"There are times when watching a movie more than once gives you an entirely different experience. Now watch a local film for a second time, but now with a full-fledged orchestra, a choir group and some concert hall singers and you get something amazing."

Photo by Olivia Oon

"There were so many things that the wonderful people from Malaysia Philharmonic Orchestra and UCSI Chorale brought to light that we didn’t notice before in the original. There was the melancholic, yet invigorating rendition of Inilah Barisan Kita that really stood out in an orchestral hall the way a cinema hall could not. All of this was conducted by the spirited and punctuated enthusiasm of Jessica Cottis.

Besides the magical voices from UCSI Chorale weaving through the dramatic parts of the film, Juwita Suwito wraps up the whole performance with a hauntingly beautiful rendition of Arena Cahaya. The credits already pierced through our hearts with the emotional closure presented by real photographs of the 1980 Malaysian team fighting to go to the Moscow Olympics, but the singing truly completes the sense of patriotic triumph and nostalgic sadness one feels for the mixed outcome of the football teams fate."

Read Zim Ahmadi's full review of the MPO event on The Daily Seni!