How Ego Destroyed Man

Today was my last day at the Brisbane International Film Festival. I was fortunate enough to be able to catch Yasmin Ahmad's Mukhsin this afternoon. Like its predecessor, Sepet, Mukhsin is about the friendship between two youths.

At times, I felt there were cliche scenes e.g. the scene where Orked's father & his friends play the violin, cello etc. I find it hard to believe that people in the kampung play these musical instruments in their backyard. But the scene of Orked dancing with her mother in the rain was really beautiful. The bond between mother & daughter is really strong. One of my favourite scenes was when Orked's mother was supposedly disciplining her. In actual fact, she was hitting the bed & Orked pretended to scream in her room.

One of the lessons that I learnt from Mukhsin was how pride can eventually make us lose what we treasure in our lives. We find it hard to forgive people who've wronged us. We stubbornly refuse to change our mindset even when people say "Sorry". We say "Go away!" when all we meant was "Please stay, I need a hug", but we can't seem to open our mouths to say the words. And so we end up pushing those we love further away.

Why does our ego have to get in the way all the time? Is it that important? I've encountered this situation many times in my life. I certainly don't want to lose what I hold dear to my heart. When Mukhsin went to Orked's house, she refused to let him in. He wanted to talk to her badly but she refused him time & again. Finally, when Mukhsin does leave, she rushes to say goodbye but it was too late.

We can choose to forgive. We can choose to forget. What is your decision?