‘Abang Adik’ and its message of substitution
Note: The article below contains mild spoilers for the movie ‘Abang Adik’.
Malaysians will no doubt have heard of ‘Abang Adik’, the award-winning film directed by Jin Ong. The Malaysian-Taiwanese collaboration about two orphaned brothers living in poverty has swept film festival prizes globally, including in New York, Italy, Switzerland and a best actor trophy for the male lead in Taiwan.
Set in Pudu in KL, ‘Abang Adik’ was a box-office hit in Taiwan and opened in Malaysian cinemas just before Christmas. The tear-jerker is a social commentary on issues that plague modern Malaysian life like corruption, poverty, stateless citizens and the plight of foreign workers. But the thread that holds the story together is the brotherly love between the two lead characters.
Two brothers, one unforgettable story
Abang is deaf and mute, and works hard at the local market. But Adik is impulsive and a rascal, preferring to make a quick buck through petty crimes. Sound familiar? Story tropes about two brothers or two men who couldn’t be any more different but are somehow tied together by chance or circumstance are popular storytelling devices.
One can’t help but think of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, of Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley and Dickie Greenleaf, and of course, famous brothers from the Bible like Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, and who can forget the Prodigal Son and his elder brother? Some of these stories end in tragedy while others end in reconciliation, but even the happy endings are not without their hardships.
In ‘Abang Adik’, Abang will do anything to protect and provide for his younger brother, including cooking his dinner and fending off thugs. When a tragedy happens, the brothers have to flee from their one-room flat in the city. The love expressed in the film reaches a climax when Abang tries to take Adik’s place for an offense, a hint at substitution.
The concept of substitution in the Bible
Substitution is a major theme of Christianity, and is the whole “reason for the season” as we like to say during Christmas time. Substitution means to take someone’s place, and in the Bible, it is when a person or an animal dies in another’s place. Jesus is the ultimate substitute for mankind, taking our place in punishment and death on the Cross.
>>READ: Oswald Chambers on substitution
>>READ: No hope for escape unless God takes our place
>>READ: Football analogy: getting subbed could be the best thing for us
In our relatively safe and comfortable lives, opportunities to heroically die for someone, swapping our lives for theirs, may be rather rare. But we could demonstrate our love for others by actively seeking their good in big and little ways. That kind of sacrifice is a form of “dying” to self, in line with Jesus’ example.
Jesus substituted His sinless life for ours so that we may stand righteous before God. We now have a fresh start and a new life! We are born again and we are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), having the mindset and attitude of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). What a way to finish the Christmas story and start the new year.
Those who have seen ‘Abang Adik’ would know the feeling of leaving the cinema with all the gears in their minds turning with questions and contemplation. The visual details, stellar acting, tight script and subject matter all make for a great story that hopefully, produces the kind of empathy that leads to action, to not only look out for ourselves “but to the interest of others” as Christ did (Philippians 2:4).
About the Author
Wan Phing Lim is a contributor to Our Daily Bread Ministries Malaysia. Born and raised in Penang, she studied Politics before turning to a career in writing. She loves coffee, books and films.
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