'Tiger Stripes' REVIEW: The monstrous phase that is puberty
‘Tiger Stripes’ REVIEW: The monstrous phase that is puberty
The process of becoming a woman is frightening to many. While others consider it beautiful, certain cultures have viewed it as disgusting and filthy. It is still seen as taboo for many, especially opening up the topic of menstruation. Myths have been created surrounding puberty. In the case of Tiger Stripes, it explored these myths further, specifically more from their country (Malaysia).
Amanda Nell Eu writes and directs her first feature with such boldness and risk. Tiger Stripes follows a young girl, Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal), as she experiences some unusual changes in her body following her first menstruation. She also faces a community unaccepting of the changes happening to her, as she experiences bullying in her school and adults who are unwilling to sympathize with her struggles.
Considering that Eu's body of work comprises stories about the female experience, it is not strange that she would make a film depicting the female puberty experience. In this film, Nell Eu infuses a body horror element to this film (being inspired by old black and white Malay horror films). Eu's attempts to explore these themes of puberty and womanhood while fusing body horror and adolescence are admirable because the movie deftly maintains a balance between realism and mythology. The Tiger, the national animal of Malaysia, serves as the obvious metaphor for puberty. It is seen as brave and strong, qualities that are comparable to those of our protagonist. All the new emotions too, complex and strong, Zaffan feels upon reaching puberty manifest into this creature.
An animal has a limit to how much prodding it can withstand before becoming aggressive, similar to Zaffan's experience in the film. Zaffan, when unbothered, seems to be collected most of the time. She is a natural leader with good instincts. The playful, reckless child in her is still not lost in her despite the changes in her body, just by observing her later interactions with Mariam (Piqa). Then the bullying starts to get worse, no thanks to her former friend Farrah (Deena Ezral), and this is when her monstrous side emerges. When she needs love and understanding to help her tame the creature that is part of her, she gets beaten up by her classmates. Even the quack exorcist (Shaheizy Sam) ends up shouting at her and beating her up because he has no idea how to “release” this “monster” inside of her. When she attacks, it is gnarly and unappealing, and no one understands her struggles.
The look of the film helps convey Zaffan’s struggle and journey during this bizarre time of her life. In Jimmy Gimferrer's cinematography for the film, colors pop off. It is picturesque: vibrant and soft at times while still maintaining the whole world of the film grounded in reality. The sheer intensity of the cinematography elevates each scene. Every lighting and framing has a personality and story to tell. The editing, as well, helped the narrative flow quite smoothly.
Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal), Farrah (Deena Ezral) and Mariam (Piqa)
The performances as well are outstanding and are captured beautifully. Eu has mentioned that the child actors had no prior acting experience before the film. Through countless hours of acting workshops and a beautiful collaboration between the cast and crew, their screen presence became natural in no time, and portrayed their characters flawlessly. Zafreen Zairizal is a captivating and effective lead. You, as an audience, will empathize with her struggle thanks to her performance. Her choreography of the tiger movements in the film came out naturally. Eu’s trust in her, and the other child actors in the film, is rewarding because it results in great performances from them.
Overall, Tiger Stripes is a strong and fierce debut feature from Amanda Nell Eu. The film bagged the Critics' Week Grand Prix at this year's Cannes Film Festival, a huge feat not only for Eu but also for its cast and crew as well. However, despite the warm reception and favorable reviews from critics around the globe, Malay people haven’t seen the original cut of the film yet. It is such a shame that there is an existing cut of the film in Malaysia, which is heavily censored and edited. According to Eu, who viewed the cut before its limited Malaysian release, it strips the film of its core message. Eu condemns the censored cut and hopes to screen the original cut to the Malay people someday. She is right, of course. We can only understand the plight of womanhood if you break the taboo and censorship around it, and viewing this film defiantly destroys that.
Tiger Stripes is among the films under Asian Next Wave Competition category of QCinema International Film Festival 2023. The film will have its final screening on Thursday, November 23, 2024, 6:55pm at Shangri-La Mall Cinema 3.
