December 17, 2006
Sepet
This will be the second Malaysian movie that I’ve watched this year.
[OT]
Before this was Puteri Gunung Ledang (PGL) which i find it awful and slept through the 2nd and 3rd disc. Yeah, they only came in VCD format then. I bought original, mind you.
[/OT]
Anyway, I got my copy of Sepet at the regular speedy outlet for RM25 for the DVD option which claims to have 5.1 audio. After inserting the disc into the DVD player, i was really upset with the features. The only option available was play movie and screen selection. There was no audio option nor subtitle options. Really disappointing, indeed.
Now, moving on. I’m happy to say that Sepet did not make me sleep.
I’ve watched the entire approx. 100 minutes, right till the credits. I was not bored, but i was not entertained enough.
The story line was good at the start but gets really corny at the end. in fact, it was really predictable the moment Jason/Ah Long (played by Ng Choo Seong) starts weaving through traffic with his motorcycle
recklessly.
Furthermore, the camera is stationary most of the time throughout the entire show. Mostly due to the fact that there’s very little action scene. And maybe it’s Yasmin Ahmad’s style. I do have to admit that the scene where Jason/Ah Long and Orked (played by Sharifah Amani, she’s really really REALLY cute) on the jetty, and the abandoned bus stop did capture the moments of those two lovebirds in their own world. HOWEVER, it was recycled throughout the ENTIRE movie. When Keong (played by Linus Chung) was hospitalized, when Jason/Ah Long introduced Orkid to his friends, when Orkid and her dad (played by Harith Iskandar) played scrabble (i think) at their garden, Jason/Ah Long family dinner, AND especially at the last scene when Orked read Jason/Ah Long’s letter in the car. I find that EXTREMELY annoying when there’s people speaking off camera. not to mention that he’s barely audible.
Another unforgiveable sin is the censorship board being overzealous snipping away scenes and leaving with discontinuity and irregularity even in the same scene. yes, i hate censorship. i equate them with thieves that steal scenes and ruining the moment.
I’m only giving two, out of five stars for Sepet. One because it was interesting enough to keep me awake thought out the entire movie, and the other because i find Sharifah Amani really really REALLY cute and i just like watching her. No thanks to a production crew that can only afford one camera and a director who thinks it’s okay to use the same tripod-camera minus the camera man scene through out the entire show. and also no thanks to the irritating end scene where dad was left out the picture, though he can be heard talking.
