SINGAPOREAN director Boo Jun Feng’s Apprentice starts with a pitch black backdrop, and the only sound that accompanies the shot is the sound of heavy boots slapping against the hard concrete floor, a distinct cracking sound and then silence.
In the next shot, the camera slowly draws away from the wired fence of a high-walled prison cell — gritty, smeared with the feelings of regret, remorse and repentance.
“By the time they arrive here, most of these guys have accepted their fate,” says Rahim (played by veteran actor Wan Hanafi Su), the senior correctional officer, who is also the prison’s chief executioner.
But there seems to be something bothering Rahim who has been tasked with sending convicts into the other side, a job he has been doing for 30 years. Rahim is also getting old and he wants someone to take over his job, but who?
When a young correctional officer named Aiman (newcomer Fir Rahman) reports for duty at the high security prison, it’s clear why he chooses the profession: He wants to help those who want to change.
Though Aiman wants to help people, he also has his own personal reason for wanting to work in the fictional Larangan Prison. His motives will be revealed gradually in the film. As Boo’s shot jumps between Aiman and his new job, the audience gets a glimpse of his personal life and his relationship with his sister Suhaila (Mastura Ahmad).
Apprentice marks Boo’s second feature, after Sandcastle and his earlier shorts Tanjong Rhu. The dense story in Apprentice, which took Boo three years to research and write, is deeply intimate and welcomes discussion on capital punishment, especially in Singapore.
As the story unfolds, Boo relies on Aiman’s experience and his point-of-view instead of shoving the anti-death penalty flyer into the audience’s face. And the result works like magic.
The film also explores the relationship and lives between family members of the convicted as well as the psychological aspect of the correctional officers — both points that seem to be ignored in most films on capital punishment. There is also that brief glimpse into another man’s life, when he is awoken at dawn and marched into the gallows.
Because the film has a relatively small pool of characters, it allows the story to expand and develop on moral issues. The audience will discover that there is a reason why Aiman wants to get close to Rahim, and that the latter isn’t as cold-hearted as he seems to be. The way Aiman follows Rahim around in order to examine the prison’s gallows — a small room with green paint and an exhaust fan to circulate the stuffy and depressing room — is like a curious child stumbling into an off-limit room for the first time.
Rahim takes pride in his job and treats every prisoner like he would his friends and offers them comfort when their time is up. It’s sad, though, that Boo spends little time in expanding his character’s emotional side. But Boo eventually makes up for it through Rahim and Aiman’s friendly conversation as they share a cigarette break in the former’s office.
Boo displays his directorial flair as he doles out information at a steady pace. The film is tightly focused and conveys realistic details on a hangman’s job. The film also benefits from Benoit Soler’s (Ilo Ilo) gorgeous lensing.
Soler invokes a contrasting image between the gritty prison (shot in New South Wales in Australia) and Aiman’s minimalistic world. Soler forces our attention to the set details, which is bathed in natural lighting and shadows.
Apprentice not only cements Boo’s presence as the director to watch out for, but the film also sparks discussion on capital punishment.
Beyond that, the film is absolutely neutral on its stand on death penalty, extremely consistent in its storytelling and filled with poignant scenes.
NOW SHOWING IN SELECTED CINEMAS
APPRENTICE
DIRECTED BY Boo Jun Feng
STARRING Wan Hanafi Su, Fir Rahman, Mastura Ahmad, Koh Boon Pin, Nickson Cheng, Crispian Chan
DURATION 115 minutes
RATING 18