Chinese Eye (2004)
"Sepet" (original title)

A look at how two young lovers from totally different background cope with family and social pressure.

Director:

Yasmin Ahmad

Writer:

Yasmin Ahmad

Stars:

Choo Seong Ng, Sharifah Amani, Linus Chung

8 wins.

Cast

Credited cast:
Choo Seong Ng	...	Ah Loong
Sharifah Amani	...	Orked
Linus Chung	...	Keong
Mei Ling Tan	...	Mah (Ah Loong's mother)
Ida Nerina	...	Mak (Orked's mother)
Harith Iskander	...	Abah (Orked's father)
Adibah Noor	...	Kak Yam
Kar Hoong Thor	...	Pah (Ah Loong's father)
Zehan Marissa	...	Lin
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Edmund Tan	...	Mobile Phone seller

Storyline

A look at how two young lovers from totally different background cope with family and social pressure.

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Plot Keywords:

bazaar | gunshot | movie fan | slum | unplanned pregnancy | 

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Taglines:

One Chinese boy, one Malay girl, one unforgettable love story

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Genres:

Romance | Comedy | Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Malaysia

Language:

Mandarin Cantonese English Hokkien Malay

Release Date:

24 February 2005 (Malaysia)

Also Known As:

Chinese Eye

Filming Locations:

Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

Box Office

Budget:

MYR 1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

MHz Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

During Orked's final car ride to the airport, the view from the window passes by the same street more than once.

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Connections

References A Better Tomorrow (1986)

User Reviews

Malaysia Memang Boleh my friends!

Before this movie came along, I never really like Malaysian films. Most of them are very stiff, boring, lousy and horrible. Rarely there's any really good films from this country has to offer. Then of course you have the old P.Ramlee movies which is still quite a hit with Malaysian audience of young and old. But seriously, I never bother to watch Malaysian films.Then came this movie Sepet which I saw on a cable channel on one Hari Raya back in 2006. I heard it was an indie produced movie. A rarity for our country. So i go check it out. Soon as I watch the opening, I literally stick through the whole movie without leaving my sit.(Laugh)What really makes this movie works is the formula that dear Yasmin was using. Not your typical Malay movie one watches in cinema. Bad acting,lack of character development, stupid lines, illogical scenes and whole lot of AWFULNESS painted all over those movies. This one tends to stray away all those elements. It was really the first proper piece of Malaysian Cinema.

Sepet tells a simple story yet a complicated relationship between a young Malay girl and Chinese VCD seller. Both with different religious and life backgrounds. What Kak Yasmin was trying to show is that love is a wonderful thing in the world. But there's still issues among us when it comes to love. And that is race and religion. Especially here in Malaysia when it comes to religion. There's still a divide between non-Muslims and Muslims. Such issues like banning certain foods. Touching,cuddling and kisses are not allowed. This eventually made others feeling divide over such matter. The themes are strongly show here in Sepet. Is not about religion as a factor. Its about finding out your true love regardless of what religious background he/she is from and spend the rest of his/her life with them.

In terms of story telling and its plot. Its kind of moving. And also funny. If one was a Malaysian, you'll surely laugh harder with those comical scenes.I love most of the character in there. The movie is also rich with Malaysian culture as it portrays accurately of everyday Malaysian citizen of what they're like. Everything from their accent, their culture, their mannerism and their thinking. How that we are also rich in music coming from different countries.At this point, I wouldn't even call this movie a Malay movie but a Malaysian movie. The only weak point that i gave this movie is probably the use of static camera. It works greatly with some scenes. But some scenes with this method didn't make it engaging enough. Yasmin could've use more closeup shots.

Right after this movie, I began to open up to Malaysian films. To my surprise i found there are movies that are as good as Sepet. With the rise in a new wave of Malaysian film directors, the future for Malaysian Cinema is bright. Sepet I save to say, should be an influential film for newbies in the industry as it shows the prowess of true Malaysian Cinema. It'll give them inspiration to push further for our growing film industry

9.6 out of 10 ratings.