. Ho had come to hide in a barbershop frequented by Budi where had delivered the news that Lily has relocated to Penang. Budi also obtained news that Razak had left the orphanage. This information encourages him to move to Penang.

Decades have passed, but Budi's intention of meeting Lily still hasn't been fulfilled. In 1985, when Budi grew in his twenties, he nearly met Razak incidentally, who is now elderly and feeble. In addition, he now has a son (Ammar Ashraff).

In 2012, at the age of nearly 30 years, Budi, as the owner of a florist store aspires to reestablish his home as a sanctuary. When chasing one of his employees, Arif (), who constantly comes late to work recently, up to the Penang Hospital where he reached a ward labeled with the name of Ho Lai Lai. Arif happens to be Lily's nephew. Lamentably, Lily is now elderly and dying because of end-stage cancer.

The reconciliation threw Budi into a deplorable state, in which he had to deal with the 'curse' of only growing every four years, which makes him recall the agony of having lost too many loved ones because of it. Nonetheless, he endures it and tries to spend as much time with the elderly and infirm Lily for as long as he can.

On the morning of the 55th Independence Day, Budi woke up in distress after dreaming of a repulsive disturbance, that he and Lily would be unfortunate, although his own body was already suffering health problems. Impatiently, Budi sped towards the hospital to meet Lily again for the final time, so he had to disrupt the Independence Day parade. Predestinated, Budi was hit by a car, which he had imagined in a dream and was severely wounded. He was then rushed to the Penang Hospital, where he came face to face with Lily on a stretcher and tried to pass the chipped ring to her, but exhaled his last breath in the middle of the moment. A minute following, Lily's story also ended.

Budi's death causes his florist store to close down. Arif discovers from an attorney, that Budi had left his estate to Lily. Hence, as Lily's only heir, Arif is entitled to claim Budi's legacy. Therefore, Arif uses this opportunity to his advantage - he decides to inaugurate a new orphanage in Budi's former house as a keepsake for Budi.

Ost[]

Kelip-Kelip (Fireflies) is the only song till now sung by Remy Ishak solely for the film.

Seperti Dulu from Forteen is also included in this film. Izzue Islam was a group member at the time. He also portrayed the Razak role, another actor of the film who contributed song for film soundtrack.

Notes and references[]

External links[]

• 29 Februari on Facebook
• 29 Februari at IMDb