Abang Adik is about the life of two undocumented orphans living poverty-stricken lives in Malaysia. The film is streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary:
Abang and Adik live in Kuala Lumpur where they go down different paths to earn money. They have the singular goal of getting government IDs which would improve their lives.
Abang is deaf and works hard in the market while Adik is the younger who turns to less scrupulous means.
He is involved in a registration scam stealing money from other undocumented people and also offers sexual services to a rich woman.
Adik has a copy of his birth certificate which keeps him safe but Abang is always at risk of being picked up by immigration authorities because he has no proof of being born there.
A social worker named Jia En is trying to get IDs for both of them and explains to the office that Abang’s parents died in a fire when he was younger and his birth certificate was lost.
Abang tries to get Adik to take life more seriously and earn an honest living but Adik doesn’t trust that approach and wants to get fake IDs for them because it would be easier.
Adik has an easier route to getting an ID but he pushes away Jia En’s help and is stubborn about doing this his way.
Abang also has feelings for one of their neighbors from Myanmar and these are reciprocated even though they cannot understand each other.
Someone named Money often takes care of them and helps them out because she saw them grow up there.
Abang buys Adik a shirt so that he can go for an interview but when Adik goes out for a smoke, he is spotted by some of the laborers who he cheated.
They chase after him and start beating him up until Abang shows up and fends them off. They go back home and Abang gives Adik a lecture about his actions.
Abang is left heartbroken after the girl from Myanmar leaves with her family. She tells him that she doesn’t want to leave but has no choice in the matter.
Jia En shows up at the house one day and tells Adik that she has tracked down his father who has agreed to help him get his ID.
He doesn’t want to face the man who abandoned him and starts getting rough with Jia En. He ends up pushing her against the wall and she falls with a head injury.
He rushes to tell Abang about what happened and he waits downstairs while Abang deals with the situation.
Abang finds Jia En with a pool of blood and moments later he and Adik are running out of there to catch a bus.
They travel out of the city but while they are staying in a room one night, Abang goes back to the city and confesses to Jia En’s murder.
Adik sees this on the news and visits Abang in prison. He asks Abang why he would sacrifice himself for what Adik did but Abang pushes him away.
He reminds him that they are not related by blood so Adik should not care about him and he will not care about Adik.
Adik begins looking for lawyers to fight Abang’s case but all of them turn him away because Abang confessed and evidence proves that he killed her.
If Abang is found guilty, he will be sentenced to death by hanging.
Ending explained:
What really happened
Abang spends his days in prison not eating and thinking about what he did. It is revealed that when he went to check on Jia En, she was still alive.
Unfortunately, someone showed up at the door and Abang tried to keep Jia quiet. He ended up choking her instead.
While Adik spends his time contacting lawyers, Abang wastes away in prison with the guilt of his crime.
Letting out his frustrations
A monk is called in to speak to Abang because he isn’t eating or taking care of himself. The monk says that those who live need to live well and for themselves.
Abang says that he has had a tough life right from his childhood and he doesn’t want to live. He wants to be able to hear, he wants to be able to talk, he wants to be loved.
None of that has been possible in his life and that makes him want to die.
Facing the end
Abang’s verdict is passed and three days before the hanging he is asked if he wants to meet anyone.
Adik shows up and he looks well-kept. He says that he has been doing all kinds of jobs to save up money so that Abang doesn’t have to worry about him anymore.
They share a meal and Adik asks Abang if he can be the bigger brother in the next life and take care of Abang instead.
Sometime later, Adik is seen walking into a restaurant where his father is the cook, and he greets him with a smile.
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