By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Feb 17: Rajah, a Hollywood film depicting the adventures of Sarawak’s first White Rajah, Sir James Brooke, who defied the British Empire to rule a jungle kingdom in 1840s Borneo will be premiered in cinemas throughout Malaysia and Brunei in March.
Directed by Michael Haussman, the movie stars Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers (The Tudors) in the lead role, alongside Hong Kong actress Josie Ho (Dream Home) as Madame Lim, Brooke’s former lover, British actor Dominic Monaghan (who played the hobbit Merry in the acclaimed Lord of The Rings trilogy) as Colonel Arthur Crookshank, Brooke’s cousin and comrade in arms, and Malaysian actor Bront Palarae (V3: Samseng Jalanan) as Pengiran Indera Mahkota.
The film was also shot entirely in Siniawan, Bau.
The movie is also known by the name ‘Edge of the World’ and has been released in the United States through direct-to-video (VOD) and online platforms on June 4, 2021.
It was then released in the United Kingdom digitally and on DVD on June 21, 2021 and was used as the opening film of the 5th Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest) on July 10, 2022.
A ‘Rajah Movie Roadshow’ has kicked off in tHe Spring Shopping Mall in collaboration with Greenleaf Three Tea starting today (Feb 17) to March 3 to promote the movie ahead of its March release.
Members of the public can collect exclusive Rajah X Three Tea Teh C Special, enjoy Three Tea ice cream and join the contest to win Rajah Gala Premiere tickets and premium merchandise.
Follow Greenleaf Food and Beverages and tHe Spring Facebook page to get updates on a series of promotional activities to be rolled out soon.
The movie is based on the true story of Brooke’s journey from an ex-soldier in the Bengal army to becoming the White Rajah of Sarawak, which had inspired Rudyard Kipling’s story ‘The Man Who Would Be King’ and Joseph Conrad’s novel ‘Lord Jim’.
According to the synopsis of the film on Samuel Godwyn Films which acquired distribution rights for the US, Brooke fled Victorian England in 1839 to explore Borneo which was still under the control of the Bruneian Sultanate.
After a pirate attack, Brooke allies with rival princes to seize a rebel fort. To save prisoners from beheading, Brooke agrees to be crowned Rajah. He begged the Royal Navy for a steamship to fight pirates, but the British wanted his kingdom as a colony.
Mahkota’s pirates massacred the people of Brooke’s capital, leaving him half-dead. To save his people, Brooke must shed Englishness and embrace the jungle: “All of it, the beauty and the blood.” Brooke’s dynasty lasted three generations and spanned a century. — DayakDaily
