(Courtesy:wikipedia)
Sepet is a 2004 Malaysian romantic comedy drama film set in Ipoh, Malaysia. Directed by Yasmin Ahmad, it tells a tale of a love that blooms between a Chinese boy and a Malay girl. Sepet is a Malay word which, in this context, refers to the 'slit eyes' of the Chinese.
Story and Plot Point
19-year old Ah Loong is in charge of a stall selling pirated VCDs. Contrary to the stereotype of his social standing, Ah Loong, starring Ng Choo Seong, is an incurable romantic with an unlikely hobby - he loves to read and write poetry. Quite content to carry on being the Romeo of the slums, Ah Loong's life takes a sudden turn one day when a Malay schoolgirl, Orked, arrives at his stall. She is in search of films starring her favorite actor Takeshi Kaneshiro. Love blossoms between Orked and Ah Loong, although there are social and racial pressures that stand in their way. In the end, Ah Loong is involved in a motor vehicle accident while Orked is going to England to pursue her studies. It is not clear if he lived or died until the sequel, Gubra which shows that Jason really did die. After the credits finish rolling however, Orked is shown wearing a wedding ring sleeping beside Jason, who also has a wedding ring. In Mukhsin, Jason and the adult Orked are shown to be living together. However, the adult Orked is not called by her name in this scene as the young Orked is.
Story and Plot Point
19-year old Ah Loong is in charge of a stall selling pirated VCDs. Contrary to the stereotype of his social standing, Ah Loong, starring Ng Choo Seong, is an incurable romantic with an unlikely hobby - he loves to read and write poetry. Quite content to carry on being the Romeo of the slums, Ah Loong's life takes a sudden turn one day when a Malay schoolgirl, Orked, arrives at his stall. She is in search of films starring her favorite actor Takeshi Kaneshiro. Love blossoms between Orked and Ah Loong, although there are social and racial pressures that stand in their way. In the end, Ah Loong is involved in a motor vehicle accident while Orked is going to England to pursue her studies. It is not clear if he lived or died until the sequel, Gubra which shows that Jason really did die. After the credits finish rolling however, Orked is shown wearing a wedding ring sleeping beside Jason, who also has a wedding ring. In Mukhsin, Jason and the adult Orked are shown to be living together. However, the adult Orked is not called by her name in this scene as the young Orked is.
Cast
Choo Seong Ng as Ah Loong
Sharifah Amani as Orked
Linus Chung as Keong
Mei Ling Ten as Mah (Ah Loong's mother)
Ida Nerina as Mak (Orked's mother)
Harith Iskander as Abah (Orked's father)
Adibah Noor as Kak Yam
Kar Hoong Thor as Pah (Ah Loong's father)
Zahan Marissa as Lin
Awards
18th Tokyo International Film Festival 2005
Best Asian Film Award
Ninth Malaysian Video Awards
Best Film
27th Créteil International Women's Film Festival in France
Best Film
Choo Seong Ng as Ah Loong
Sharifah Amani as Orked
Linus Chung as Keong
Mei Ling Ten as Mah (Ah Loong's mother)
Ida Nerina as Mak (Orked's mother)
Harith Iskander as Abah (Orked's father)
Adibah Noor as Kak Yam
Kar Hoong Thor as Pah (Ah Loong's father)
Zahan Marissa as Lin
Awards
18th Tokyo International Film Festival 2005
Best Asian Film Award
Ninth Malaysian Video Awards
Best Film
27th Créteil International Women's Film Festival in France
Best Film
18th Malaysian Film Festival
Best Film
Best Original Screenplay (Yasmin Ahmad)
Best Poster
Best Supporting Actress (Ida Nerina)
Most Promising Actor (Ng Choo Seong)
Most Promising Actress (Sharifah Amani)
Global Chinese Golden Arts Awards
Best Film
Anugerah Era 2005
Best Film
Sequels
The sequel to Sepet, called Gubra, was filmed in Ipoh, Malaysia and released in 2006. The third movie in Yasmin Ahmad's Orked trilogy is a prequel to both Sepet and Gubra, titled Mukhsin.
Best Film
Best Original Screenplay (Yasmin Ahmad)
Best Poster
Best Supporting Actress (Ida Nerina)
Most Promising Actor (Ng Choo Seong)
Most Promising Actress (Sharifah Amani)
Global Chinese Golden Arts Awards
Best Film
Anugerah Era 2005
Best Film
Sequels
The sequel to Sepet, called Gubra, was filmed in Ipoh, Malaysia and released in 2006. The third movie in Yasmin Ahmad's Orked trilogy is a prequel to both Sepet and Gubra, titled Mukhsin.
Sarcasms
Being cynical in character, Yasmin Ahmad included a few sarcastic remarks of today's Malaysian society in her film:
Orked had on a few occasions sarcastically criticized her friend, Ling, about her obsession with Western male celebrities, particularly Leonardao Dicaprio. She even told off Ling's Western-facelike Malay boyfriend for failing his English in the SPM examinations. This was in reference to the teenage Malays nowadays' obsession with Western celebrities.
Orked rebutted Ling's boyfriend for questioning her love relationship with a non-Malay, i.e. Jason, by telling him Malay men had been marrying non-Malays for generations. This indirectly referred to today's quite prevailing biased perceptions of people having inter-racial love relationships. It was also expressed through Keong's dialogue with Jason when the former was hospitalized. Keong had said people in the olden times can marry each other regardless of race but people in the today's more civilized society tend to fight over and think too much of such matters.
Mak Inom expressed her gratefulness to Him after knowing Orked obtained a scholarship to study overseas despite getting 5As in the SPM examinations. Kak Yam, who was sitting beside her, solemnly said Jason had 7As (probably a few years back but wasn't even offered a scholarshhip). This indirectly criticized the Malaysian Government's perceived biased treatment in handing out scholarships to non-Bumiputras.
Controversy
The film was initially banned in Malaysia for four reasons, pertaining primarily to scenes deemed in inappropriate to the Malay community and their Islamic faith:
There's a scene where the father and the mother were dancing in their sarongs (a large sheet of fabric, often wrapped around the waist (for men) and above the chest (for women)).
A scene where the father and the mother were tickling each other in bed after having sex.
There's also a scene where the family comb each other's hair, where the women only wear sarongs.
Ah Loong didn't convert to Islam at the end despite his courtship with Orked who is a Muslim.
Director Yasmin Ahmad gained enough support from the government, and finally, the movie was shown in Malaysian cinemas, with 9 cuts on the movie.
Being cynical in character, Yasmin Ahmad included a few sarcastic remarks of today's Malaysian society in her film:
Orked had on a few occasions sarcastically criticized her friend, Ling, about her obsession with Western male celebrities, particularly Leonardao Dicaprio. She even told off Ling's Western-facelike Malay boyfriend for failing his English in the SPM examinations. This was in reference to the teenage Malays nowadays' obsession with Western celebrities.
Orked rebutted Ling's boyfriend for questioning her love relationship with a non-Malay, i.e. Jason, by telling him Malay men had been marrying non-Malays for generations. This indirectly referred to today's quite prevailing biased perceptions of people having inter-racial love relationships. It was also expressed through Keong's dialogue with Jason when the former was hospitalized. Keong had said people in the olden times can marry each other regardless of race but people in the today's more civilized society tend to fight over and think too much of such matters.
Mak Inom expressed her gratefulness to Him after knowing Orked obtained a scholarship to study overseas despite getting 5As in the SPM examinations. Kak Yam, who was sitting beside her, solemnly said Jason had 7As (probably a few years back but wasn't even offered a scholarshhip). This indirectly criticized the Malaysian Government's perceived biased treatment in handing out scholarships to non-Bumiputras.
Controversy
The film was initially banned in Malaysia for four reasons, pertaining primarily to scenes deemed in inappropriate to the Malay community and their Islamic faith:
There's a scene where the father and the mother were dancing in their sarongs (a large sheet of fabric, often wrapped around the waist (for men) and above the chest (for women)).
A scene where the father and the mother were tickling each other in bed after having sex.
There's also a scene where the family comb each other's hair, where the women only wear sarongs.
Ah Loong didn't convert to Islam at the end despite his courtship with Orked who is a Muslim.
Director Yasmin Ahmad gained enough support from the government, and finally, the movie was shown in Malaysian cinemas, with 9 cuts on the movie.
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