February 23, 2005

Sepet the Movie

THIS POST DEFINITELY CONTAINS SPOILERS.
THAT MEANS YOU SHOULD STOP READING NOW IF YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT STUFF BEING SPOILED.
WHAT SPOILERS? READ TITLE PLEASE.


The thing about being an impatient, bad driver (that's me) is that I already know what's going to happen to motorcyclists who zoom in and out of traffic.

Yesterday, I was invited to the premiere of Yasmin Ahmad's Sepet because, well, I dunno why, but I'm still thankful nonetheless. I'm also thankful that my nameless benefactor sat next to me and whispered little titbits of information to me while I was watching the movie, which was invaluable because then the ah-soh, gossipy me can fume about what was cut from the film. I'm not going to go into the banality of the Board, cos that's a widely-known fact. I just wish they'd make public the mugshots of the people who populate said Board so we know when to give them a wide berth should we ever have the misfortune to meet any of them in public.

I like the poem in the starting scene, and it helps if you understand mandarin cos the subtitles are fine as they are, but the nuances are better grasped if you understand the language. Or maybe that's just me trying to show off.

Certain scenes got me laughing even though it wasn't that funny because that's what I usually do when I'm trying to annoy my brother, like dancing around him energetically just as the legions of Roman centurions are about to crush his puny armies.

Orked was very good. Very, very good. And she has nice straight hair right from a shampoo advertisement. Loong (first-time actor) was a little wooden, but then I think he was trying to play the shy, awkward out-of-his-depth guy-in-love part and overshot it a bit. Guys in love can read love letters with emotions too. Oh well, I suppose over-wooden is better than melodramatic.

It's really too bad that the scene where Loong really sparkles is the scene where I don't understand more than half the dialogue. I'm told the double entendres were lost in the translation, so here's another reason to blame my family for not teaching me Hokkien during my formative years.

Keong is cool. Anyone who can think of jacking off even as his right arm is in a cast deserves an honourary mention. *grins* Orked's family also provides a very nice distraction from the expositional sections.

And I believe I do like the alternative ending better. :)

For a comprehensive review written by a pro, please visit TV Smith's Sepet Movie Review. For the movie's official website, please click here.

Buy a ticket and watch Sepet when it's released. Buy a ticket even if you don't have time to watch. It's only the price of a cup of over-priced coffee that's so popular around town, and our arts are worth more than that.

6 comments:

Dilip Mutum said...

The movie has not come out yet and it seems like almost evrybody has seen it. I guess I am among the unlucky guys who have to wait in line.

Pebbles said...

The Star featured Orked today and ya I noticed the shampoo advertisement long silky hair she has. Will definately go see it once it is out.

iblogme said...

I do want to read this post, but I haven't watched the movie yet. Where did you catch it?

Adam, please queue behind me.

Saffron said...

@Adam:
I got my ticket through constantly bugging a certain Mr Smith, so maybe you could start hounding him as well. Of course, if he asks, you never heard anything from me. :)

@Pebbles:
Bring as many friends as you can. Shout "IN YOUR FACE" at the board and flip them the birdie through ticket sales. :)

@IBlogMe:
Watched it at KLCC, heck lot of pretty, confident people around. I've decided that I don't really like premieres a lot. :)

Have fun at the theaters!

Anonymous said...

love the movie so damn much! the least local movies that actually hit my senses.... the words, so simple yet so definite...n its some parts are so symbolic, i just love it! like the blind man scene...
Sepet actually bring some senses towards Malaysian movies...

narrowband said...

i wish therell be more movies like this. other directors/filmmakers should emulate yasmin, she was bold. best part is that it passed the censorship board hurdle. we dont always need to watch western films, do we.