La Luna Currently Among Most-Watched Shows On Malaysian Netflix

The romantic comedy has mostly been well-received among Malaysian audiences.

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La Luna is among the three most popular local shows on Netflix currently.

Along with Sue-On and Tiger Stripes, La Luna has been on Netflix’s top 10 most-watched list since it premiered two weeks ago on the streaming service.

As we reported previously, the romantic comedy has also been well-received by international critics and audiences alike, winning several accolades at international film festivals.

But what is the film about?

The film directed by M. Raihan Halim, centres around Hanie (played by Sharifah Amani) who sets foot into a small village called Kampong Bras Basah upon the death of her late grandfather.

She then decided to open a lingerie store called La Luna to cater to the local women’s needs in the community.

Through the store, she guides them not only on their sexuality but also on how to navigate around their controlling husbands and fathers.

Although the villagers are generally receptive to this, the village head (played by Wan Hanafi Su) strongly opposes this as he believes that it disturbs the “purity” of the village.

The plot thickens when the village head goes to extreme measures to bring down the business.

What’s more, aside from the village head, Hanie also has Shaheizy Sam’s character Shalihin Arshad to deal with.

What do the audience say?

For the most part, viewers have resonated well with the film’s message. Netizens indeed have been expressing their love for the film’s nuances and the director’s daring attempt to try something new.

Given that previous local films have been generally “safe” creatively, users were pleased that he pushed the envelope creatively with La Luna.

That said, there were a few others who did not take the film’s message well. Local writer Zabidi Mohamed felt that the movie was disrespectful towards Islam.

In a Facebook post, he accused the director of intentionally trying to demean and ridicule the religion.

“I do not deny that there are groups of Islamic religious scholars and teachers in the country who are involved in civil misconduct and crimes.

“But to depict a conflict between the thoughts of religious groups and liberal-minded groups is the clear intention of the producer and director to belittle and demean Islam.”

As such, he believes that local Muslims should take a stance against films like La Luna.

Other local options

Regardless, if you enjoyed watching La Luna, you should check out other local films on the streaming platform such as Tiger Stripes.

The film revolves around 12-year-old Zaffan who discovers that her body is physically changing due to puberty. What’s worse, she is ostracised by the people around her.

Despite that, she learns to fight back and embrace her body. But if you prefer lighter films, you should then check out Sue-On and Syif Malam.