Mountain of Gold

Mountain of Gold (2014)

Hanyut

The story of Almayer, a Dutch trader struggling to survive in Malaysia at the turn of the 19th Century. His dream of finding a mythical gold mountain is challenged by his scheming wife, the colonial authorities, the political machinations of the local chief and Arab traders, and his daughter's love for a freedom-fighting Malay prince.

Date of release
2014-11-06
TMDB
6.7 / 10 (3)
Runtime
1h 56m
Genres
Drama
Director
U-Wei Haji Saari

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Based on: Almayer's Folly

Hanyut (Drifting) is a Malaysian adventure drama film written and directed by U-Wei Haji Saari based upon Joseph Conrad's 1895 novel, Almayer's Folly.

Production

The film was shot on location in Kuala Lipis and Pekan, Malaysia.

Hanyut is a story about a cosmopolitan society living and working together along a riverbank somewhere in Malaysia. It attracted many sea travellers seeking opportunity and rewards.

It gives us a window into the Malay society in Malaysia in the late 19th century: A highly competitive mix of indigenous Malays, tribal aborigines, Europeans, Arabs, Indians and Chinese living and working together.

Although the book starts out as though it is from the perspective of the European protagonist, the narrative is dynamic. By the end of the story the protagonist (and the audience) discover the understanding of his own insignificance.

In the beginning of the story Almayer appears to be at the centre of society, but in the end we see that he is very much peripheral and alienated, and that the real cultural, political and economic life of the community is located elsewhere and involves other people besides himself.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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